Ch 2 · How an ordinary team starts
What the brief actually asks
Agree what the brief requires, what it rules out, and what your team still needs to find out.
THE QUESTION

Who is deciding what, for whom, and by when?

“Should a campus café pilot prepaid pickup next month?” is answerable. “Make the café innovative” is not.

THE LIMITS

List the objective, budget, geography, time horizon and required deliverables.

If entry is mandatory, choose how to enter. If entry is optional, test whether to enter. Do not silently replace the mandate.

WHAT'S STILL UNCLEAR

Separate given facts, assumptions and questions you need answered.

Record the slide limit, appendix rules, file format and deadline exactly as the organizer states them.

Complete: “We must recommend ___, measured by ___, within ___, while respecting ___.”
SHIVAM MEET
Case Comp Playbook