Requirement

6. Invent something: users first, then the design, and start the notebook

Required Often forgotten

Think of an item that would solve a problem for your family, troop, chartered organisation, community or a special-interest group. Three parts, kept in a notebook that starts here.

Warning. THE NOTEBOOK STARTS HERE, not at requirement 7. It is introduced in the same sentence that introduces the three parts: "while keeping a notebook to record your progress", which is exactly why it reads as scene-setting. 6(c) records user feedback in it, and it is the record of how the invention changed between the first conversation and the finished prototype.

What this is made of

6(a). Talk to potential users FIRST, then write and sketch
6(b). Make a model, and list what a working prototype would need
6(c). Show the idea and model to your counselor AND to potential users

Where this step comes from

Inventing Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31), Requirement 6 · Introduces the notebook kept through requirements 6 and 7.

Notes and warnings

What this is made of

Where this step comes from