FLL Engineering Notebook: How to Document Your Robot Design
An FLL engineering notebook is a running record of how your team designed, built, tested and improved its robot. A good one is dated, written by the kids, and shows the full loop: the problem you picked, the ideas you tried, the test results, and what you changed because of them. In FIRST LEGO League Challenge, judges score Robot Design from what the team shows and tells them, and a clear notebook makes it far easier for kids to tell that story with evidence instead of guesses.
What is an FLL engineering notebook?
Think of it as the robot's diary. Every meeting, someone on the team writes down what the group worked on, what happened, and what they decided next. Sketches, photos, printouts of code and tables of test runs all belong in it.
FIRST publishes an Engineering Notebook guide with each season's resources, including for the 2026–27 BIOGLOW season, so teams have a ready-made structure to follow. Some teams use that guide, some use a paper composition book, and some keep a shared slide deck or document. The format matters much less than the habit.
Why it matters at judging
In the Robot Design judging session, kids explain how they approached the robot game. The Robot Design rubric in recent seasons has been organized around a design cycle: Identify the goals, Design a plan, Create the robot and code, Iterate through testing, and Communicate it clearly. Always check this season's rubric on the FIRST website, since details can change.
A notebook helps with every one of those rows:
It shows judges the team had a strategy before it started building.
It proves that changes came from testing, not luck.
It reminds nervous kids of details they would otherwise forget in the room.
It shows that every teammate contributed, which also connects to FLL Core Values.
If you are new to the judging room, our guide to what happens in FLL judging walks through a typical session.
What to put in each entry
Keep each entry short. Five or ten minutes at the end of a meeting is enough. A simple template works well:
Date: ____ Written by: ____ Present: ____
Goal for today: ____
What we tried: ____
Test results (runs, successes, notes): ____
What we learned: ____
Decision / next step: ____Over the season, the notebook should also hold a few bigger items:
Strategy pages: which missions the team chose and why, and how runs are grouped. Our post on FLL robot game strategy covers mission planning and run order in detail.
Design sketches and photos: the drive base, each attachment, and versions that were replaced.
Code snapshots: a printout or screenshot of key programs, with a sentence about what each part does. For example, if the team uses gyro steering, note why, and link it to test results. Our SPIKE Prime gyro tutorial is a good example of code worth documenting.
Test tables: the most convincing page in many notebooks.
How to document testing
Judges love data that kids collected themselves. Pick one mission or one move, run it ten times, and record what happened. Then change one thing and run it ten more times.
Write down exactly what you are testing (for example, "drive straight 60 cm to the model").
Record each run: success or miss, and how far off it was.
Count the successes out of ten.
Make one change, such as a slower speed, a new wheel or a gyro correction.
Test again and compare the two numbers.
"We went from 4 out of 10 to 9 out of 10 after adding gyro steering" is a sentence kids can say confidently in the judging room, because they measured it.
Tips to keep it kid-led
The notebook only helps if it belongs to the team. A few habits help:
Rotate the writer each meeting so every child takes a turn.
Let spelling and drawings be imperfect. Judges want the kids' thinking, not polish.
Write failures down. A design that did not work, and why, is great evidence of iteration.
Date every page and never tear pages out; cross things out instead.
Before the tournament, have kids flag five or six pages they want to show.
Parents and coaches can ask questions like "What did you test today?" or "Why did you change that?", but the answers and the writing should come from the kids.
Common questions
Is the engineering notebook required in FLL? FIRST provides an Engineering Notebook as a season resource to help teams, and judges score Robot Design from what the team presents. Check this season's rubric and your event's guidance for exactly what to bring. Even when it is optional, most coaches find it worth keeping.
Paper or digital? Either works. Paper is easy to bring into judging and quick for younger kids. Digital makes photos and code easy to add. Pick one and stick with it.
How long should it be? There is no target length. A few honest lines from every meeting beats a beautiful notebook written the night before the tournament.
Build the skills behind a great notebook
Documenting a robot is easier when kids understand the code and the engineering underneath it. Our FLL Robotics Journey for Parents course helps families understand the season, and SPIKE Prime Python builds the programming skills teams write about.
Explore our free and full online courses, try All-Access for $39/month with a 7-day free trial, or ask about Remote 1-on-1 live lessons ($149/month) by texting (619) 786-5731.
In San Diego? Fusion Robotics Education runs weekend group sessions in Scripps Ranch for ages 6–18, with a maximum of 10 kids and every child working on their own project at their own pace. Your first session is free: text (619) 786-5731 to book.
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