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Phase 1: Planning

Overview​

The planning phase is the foundation of your entire season. This is where you analyze the game, calculate strategies, and make informed decisions about what your robot should do. A strong planning phase prevents wasted time and resources, while a rushed planning phase can doom your season before it begins.

Step 1: Understanding the Game​

Master the rules and game mechanics before making any design decisions.

You must thoroughly understand every aspect of the game - scoring opportunities, ranking points, game elements, defense rules, and match timeline. You can't design a winning robot if you don't understand the game you're playing.

Step 2: Points Per Second Analysis​

Calculate the efficiency of different scoring strategies to identify the most valuable approaches.

Points Per Second (PPS) measures how efficiently you can score points by accounting for the complete cycle time - not just the scoring action itself. This data-driven analysis helps you identify which strategies are truly valuable.

Step 3: Creating the Ideal Alliance​

Think beyond your own robot - design for alliance success.

FRC is a team sport played in three-robot alliances. Understanding what makes a successful alliance helps you determine what role your robot should fill. The best robot isn't always the highest scorer in isolation - it's the robot that optimizes the alliance capabilities.

Step 4: Prioritizing Robot Capabilities​

Decide what your robot will do based on your complete analysis.

Using everything you've learned from Steps 1-3, categorize all possible robot capabilities into three groups: Must Have, Nice to Have, and Out of Scope. This ruthless prioritization ensures you focus on what matters most.

Step 5: Initial Robot Architecture​

Create a robot design that organizes your prioritized capabilities into subsystems.

Now that you know what your robot must do, sketch out how those capabilities will be organized. Define major subsystems, rough layouts, package constraints, and map how game elements will flow through your robot. This initial architecture guides what you'll prototype.

Completing Planning​

Before moving to Phase 2 (Prototyping), you should be able to answer:

✓ What are the highest-value scoring opportunities?
✓ What is our realistic Points Per Second for each strategy?
✓ What role should our robot fill in an alliance?
✓ What must our robot do to be competitive?
✓ What are we explicitly NOT going to attempt?
✓ What major subsystems will our robot have?
✓ How will these subsystems fit together conceptually?
✓ Does the entire team understand and agree on priorities?

Common Pitfalls to Avoid​

Skipping the analysis - Don't jump straight to designing without understanding the game. Invest time upfront in thorough analysis.

Overcomplicating the robot - Focus on doing a few things excellently rather than many things poorly. Stick to your "Must Have" list.

Ignoring Points Per Second - Don't pursue high-point-value scoring that takes too long. Always calculate and compare PPS.

Being unrealistic - Be honest about your team's capabilities, skill level, and timeline. Don't prioritize mechanisms you can't realistically build.

Not documenting decisions - Write down your analysis, data, and reasoning. Future you will need to remember why certain priorities were chosen.