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09Week 9

Engineering Portfolio

Show how you think, not just what you built.

A robot shows judges what your team built. Your documentation shows how and why you built it. This week you will set up a daily engineering log, learn to record design decisions and test results with real evidence, and turn that record into a clear engineering portfolio draft. You will also practise telling your technical story out loud to judges.

4
Lessons
8 team hours
Estimated time
5
Learning objectives
Start lesson
Game of the week

Photo for the judges

Good photos make a portfolio. Take three shots of the robot like a pro: angle, framing, background and light.

How to play
  1. 01Rotate and zoom the camera with the mouse or fingers.
  2. 02Choose the background and the light, then press Take photo.
  3. 03Each shot is checked on 4 criteria. You can retake a shot as many times as you like.
Recommended video

Lessons by FoxSlide

Video tutorials from the FTC community. Watch them alongside this week's lessons.

Portfolio

Full Guide to Engineering Portfolio

YouTube

Video by FoxSlide

FoxSlide (FTC Team #29029) is not officially affiliated with or endorsing Rookie Academy or FIZMAT ROBOTICS #28061.

Original video: youtube.com/@FoxSlide29029

Team assignment

Prepare an engineering portfolio draft

Using your daily engineering log, photos, CAD screenshots, code and test data, assemble a first draft of your team's engineering portfolio. It does not need to be beautiful yet, but every main section should exist and tell a clear technical story. Before you start, read the current Competition Manual for the required portfolio format, page limits and award criteria, because these change between seasons. A well-made draft does not guarantee any award; its purpose is to communicate your process honestly and clearly.

Deliverables

Tick items off as your team completes them.

0/6

Learning objectives

  • Explain the difference between a daily engineering log and an engineering portfolio.
  • Document design decisions with options considered, a decision matrix and a written rationale.
  • Record prototypes, iterations and test results as evidence with tables, charts, photos and captions.
  • Structure technical stories as problem, approach, result and next step.
  • Prepare for a judging interview by planning who speaks about what and practising as a team.

Required materials

  • A shared folder (cloud drive or team laptop) for the engineering log and portfolio
  • A notebook or log template for daily entries
  • A phone or camera for photos of prototypes and tests
  • Onshape (or your team's CAD tool) for screenshots
  • A spreadsheet tool for test data and charts
  • The current official Competition Manual from FIRST
  • Your robot, prototypes and past meeting notes

Expected outcomes

  • The team keeps a consistent daily engineering log with goals, work done, results and next steps.
  • Students can build and explain a weighted decision matrix for a real design choice.
  • Students can present test data in a labelled table or chart and state what changed because of it.
  • The team has a first engineering portfolio draft organised into clear sections.
  • Every team member can explain at least one subsystem or process to a judge in under two minutes.

Knowledge check

15 questions across this week's lessons. Your best score for each lesson is saved.

  • Why Engineering Documentation Matters–/3
  • Documenting Design Decisions–/4
  • Prototypes, Testing and Evidence–/4
  • Technical Storytelling and Judging–/4

Completion checklist

Tick items off as your team completes them.

0/9