[EricH]

We use a very simple process:
At kickoff, hold open discussion with any other teams we happen to be with.
Read rules.
Play game with humans as robots. Done multiple times, focusing on different sections/strategies. Day 1-end of Week 1
Come together and decide on a general strategy. Week 1-2.
Develop requirements to fit said strategy. Some are from previous years, some are game-specific. Week 1-2.
Start figuring out designs that can play the game the way we want. Week 1-2.
Decide on a rough design. Sometime between Weeks 1 and 2.
Detail the design in Inventor, starting with the drivebase and working our way up and out. Usually around Weeks 2-3, depending on a number of factors.
Build. Any time after the detail work is done. May prototype before detail is done.

Sometimes, parts of the robot are detail designed after the base is built. Also, we call in outsiders occaisionally to help us see if there's something we've overlooked.