YETI Ascent

Documentation and resources for YETI's training system

Introduction

Welcome to the YETI Ascent System, the framework for member growth and organization on Team 3506 YETI Robotics. This system is designed to help every student understand their roles, responsibilities, and the steps that they need to advance within the team. Currently, we use Level 1 (L1) and Level 2 (L2) roles to define the progress of technical abilities across both our Engineering and Business teams.

On the Engineering side, this includes our:

And, on our Business side, it includes our:

All of these sub-teams have L1 and L2 roles (exception for the Finance Manager). By following this system, we can ensure that every member has a clear path to develop their skills, take on leadership roles, and essentially contribute to the overall success of the team.

Marketing

Covering marketing standards for L1/L2

Marketing

L1 Standards - Marketing

Overview

L1 marketing is about reliable execution. An L1 marketing member can take a task (e.g., writing a caption, taking photos, creating a social media post) and complete it on-brand without needing someone to clean up afterward. They can tell the team's story/describe core outreach programs if asked, and show up consistently. L1 is the standard every active / full-time marketing member is expected to reach on YETI.

Benchmarks

# Benchmark Description
1 Brand Fluency Produce an on-brand post from scratch (correct palette, fonts, logo placement, tone) without consulting the style guide during the task.
2 Content Production 5+ published pieces (posts, blog, newsletter) that required no major revision before going live.
3 Tool Proficiency Complete an end-to-end task in at least one tool the team uses (Figma, Canva, Adobe, etc.) and the team's scheduling platform without getting stuck.
4 Copywriting Caption, sponsor thank-you, or event announcement that is clear, on-brand, and audience-appropriate in one draft cycle.
5 Reliability Meet deadlines 90%+ across a full build/comp cycle and communicate proactively if something slips.
6 Team Knowledge Deliver a confident elevator pitch covering: team number, name, location, founding year, notable achievements, current robot, and season game.
7 Program Literacy Name and describe each core outreach program without looking it up: RISE with YETI, QCRA classes and camps, Girl Scouts merit badge, Doyenne Inspiration West, #FIRSTEmpowered, Go Green, FLL/FTC tournaments, The Zone, Roof Above.
8 FIRST Ecosystem Awareness Explain the FRC/FTC/FLL/FLL Explore pipeline and FIRST's mission in practice, with real examples.

Assessment Process

1. Portfolio Review

You will be expected to maintain a portfolio of your work in Google Drive. Your portfolio should be a running record of your marketing work throughout the season. Start it on day one and add to it as you go.

Suggested Portfolio Structure

Marketing Portfolio — [First Last]/
  Published Work/       ← final versions of posts, graphics, newsletters, etc.
  Drafts & Revisions/   ← early drafts showing your process (optional but helpful)
  Copywriting/          ← captions, sponsor emails, announcements you wrote

What belongs in it:

What does not belong:

A good portfolio should make it easy for an evaluator to see what you made, when, and for what purpose. If the folder is disorganized, that already tells part of the story.

2. Structured Conversation

You will be expected to walk a mentor/leader through your portfolio. Some sample questions might be:

3. Reliability Check

Subteam leads and mentors will evaluate candidate reliability, with an emphasis on communication and meeting deadlines.

Marketing

L2 Standards - Marketing

Overview

L2 marketing is about strategic ownership. An L2 member plans, initiates, and elevates the team's marketing, going beyond executing tasks they're assigned. They've demonstrated they can develop a content strategy, represent the team externally, mentor L1 members, and understand how YETI's programs connect to broader goals.

Prerequisite: L1 must be completed before pursuing L2.

Benchmarks

# Benchmark Description
1 Content Strategy Plan and execute a 4-week content calendar with documented rationale tied to the season arc.
2 External Representation Present or speak on behalf of the team in at least one external context (sponsor meeting, Impact presentation, awards interview, etc.) with positive mentor feedback.
3 Mentorship Review and give actionable feedback on 3+ pieces of L1 member work, improving the output without redoing it yourself.
4 Metrics Awareness Pull social analytics and explain what is working and what is not, citing specific numbers.
5 Capstone Deliverable Serve as primary author on at least one high-stakes artifact: sponsor packet, Impact/EI essay, pit display, or equivalent used in a real context.
6 Program Storytelling Independently develop a compelling narrative around one team program — human angle, photos/quotes, impact and mission alignment.
7 Cross-Program Strategy Articulate how YETI's programs connect to broader goals (sponsor retention, award submissions, community presence, pipeline) and why each one matters.

Assessment Process

1. Portfolio Review

Your L2 portfolio builds on your L1 portfolio. The evaluator is looking for evidence of strategic thinking: did you plan things, or only execute what you were assigned?

Marketing Portfolio — [First Last]/
  Published Work/
  Drafts & Revisions/
  Copywriting/
  Strategy/             ← content calendars, planning docs, campaign briefs
  Analytics/            ← screenshots or exports from social analytics

What belongs at L2:

2. Structured Conversation

You will walk a mentor through your portfolio. Sample questions: Walk me through how you planned this content calendar and why you made those choices Pick an outreach program and pitch me a content piece about it on the spot: what's the angle, who's the audience, what's the takeaway? Show me an analytics report and explain what it tells you How would you onboard a brand-new marketing member on their first day?

3. Peer Signal

Mentors will ask 2–3 members—typically L1 members you've worked with—whether you helped them improve their work and whether they sought you out for feedback. This is separate from the portfolio review.

4. Real-World Test

Before your assessment, you will be given ownership of a bounded campaign — a sponsor outreach push or a full week of social content. You are responsible for planning it, executing it, and reflecting on what worked. This is evaluated alongside your portfolio.

Robot Programming

L1 and L2 standards for robot programming

Robot Programming

L1 Standards - Robot Programming

Overview

L1 programming is about foundational Java competency. An L1 programming member can read and write basic Java code—variables, conditionals, loops, classes—and apply those concepts in an FRC robot codebase. They can explain core OOP concepts if asked, demonstrate basic competency with Git, and contribute to the team codebase without needing constant support. During the build season, L1 programmers work to reprogram a previous season’s robot, putting their skills into practice. L1 is the standard every active / full-time programming member is expected to reach on YETI.

Benchmarks

# Benchmark Description
1 Primitive Types & Variables Identify and explain all Java primitive types (boolean, int, double/float, char, String). Choose the correct type for a given real-world scenario without prompting.
2 Variable Assignment & Operators Declare and assign variables, create variables from other variables.
3 Classes & OOP Concepts Identify a constructor in a given class, explain what it does, and determine a method's return type. Articulate the difference between a class and an object, and explain what static means.
4 Calling Methods (Static & Non-Static) Given a class definition, instantiate an object and correctly call a non-static method on it. Separately, call a static method using the class name without creating an instance.
5 Conditionals & Control Flow Complete a method skeleton by writing a correct if/else if/else block that returns the intended value. Use comparison operators accurately. Code handles all branches.
6 Loops Explain the difference between a for and while loop. Given a loop snippet, describe what it does, when it terminates, and how many times it executes. Write a simple loop that produces the correct output.
7 Inheritance & Access Modifiers Explain what it means for a class to extend another. Given a superclass and a stub subclass, implement a method using the parent's accessible methods while correctly respecting private access.
8 Code Literacy Read unfamiliar Java code and explain what it does in plain English. Catch common beginner mistakes (off-by-one errors, wrong operator, wrong return type) when shown a broken snippet.
9 Basic Git Workflow Explain the purpose of cloning, committing, pulling, and pushing. Explain what a branch is and why branches are used. Describe the first step they should take before beginning work on an already-cloned repository (pull the latest changes from the remote repository).

Assessment Process

1. Mentor/Leader Aadministered Quiz

You will complete a short quiz on the topics below. Questions are randomized across 10 variations per topic. The quiz is closed-reference: no IDE, no internet, no notes.

Resources

Robot Programming

L2 Standards - Robot Programming

Electrical

Everything you need to know to be either L1 or L2 in the Electrical Subteam on FRC 3506

Electrical

L1 Electrical Panel Builder

Responsibilities:

Requirements:

Comfortable with the following (able to be tested and pass with satisfaction):

Electrical

L2 Electrical Engineer

Responsibilities:

Requirements:

 

Must be confident (and able to pass, if tested, with satisfaction) in the following:

Confident L2's can wire a subsystem on their own with appropriate wire lengths, documentation, schematics, and necessary components/parts WITHOUT crimp failures.

Web Development

Web Development

L1 Standards - Web Development

Benchmarks

# Benchmark What to look for
1 Functional Contribution At least one merged PR to a YETI project (Juice, scouting site, tba-sdk, Basecamp, or equivalent) involving JavaScript/TypeScript logic. CSS-only or single-line changes do not count.
2 Code Authorship Can explain what their contribution does and why it was structured that way. Walk through the code with them — if they cannot explain it, do not pass.
3 JavaScript Fundamentals Can read and write variables, functions, loops, conditionals, and async/await without looking them up. Test live if there is any doubt.
4 Project Literacy Understands the structure of the project they worked in — what the major folders and files are for and how the app fits together. Ask them to orient you.
5 Local Development Can set up a local dev environment and run the project. Ask how they got it running the first time.
6 Code Consistency Followed existing code style and patterns without repeated correction. Check the PR diff directly.
7 Guided Execution Completed their contribution with mentor guidance. Independence is not required at L1 — verify that the scope was appropriate for a first contribution.

Assessment Process

1. Portfolio Review

Ask the student to share their portfolio before the conversation. At L1, this is a link to at least one merged PR or deployed feature in a YETI project.

Look for:

If the contribution is CSS-only or a single-line change, it does not meet the bar — ask the student to ship something functional before scheduling the assessment.

For members — how to maintain your portfolio: Your portfolio at L1 is a link to your merged PR(s). Keep a note on what you built and what guidance you received. Before your assessment, be ready to walk an evaluator through what you shipped and why.

2. Structured Conversation (15–20 min)

Walk through their contribution together. The conversation serves as the competency check — if they can explain their own code, authorship is confirmed. Syntax recall is not the bar.

Sample prompts:

If the student cannot explain code attributed to them, do not pass.

3. Reliability Check

Ask a mentor or student who worked with them directly this season:

Outcome

Pass: student meets all 7 benchmarks. Record in the shared assessment sheet (assessor, date, level, notes) and in Basecamp when that feature is available.

Not yet: name the specific gaps with concrete feedback. "You hit 6 of 7. Benchmark #1: the CSS change you submitted does not meet the functional scope bar. Ship a feature that involves JavaScript logic and come back."

Web Development

L2 Standards - Web Development

Benchmarks

# Benchmark What to look for
1 Independent Contributions Has shipped multiple features with minimal mentor guidance. Ask how much direction they needed and check PR history.
2 Code Review Has reviewed multiple PRs with meaningful, specific feedback. Check the review comments — approvals without comment do not count.
3 Feature Scoping Given a task description, can break it into steps and ship it. Ask them to walk through how they planned their most recent contribution.
4 Code Quality Writes code others can read — consistent with project conventions, well-named, not needlessly complex. Check the diff directly.
5 Debugging Has investigated and resolved a problem they did not introduce. Ask them to describe a specific debugging session in detail.
6 System Understanding Can describe how their contributions fit into the larger codebase — what a feature touches and what depends on it. Test with specific questions about their own PRs.
7 Implementation Tradeoffs Can explain what they built, what they considered and rejected, and why. Look for judgment, not just execution.
8 Portfolio Growth L2 work is meaningfully more complex or more independent than L1 work. Compare the two directly — if the bar is ambiguous, it is not a pass.
9 JavaScript Fluency Handles async patterns, module/component structure, and data flow without looking up fundamentals. Test live if there is any doubt.

Assessment Process

1. Portfolio Review

Ask the student to share their portfolio before the conversation. At L2, this should include at least two merged contributions showing independence and growth over L1 work, plus links to PRs where they left code review feedback.

Look for:

For members — how to maintain your portfolio: Include your merged PRs and links to PRs you reviewed. For each contribution, add a brief note on what it was and how much guidance you had. Your code review comments are part of your portfolio.

2. Structured Conversation (15–20 min)

Walk through their most complex contribution and their review history. The bar at L2 is explaining what their code does and the reasoning behind the choices they made.

Sample prompts:

A student who cannot explain the reasoning behind their own structural choices is not at L2.

3. Peer Signal

Ask 2–3 teammates who have worked with this student directly:

Outcome

Pass: student meets all 9 benchmarks and peer signal is positive. Record in the shared assessment sheet (assessor, date, level, notes) and in Basecamp when that feature is available.

Not yet: name the specific gaps with actionable feedback. Common ones: code review participation (assign them to review an open PR now), independence (needs one more unguided contribution), system understanding (schedule an architecture walkthrough first).