Break a robot delivery task into connected subtasks

Find the item, reach its destination and place it are manageable parts of a broader goal. Give each part a clear completion state, then check that the pieces still connect into the task the group intended.

Give each subtask an identifiable completion state. Decomposition helps only when the smaller tasks can be connected into the original goal.

Each subtask needs an output

Identify subtasks. Order dependencies. Test each part.

Find the item, reach the destination and place it are separate subtasks.

What does each subtask produce? Use three task cards.

Smaller parts should still connect to the goal.

Resources

• Human Robot Commands – Coding Without Screens Printable Game — Check the command conventions before using the sequence or debugging task.

Further reading

• CS Unplugged — Kidbots and algorithm activities
• Australian Curriculum Version 9 — Technologies overview

Read next

• Simplify a route map without deleting what the robot needs
• Go over there: let two readers expose the missing instruction
• Test the value on the boundary of the sorting rule

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