Engineering notebooks are not only a part of VEX IQ competitions, but the documentation of the engineering design process actually helps teams build better robots. Many students do not like to record in the notebooks. This is understandable since they want to jump in and build. But time and time again, we will see teams who are not using the notebook waste their time building without concrete plans and struggle to reach their goals. The notebook is much more than a requirement, it teaches students how to follow the engineering design process and is used as a tool to help guide them towards success!

Design Rubric:

• Make sure you are familiar with the Design Award Rubric
• A design rubric is used by the judges to score the notebooks and interviews
• High scores on the Design Rubric are used to also decide on the Excellence Award

Notebooks will vary between your teams and there is freedom in how the documentation of the engineering design process occurs. However, a checklist of things that might help guide your process is found on the next page.

Headings are very important so the judges can find the information they are looking for at a glance. The headings should match the topics in the table of contents. The headings could include:

• Team Introduction
• Define the Challenge
• Brainstorming and Research
• Select the Best Approach
• Building
• Testing
• Programming
• Driving Strategy

These headings can alternate as students might go back and forth between building or testing. Other students may be working on programming while some are building. This is expected and the headings are not linear.

Here is a checklist that may be useful for students who are managing the notebook.