[meaubry]

There is some really great advice posted so far for you to consider, much of which we do also.
The thing you need to try and understand though is that "on schedule" can have as many different meanings as there are teams.
To be "on schedule" you first must have a "schedule" - what I mean is that even though we are all given 6 weeks to complete a task, it doesn't mean that there is a single one best schedule to accomplish it.
Why? Because each team has to first decide what it is that they wnat to do, in that 6 weeks.
Build a robot - you say.
Okay, to do what? Drive around? Shift gears? Climb ramps? go sideways? Just that one element alone could take teams all 6 weeks.
I will tell you what I have found important ,relative to the 6 week design and build time frame, is this.
1) Start brainstorming on day one (kickoff) but, set a time limit - we call ours D5 day (Design Decision Drop Dead Date). That is targetted for day 4 or 5.

2) Use the Divide and Conquer concept - much like others have indicated, break up the robot into sub-systems and allocate resources and set targets to make sure you do not exceed weight, size, and cost limits.

3) Set a target date for drive train chassis rough completion - test the drive system to validate it does what you thought it would (after a few years of experience this can be pushed up in the schedule, once you are using "tried and true" chassis and drive systems that worked well in previous years).

4) Set a target date for completing all other subsystems - including weekly target weight verification and re-allocation

5) Try to give the programmers as much time with the real machine as possible - this will depend on how well you stick to your schedule.

6) Nothing is more important than "drive time" for the drivers to learn just what the robot is capable of doing and how to get the most out of it. Try to set aside the last week for this. Yes, this means forcing the robot to be built in 5 - NOT 6 weeks.

Remember that there isn't one "best" schedule - the best schdule is the one that your team creates to achieve what ever goals that it sets for your own team.

I'd also like to add that it is best to keep things simple - including the schedule - don't list every little thing on the schedule itself. Create a seperate "task" list for that.

Sorry about the length of the post - I hope it helps,
Coach Mike - Team 47