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Sessions 15–16: Receive & Translate the Brief

The Arcade Cabinet Project — Milestone 1 of 5

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The Arcade Cabinet Project

Sessions 15–28

Four Weeks Ago, You Practiced This

Session 1: translating a vague ask into User, Need, Constraints, Success Criteria.

Today, the ask is real, and so is everything that follows it.

The Arc

SessionsMilestone
15–16Receive & Translate the Brief
17–20Concept, Material & CAD
21–22CAM Programming
23–26Fabrication & Build
27–28Present Back & Reflect

You're a Company. You Have a Client.

Your client is either a real business-class team or your instructor, playing that role — the process is identical either way.

No Two Teams Get the Same Brief

This isn't a shared spec. Your cabinet's direction is genuinely your own team's, based on your own client.

What a Brief Usually Includes

  • Who the cabinet is for, or where it'll live
  • A theme, mood, or vibe
  • Any must-have features
  • A rough budget or timeline, if one exists

Same Skill as Session 1

Draft the four parts. Mark what's explicit, implied, or missing. Write real clarifying questions — specific enough your client can actually answer them.

Ask Before You Sketch

It's tempting to start designing the moment you have a theme. Don't — Session 1's whole lesson was resisting exactly that.

Two Things to Remember

A real client's answers may be messier than a practice one.

They might not know their own budget precisely, or change their mind after a question. That's real collaboration, not a flaw in the exercise.

Two Things to Remember

Your written requirements are what Milestone 2 builds from.

A vague or incomplete translation here becomes a genuinely harder problem two weeks from now.

Next Up

Concept, Material & CAD (Sessions 17–20).

Sketching real concepts and modeling a real cabinet, from the requirements you write this week.

'F' → Fullscreen

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Build

Step 1: Receive Your Brief

Read the brief your instructor provides (from a real business partner team, or an instructor-played client). Don't start sketching yet.

Step 2: Draft the Four Parts

For each part, mark whether it's explicit, implied, or missing:

  • User — who is this cabinet actually for?
  • Need — what's the real need behind the request?
  • Constraints — budget, space, timeline, required features?
  • Success Criteria — how will your client know it worked?

Step 3: Write Clarifying Questions

Write at least 3 questions for your client, specific enough they can actually answer them without needing to think like an engineer.

Step 4: Get Answers and Finalize Requirements

Once you have answers (live from a partner team, or from your instructor), write a final, one-page requirements summary covering all four parts. This is what Milestone 2 starts from.

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Checkpoint

Before you move on, confirm your requirements summary:

  • Names a specific user, not a vague group
  • States a real need, not a solution in disguise
  • Lists concrete constraints, even if some are "none given, confirmed with client"
  • States success criteria you could actually check at the end
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Reflection

Answer the following questions before submitting your work.

  1. How did translating a real brief feel different from Session 1's practice bus stop scenario?
  2. Did any of your client's answers surprise you, or change your read on the request?
  3. Looking at your finalized requirements, which part — User, Need, Constraints, or Success Criteria — do you expect to most shape your concept sketches next session?
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Submit

Submit your team's four-part draft, your clarifying questions, your finalized requirements summary, and your individual reflection.

Milestone Complete