Organizing a Final Design Report
Having a fantastic design project is great, but it only goes so far unless you can effectively communicate your process, ideas, and final solution to an audience. There are many different ways you can organize all of this information, and typically you will be provided some sort of rubric. It is important to follow the rubric, but also take some time to brainstorm the best flow of the report. You want to make sure your reader can follow what they are reading, and doesn't feel confused or feel like the text is bouncing them around in a million different directions.
The University of Minnesota, Department of Mechanical Engineering has a great document that explains a great way to organize your final design report.
(Links below)
They split up the structure of the report into three main categories: Problem Definition, Design Description, and Evaluation. This allows the audience to see what problem you are trying to solve, the design process you went through, and did your design do what it was supposed to do. There are many subsections that are needed under these main sections in order to clearly explain all necessary information but I think the building blocks of organizing a report like this are really powerful.
Now, for something like BEST Robotics, there is a clear structure you should follow based on the judges scoresheet. However, I think it would be beneficial to read through the PDF in the link above as it explains helpful content to a reader, and might help you figure out what information needs to go in what section. Remember not to wait until the last minute to begin writing ANY report. It is important to document and keep track of everything as you work. Writing a final report, is just as important as doing the entire project itself.
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