[BrendanB]

These are good things to talk about before the season gets close and all teams should have a game plan for where they want to be at the end of week. Always remember though, each team is different and just because someone has finished all of their prototyping by the end of week 1 doesn't mean you should be too. Come up with a plan that works for you!

By the end of week one I'd like to see our key field elements built so we can be testing our prototypes & strategy. The team should have a grasp on the rules and understand basic gameplay. Most teams try to have their strategy nailed down during this week but I've found for us it typically doesn't happen until week two or later. This past year it wasn't until week four that we had a defined strategy and spent the initial weeks with a more aggressive strategy but kept our options open to pursue a few robot styles. In a "normal" year we try to have our drivebase in stone/begin the CAD model by the end of the week but years like 2016 require more testing and prototyping.

Usually before the season the design team has already discussed what we can learn from the previous season so we can learn from our mistakes or iterate what we found successful. This encompasses all aspects from strategy, design, prototyping, manufacturing, practice, etc.