[adciv]

I'm from the Electrical/Programming side of the house, so...

In general: Standardize your part & tools, regardless of what part its for. This helps reduce parts counts and tool count. Where this helps is that you don't have to keep a lot of different parts on hand or take them with to competition. It also means you get good at telling the difference between what you have. "Gee, is that a 7/32 or a 1/4?" This saves on cost & time in the long run.

Electrical:
Learning how to make your wiring neat:
- Anderson Powerpole Connectors
- Learn to make your own PWM wires
- Zipcord (black & red wire fused together)
This will make your robot reliable. Birds nests tend to contribute to failures and troubleshooting issues.

Programming:
- How to use a gyro to ensure your robot drives straight in Auto
- That "laptop" which came in the Kit of Parts? Ditch it. Get 2x ~$500 laptops (One for programming, one for driverstation).
- Figure out a language to use and stick with it. Develop a library of commonly used functions. Practice in the off season and learn an architecture to use for development.
- Sensors aren't just for Autonomous. The programmers job is to make the drive teams life easier during a match.