The Eight Paths

Followed a set of instructions, a kit, a recipe, a tutorial, a LEGO set with 500+ pieces, and finished a working end product that matches the plan.

Made something useful from raw materials with no instructions, a shelf, a box, a birdhouse, a ramp, that holds up to actual use.

Disassembled a real machine or device (appliance, bike, computer, toy) down to its components, identified what each part does, and put it back together working.

Diagnosed and repaired a broken object that a real person was about to throw away, and it still works 30 days later.

Completed a project requiring precision, within a defined tolerance, and demonstrated the measurements match the spec.

Made a tool, device, or gadget that performs a useful function, something that didn't exist before you built it.

Designed and built a playable game (board, card, video, physical) that other people have played from start to finish.

Built and deployed a website that lives at a real URL, does what it's supposed to do, and has been used by someone other than you.

Built a working app, mobile, desktop, or web, that performs a real function and has been installed or used by someone else.

Designed and built something with moving parts that works reliably, a machine, robot, mechanism, vehicle, demonstrated in motion.

Designed and built a physical structure that bears real load, a shelf, table, treehouse, bridge, frame, and has held up under use for 30+ days.

Built something that uses electricity you wired yourself, a lamp, a circuit, a powered device, and it works safely.

Designed and built something that lives outside and survives real weather, a garden bed, chicken coop, mailbox, weather station, planter, outdoor bench, sign, and has stayed functional through rain, sun, and temperature swings for at least 60 days.

Built something where you made every component yourself, no kits, no pre-made parts, from raw materials up.

Designed an original object in CAD, printed it yourself, and iterated through at least 3 versions to reach a working final piece.

Rebuilt a project you'd already finished, made it meaningfully better in a measurable way, and documented what changed and why.

Submitted a built thing for external technical evaluation, FIRST Robotics, Science Olympiad build event, maker competition, engineering fair, and it performed.

Produced full build documentation for something you made, plans, code, photos, materials list, good enough that someone else actually rebuilt it from your docs alone, and their version works.