This is the sixth step in the Strategic Design process, which focuses on determining an overall strategy for each team. Before you continue, please be sure to review prior steps (see the list in the Strategic Design process article).
At this stage, the team should take a step back and evaluate the prioritized list of scoring opportunities to determine whether the plan is truly achievable within the team's available resources and capabilities. A high-scoring action is not necessarily the best strategic choice if it exceeds what the team can realistically design, build, or maintain.
The goal is to identify the highest possible number of points the team can score, based on actual constraints such as time, materials, skills, and budget.
Examine each individual scoring opportunity and subcategory, and discuss:
- Is there sufficient time to complete this objective?
- Is there enough room in the budget? Can more funds be secured?
- Are the necessary physical materials and components accessible for fabrication and programming?
- Does the team have the programming knowledge required?
- Does the team have the mechanical skills to build it?
- Will maintenance be feasible throughout the season?
- Does it reflect the knowledge and experience of all members of the team?
If any of these questions result in a "no," the team must decide whether to lower the item’s priority, remove it from the plan, or pursue additional resources to make it possible.
Some teams may choose to further define each scoring opportunity and break down when it will be used during a match. By considering the speed of the robot, number of times the action can be completed, location of game elements, and scoring locations, teams can use the calculated max score exercise to map out their match. This information can be used in the next step of the strategic design process to determine whether or not a design or mechanism is performing competitively enough.
Learn More About Strategic Design
Continue to the next article in this series, Using the Strategic Design Method to Implement Solutions, to move on to the next step.
Credits
This version of Strategic Design is inspired by the work of Karthik Kanagasabapathy, the originator of Strategic Design in competition robotics, and the ideas are used with his permission. Karthik is a former Chair of the VEX Robotics Game Design Committee and a respected mentor in the robotics community. Additional information was provided by the mentors of team 2337, the EngiNERDs, from Grand Blanc High School in Grand Blanc, Michigan.