Engineering Notebooks

While creativity is encouraged, an Engineering Notebook is a collection point for a team’s design ideas. Some questions to ask yourself as you and your team create your notebook:

• How do I envision industry professionals using their Engineering Notebooks? 
• Does this notebook help to show our progress through the season?
• Does our notebook show our team's practical thinking through our obstacles?
• Could we use this notebook to help us complete a patent application based on our drawings, ideas, and designs? 
• Is our notebook too much of a scrapbook?  Does it accurately show the design of our robot?

Here is an example of a well done engineering notebook provided by Team #2, "Pyschotic Strawberryz" of North Plains, Oregon: 

•  Engineering Notebook 
  

Search online and find information about professional Engineering Notebooks and their appearance prior to the competition.  It is not necessary to purchase a specific or expensive notebook, however, it should be in a composition or hardbound form, meaning no loose-leaf binders.  If a team chooses to create an electronic or online version of the notebook, please follow the guidelines given in the 2009 Coach's Manual. Outlines for writing in a proper Engineering Notebook can be found online as well.  Please give this some thought as you are reviewing the notebooks – how much research and time went into this notebook?  How does this reflect what a career engineer might produce?  Does this accurately reflect the hard work and effort your team has put into the robot?

There are a few other things to take into consideration:

• Most of the judged awards require that teams complete and submit an Engineering Notebook.  Teams may compete with their robot on the field without submitting an Engineering Notebook, but may not be eligible for all judged awards.
• The team's Engineering Notebook may be maintained by a single team member or contain contributions from multiple team members.  Regardless of the individual contributors, entries need to highlight the thoughts of all team members and mentors of the team.
• You do not need to decorate your Engineering Notebook.  We recommend keeping your notebook simple but informative.  Feel free to include pictures and an introduction to your team so that the judges are familiar with the writers in the book, but this should be fairly brief.  Teams are also recommended to insert a short summary with final remarks at the conclusion of the notebook prior to their tournament.
• Engineering Notebooks should be well organized so judges can determine how the team is put together, with their processes, brainstorms, and strategies well documented.  Each journal should have 5-10 journal entries marked that the team feels are good examples of the different types of experiences the team encountered.  These entries include:
  • What the team experienced during the engineering design process
  • Drawings and descriptions of the robot during the different stages of design
  • Experiences of teamwork and communication during the building of the robot
  • Definining interesting moments, obstacles, and 'A-ha!' revelations
  • Lessons learned from the entire experience
• Engineering Notebooks do not need to, and should not, appear perfect.  Without turning into a team scrapbook, they should reflect the team's personality and spirit and reflect an ongoing work in progress.  Spelling mistakes, scratches or abandoned pages, or other blemishes should not be held against your team unless extraordinarily excessive.  This helps to reflect the last-minute designs, quick thoughts while designing, or brief notes that may remind the team for an idea later on.
• Each team should submit their Engineering Notebook to Registration/Check-In or their Pit Adminstration tables when they arrive at the competition site.  Talk with your event organizer/Affiliate Partner to find out their preferred process.
• Your team's notebook will be returned after each competition.  Your tournament's judges may opt to hold onto your Engineering Notebook until all award scripts have been written, and many tournaments return the notebooks after the event's Closing/Awards Ceremony.

For questions or more information, feel free to contact FTC Team Support.