Submit an MCR ticket (DoR)
Definition of Ready · MCR submissions. Read once, bookmark it.
Every ticket you submit on Monday is read automatically the moment it lands. An automated reviewer we call BRAT (Brutally Rational Assessment Tool) checks whether there’s enough for a creative to start.
Definition of Ready (DoR) is a standard term: the agreed set of criteria a request must meet before work can begin on it - the shared bar for “ready to start.” This page is the MCR board’s DoR - everything below is what that bar is, and how to clear it on the first try.
01 · The three outcomes
Your ticket gets one of three outcomes
Section titled “Your ticket gets one of three outcomes”Here’s what each one means for you and your timeline:
Straight to the queue
Your ticket moves into In-Progress. This is the goal - and what this guide is built to get you.
Almost there
Something’s missing or doesn’t add up. The ticket stays on in Triage - you’ll be asked to fix some things.
Back to drafts
There wasn’t enough to start with. The ticket gets purged and you’ll resubmit with specifics per DoR specs.
→ The full mechanics (daily rechecks, the 2-fail lock) live on How review works - BRAT.
02 · The golden rule
The one golden rule
Section titled “The one golden rule”Give the creative enough to start without having to come find you - what it is, who it’s for, and where it’s going.
You don’t need to be a creative director or write the copy. You just need to answer three things:
- What is this? - the deliverable
- Who is it for? - the audience or channel
- Where is it going? - the destination
If a designer, copywriter, or photographer could read your ticket and begin - you’re done.
03 · Where to submit
Where to submit
Section titled “Where to submit”Submit through the MCR form - it opens in a new tab and walks the same fields this guide covers. The MCR board is where your ticket then lives and moves through the queue.
Two ways in - and only two. Use the form for a single ticket, or the bulk-import spreadsheet for many complete tickets at once (trained operators - project managers or their trained assistants; see section 16). Don’t build a ticket by hand-typing into a board row.
Both paths capture every field correctly at submission - that’s what keeps tickets consistent and protects the automations that fire on creation, including the folder hierarchy. Hand-keying a row is slower, error-prone, and risks touching fields that lock once those automations have run. (Filling the columns the form can’t set - Scope, Request Type, Assignee - is the one expected on-board step, done in triage.)
04 · Pick the ticket flavor
Pick the right ticket flavor
Section titled “Pick the right ticket flavor”The Copy Needed? column is your first fork. It tells us who picks up your request.
| You choose | Use it when | Who picks it up |
|---|---|---|
| No | You need visuals only: image, video, render, layout | Designer / photographer / videographer / CG artist |
| Copy Only | You need words only: naming, headlines, product copy, email copy | Copywriter |
| Yes | You need both words and visuals | Copywriter + a visual creative |
05 · Classify the work
Classify the work: the three columns that drive everything
Section titled “Classify the work: the three columns that drive everything”These three columns tell the reviewer what kind of brief to expect. Getting them right - and consistent with your Overview - is half the battle.
Intended Use: the channel family
Section titled “Intended Use: the channel family”Where does it live?
Scope: the specific deliverable
Section titled “Scope: the specific deliverable”What exactly is it?
◆ Campaign A strategic push assembled from other tickets
Scope = Social Media, not Campaign.Request Type: the craft
Section titled “Request Type: the craft”What skill is needed?
06 · Get the Brand right
Get the Brand / Collection right
Section titled “Get the Brand / Collection right”The Brand column is a dropdown - you pick from the list, no typing. Valid options:
- WAC Group is the umbrella: a brief under it can cover one sub-brand, several, or corporate work. All fine.
- A specific sub-brand (e.g. VENTRIX) is restrictive - keep the brief inside that brand’s product line. Don’t put VENTRIX in the column and then describe a Modern Forms fan.
07 · Write the brief
Write the brief: the Creative Overview
Section titled “Write the brief: the Creative Overview”This is the heart of your ticket. Here’s what “enough to start” looks like for each kind of work. Click any craft to expand.
Nice to have → strengthens the brief, never required. Leave creative direction (mood, pacing, lighting, angles) to the experts if you’re not sure.
✎ Copy Words only
◳ Graphic Design Brochures, flyers, banners, logos
◉ Photography Stills
▷ Videography Motion
◐ Voiceover Read scripts
✂ Post-production Editing existing footage
◈ CGI: Renders, Animation, Cam Solve Read section 08 carefully
✦ Gen AI Photo · Gen AI Video Same rules as their counterparts
▤ Spec Sheets · Line Drawings · Instruction Manuals Technical docs
08 · CG: 3D source files
CGI: you must attach a 3D source file.
Section titled “CGI: you must attach a 3D source file.”Accepted 3D files:
The only way around it - if the artist genuinely already has the model from past work, say so specifically:
- Good “We have the STEP from past work on SKU 12345.”
- Good “Same model as ticket #482, just new angles.”
- Bad “The file’s around somewhere.” / “product management has it.” (still gets held)
Extra rules by type:
- Animation: you must also state a duration target (it drives cost and scope).
- Cam Solve: you must also attach a plate (the footage or still to track): image (
.jpg,.png,.tif,.webp) or video (.mp4,.mov), plus the 3D source.
09 · Social media specs
Social media: specs beat creativity
Section titled “Social media: specs beat creativity”When Scope = Social Media, the platform specs are the brief. Include:
- Required: aspect ratio (e.g.
1080×1350,9:16), the platform (Instagram feed, Reels, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest), and duration for video. - Nice to have: creative direction. The social team owns the creative call within brand guidelines.
A complete brief in one line: “Q2 Modern Forms outdoor fans launch, IG feed + Reels, 1080×1350 hero + 9:16 vertical, 15-second cut.”
10 · The SKU column
SKU rules: one value only
Section titled “SKU rules: one value only”The SKU column is optional, but if you use it, one value only.
- ✓ Good One full SKU:
WS-W12345-30-WT - ✓ Good A family root if there are many variants:
WS-W12345 - ✗ Bad A list:
SKU1, SKU2, SKU3- breaks folder automation - ✗ Bad Placeholders:
NA,N/A,TBD,none- just leave it blank instead
11 · Print, tradeshow & website
Print, tradeshow & website specifics
Section titled “Print, tradeshow & website specifics”Print Needed? = Yes: size. The Print Size column must hold a real size - at least width × height (e.g. 8.5x11; separators x * / by all work), or a named size (A4, Letter). A single number (20) or a placeholder (N/A, TBD) gets held. Putting the size only in the PDF doesn’t count - the column is what’s checked.
Print Needed? = Yes: quantity. Quantity is required on a print job. Put a number; 0 is fine if you don’t know the run size yet (a project manager can set it later). Leaving it blank on a print job will hold the ticket.
Tradeshow & events. Work for an event or tradeshow goes under Intended Use = Events & Trade with Scope = Tradeshow / Rep Show / Webinar. Most of it is physical - if it’s being printed, set Print Needed? = Yes and follow the print rules above.
Linking related tickets - the Dependent On column. Whenever one ticket is built from several others - a campaign’s anchor video assembled from separate shoots, or a tradeshow booth that needs a video and graphics and print - use the board’s Dependent On column to connect them. Then anyone opening a ticket can see what feeds it, or what it feeds into. This is good workflow hygiene that keeps the board clean.
Link in one direction. Pick one:
- Recommended: each contributing ticket points up at the main ticket (the person working a social cut or a shoot immediately sees it’s feeding Campaign #123), or
- the main ticket lists all its contributing tickets.
Website Use? = Yes. Name the destination URL or page placement, either in the Website Overview or the Creative Overview.
12 · Common mistakes
Common mistakes that get tickets held
Section titled “Common mistakes that get tickets held”Each of these is a mismatch between your columns and your Overview - the “doesn’t add up” traps.
Scope = Email Blast, but the Overview asks to pick a product name.Brand = Modern Forms, but the brief is about a Schonbek chandelier.Intended Use = Print Collateral, but the Overview describes a website hero.Scope = Production + Request Type = Post-production (or Copy, Renders, Design).Copy Only, but Request Type isn’t Copy.Scope = Campaign for a one-off, standalone asset (a single social post with no broader push behind it and no contributing tickets).Scope = Campaign + Request Type = Spec Sheets / Line Drawings / Instruction Manuals / Cam Solve.On email blasts (Scope = Email Blast): you are never expected to write the email copy — that’s the copywriter’s job. A complete brief is just the email’s purpose (what it announces or promotes), who it goes to, and the action it should drive (the CTA), plus a subject-line cue if you have one.
This pairs naturally with Copy Needed? = Copy Only, and the ticket is automatically routed to the team’s email specialist once it lands.
What you must not do: use Email Blast for a naming or brand-research ask (e.g. “pick a product name”) — a name has to exist before an email can use it, so that’s a separate request (see the mismatch table above).
13 · Two ways to brief
Two ways to give the brief
Section titled “Two ways to give the brief”A ticket passes if either your Creative Overview or an attached brief (PDF / DOCX) gives enough to start. You don’t need both.
| Scenario | Verdict |
|---|---|
| A solid Overview alone | Passes |
| A thin Overview but a detailed PDF attached | Passes - we read the PDF |
| Overview says “see attached” but the PDF carries the brief | Passes |
| Both thin, but together they add up | Passes |
14 · Pre-submit checklist
The pre-submit checklist
Section titled “The pre-submit checklist”Run through this before you hit submit. Your progress is saved in your browser, so feel free to come back to it.
15 · Last thing
If your ticket gets held or bounced
Section titled “If your ticket gets held or bounced”It’s not personal: it’s usually a one-line fix. Reply on the Monday item with the specific missing piece - the held ticket will tell you exactly what it is. Concrete specs always beat “urgent, please.”
The faster the brief is complete, the faster your work ships. That’s the entire reason this guide exists.
→ Held or bounced anyway? Here’s how to fix it fast.
16 · For project managers
For project managers & board triage
Section titled “For project managers & board triage”BRAT re-checks the board automatically once a day (early morning). After two unsuccessful passes it locks a ticket and stops re-checking it. These two override columns let a trained operator move a flagged ticket forward without waiting for that daily cycle. They do different jobs - one overrules BRAT, the other asks BRAT to look again.
Override (HUMAN) → “Yes” — promote a ticket now
Section titled “Override (HUMAN) → “Yes” — promote a ticket now”This is the everyday lever, and it works whether or not BRAT has locked the ticket yet.
Most Needs Attention tickets are flagged for a mundane reason: the submission form
can’t set Scope, Request Type, or an Assignee, so BRAT correctly reports them empty.
The brief itself is fine - it just needs a human to fill the operational columns the
form couldn’t.
Use it only when the brief is genuinely actionable - the Creative Overview, or an attached PDF/Word brief, is substantive enough that a creative could start:
- Read what BRAT listed as missing in the item update.
- Fill those columns - typically Scope, Request Type, and Assignee (Work) - plus the operational fields needed to start: Copy/Creative (if copy is involved) and the relevant Due Date (Work or Copy).
- Flip Override (HUMAN) to Yes (the only label - it’s either “Yes” or blank).
If every required column is filled, the downstream automations fire and the ticket
moves to In Progress right away. If anything is still missing, Monday silently
resets the column back to blank - that’s your signal that a required field is empty.
Fill it and flip again.
Override (BRAT) → “Reevaluate” — make BRAT look again
Section titled “Override (BRAT) → “Reevaluate” — make BRAT look again”Once BRAT has locked a ticket (two failed passes), the daily review skips it from then on. Override (BRAT) → “Reevaluate” is the only way to put a locked ticket back in front of BRAT - it triggers a fresh evaluation immediately instead of leaving the ticket stuck. Use it when a locked ticket’s brief has since been improved and you want BRAT to re-judge the content. (On a ticket that isn’t locked yet, flipping this does nothing - the daily review still owns it.)
Which one to use
Section titled “Which one to use”| Situation | Lever | What you’re doing |
|---|---|---|
| Brief is solid, the ticket just needs its columns filled | Override (HUMAN) → Yes | Overruling BRAT’s column complaint and sending it to work. |
| A locked ticket’s brief has since been fixed and you want BRAT to confirm | Override (BRAT) → Reevaluate | Handing the call back to BRAT, not making it yourself. |
→ Full detail on the status levers lives on Project manager.
Bulk-importing a campaign
Section titled “Bulk-importing a campaign”When one campaign spawns several adjacent tickets - a render, an animation, some Gen AI work, a few app shots - don’t hand-create them one at a time. Use the spreadsheet import template.