Software work outside of Fix-It Windows

[FRC980]

To what extent are teams allowed to do any software work (planning, design, coding, parameter adjustments, and/or testing) with their practice robots or dashboards outside of the Fix-It windows?

[GDC]

After the robot has shipped, and outside of the FIX-IT WINDOWS, software development is prohibited.

FIRST acknowledges that software development is a thought-intensive process. Teams cannot be prevented from thinking about their software implementations, and it is not our intent to do so. However, the amount of activity permitted for the development of the final product is severely restricted during this period. Pondering software issues that remain to be resolved, researching general case solutions, discussing solutions with teammates, and outlining algorithms at a high level are all reasonable activities. But developing detailed pseudocode, writing actual lines of code, verification of syntax, final debugging, etc. would be considered development of the final software implementation, and are all prohibited.

Consider an analogy to hardware development. The “put your tools down” policy after the FIX-IT WINDOW means that no fabrication of any hardware component is permitted during this period. You are allowed to think about how a part is to be fabricated, sketch out designs, collect raw materials, prepare tools, etc. But you cannot actually engage in work to create the physical item. By analogy, you can think about and prepare for development of software for your robot, but you cannot work on the creation of the final product (your customized software program).