Reading the problem – the importance of words

When reading a problem, you'll often see the terms must/will, may, and may not. These small words are key to solving the Problem! Have your team read the long-term problem and highlight each time these words appear.

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Must/Will

This means: The team is required to include this element. 
Example: The solution must take place in the future. 
Solution: The solution has to occur in the future or the team will receive zero points for that scoring element or a Spirit of the Problem penalty if it is not a specifically scored item.

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May/Can

This means: The team can choose to include or not include this item. 
Example: The team may use pre-recorded sound effects or live sound effects. 
Solution: The team may decide whether or not to use either pre-recorded sound effects, live sound effects, or both! All are acceptable solutions.

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May Not/Cannot

This means: The team is not permitted to use or do this. 
Example: The team may not use electrical power during the performance. 
Solution: The solution cannot contain any electrical power or your team will receive zero points for that scoring element or a Spirit of the Problem penalty if it is not a specifically scored item.

Reading the Problem - Odyssey Vocabulary

When reading a Problem, you'll often see that elements are scored in areas such as Creativity/Originality, Effectiveness, and Teamwork. Here's how to work out what they mean:

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Originality

This means: The item should be innovative, novel, and unique. 
How to optimize the score: This item should make you go, "Aha! Wow!" Unrelated items should be synthesized to create a new idea.

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Effectiveness

This means: The element should be a vital, crucial part of your solution. 
How to optimize the score: The element should be vitally important to the solution and the presentation would be less successful if the element was gone.

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Teamwork

This means: The team is effective, efficient, and collaborative. 
How to optimize the score: Leadership and team roles should be easily identifiable, and diversity of skills should be evident.

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Functional engineering

This means: Is the device functional, effective, efficient, and reliable? 
How it's scored: The team's device will earn higher marks if it operates as your team intended it to, if it is designed to adequately solve its task, if all of the device's pieces have a meaningful purpose, and if it works every time it is used. If your team's device fails during the Presentation, the scores for this area may be impacted.

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Creativity

This means: Does the device use a new, unique, original, or creative manner to carry out or accomplish a task?
How it's scored: The team's device will earn higher marks if it is designed in an innovative manner or if it uses out-of-the-box methods to complete its desired task. If the team's device fails during the Presentation, your scores for this area may be slightly impacted, but your scores will be based more so on the device's core concept as opposed to its reliability.

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Original

This means: Completely made / thought of by the team

How it's scored: A vehicle propulsion system would be scored higher if completely created by the team from scratch, it would scored less if using commercially available parts, a store-bought entire system/vehicle would not be allowed. Original characters would need to be somebody that does not exist now or in the past. Original music can be an original composition, or an exiting arrangement performed in an original way.

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Italicized Words

Certain words in problem are italicized.

This means they are described in the Problem Glossary (last page of the problem) or, more generally, in Chapter 6 of the Program Guide

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Common Misunderstandings

Prop - An object held or used by a character in the performance. Props do not include items that are picked up only as part of a team’s setup or to change the scene. Hand props are held by a character in the performance and larger stage props, such as a ladder or chair, are used by a character in the performance. For example, if a character answers a telephone and sits in a chair, the telephone and chair are props. A prop may also be a part of a costume. For example, if a character walks on stage holding a sword and uses it as part of the performance, the sword is a prop as well as part of that costume. Props do not include required vehicles, structures, devices, etc. that only operate and/or perform a function for required score.

Tangible - This is not defined in any of the problem glossaries or the problem guide but is frequently mentioned. Tangible is from Latin tangere, "to touch," and it simply means something that can be touched or felt, though it can be used in metaphorical senses: tangible grief can be clearly sensed by an onlooker. So you might not need to physically touch something for it to be tangible, but it has to be grounded in the real world of facts. If your team has questions about whether a component of its solution is "tangible" they should submit a team clarification.

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Self-contained - every aspect of a required component is independent of anything external. For example, if a self-contained item must travel, all parts of the item will travel. Using a rope anchored off the vehicle that then winches the is not self-contained, as it is off the vehicle. If a team uses AC power, the cord providing the energy is allowed to remain plugged in and does not need to move as part of the solution. The cord does not count towards score.

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There are lots more terms that have a specific Odyssey meaning - go check the Program Guide!