Notebooking Best Practices
Keep the notebook up to date
Don’t let entries pile up and do your best to enter them on the day they took place
Entry dates should reflect the day they were entered into the note, not necessarily the day they took place
As many teams are transitioning to a digital notebook, it should not be seen as an excuse for being able to go back in time and edit or add additional details
Mistakes in a notebook are okay
Misspellings, grammar and missed entries happen
Strikethroughs, cross outs and other edits to an entry are fine to have
Take notes whenever possible
Have someone responsible for taking notes during a team meeting
When building, take notes of any special steps or unique build processes
During a competition take time to write up match results
Review match videos, if available to fill in any missed information your team feels is necessary
Take lots of pictures
Highlight or magnify key focus areas in a photo
Use before/after images (great for identifying problems encountered and solution implemented)
Label pictures/images/drawings/sketches in the notebook
Create a figure table if possible
Integrated CAD into your notebook and design process
While the use of Fusion 360 / Onshape / Solidworks / Protobot / etc can enhance your design process it provides additional details to the reader that can make it easier to follow or recreate your design
Sketches can be a good substitute to using CAD software
Provide parts list if possible
Avoid creating an overly beautiful notebook
Pretty notebooks are nice and may attract attention, but the appropriate details may get overlooked
Background images may distract from the core content of the notebook
Moving into the university/working world content will be key above the look
Find a format that works for your team
There are a number of good examples available to explore, but don’t just copy and paste those examples. Use them as a getting started guide/template for your journey
Develop your own team’s identity where possible
REC Foundation provides a nice starter template and digital parts library that should not be overlooked
Have multiple team members contribute to the notebook
Not all members need to provide details, but everyone should be able to provide input that is used in developing your team’s design
It is okay for a primary person to be responsible for entering the finalized notebook entry, this can help with keeping a consistent notebook format
Keep things concise
If entries become a little long, use underlining, bolding, or highlighting to bring attention to key points
Use bullet points
Get feedback on your notebook
While judges are not allowed to give feedback on notebooks or interview, there are some mentors that might be willing to look over your notebook and give you some tips
Listen to feedback and don’t be closed to making changes to your notebooking process
If you make a big formatting change to your notebook, it is okay to mention why as judges will likely see the change and may wonder why it took place
Don’t be afraid to share ideas with others as you might get some good ideas in return.
The notebook is not a journal
While it is great to notate as much as possible during the season, the notebook doesn’t need to contain details around what pizza was provided for a team members birthday celebration at a team meeting
Paragraphs of information are hard to digest and writing a storybook format may make it difficult for a judge to find relevant information in your team’s notebook
Don’t see the notebook as chore
While this may be a hard item to avoid, it should be looked as piece of your design process
Good documentation will only enhance your ability to be able to come up with a solid end solution
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