Internal / decision brief / August 17, 2026

Kubota WorkSmart Autosteer / Prototype Refocus

Make The Demo Explain Itself.

The live prototype is real, polished, and functional. The next leap is not more world. It is a shorter, deterministic story that a salesperson with no Autosteer expertise can run cold, explain correctly, and hand to a customer without fear.

5.0 MPHLive Autosteer engagement verified
0Browser console errors observed
3,000+Kubota Connect attendees
1Canonical demo story needed

Direct Assessment

What Works Now — And What Does Not Yet Sell Itself

STRONG

The product is credible

The landing page is polished, the Babylon.js field loads, the M7 scene is visible, the live state changes from Ready to Engaged, 5 MPH works, and the browser console remained clean during the test.

STRONG

Status communication is good

“System Ready,” “System Engaged,” speed, the active Straight AB path, and the large Engage/Disengage control make state changes legible. This aligns with established usability guidance on visibility of system status.

FRICTION

The first screen exposes too much

Camera modes, field overlay, discovery count, handoff, restart, attachment choices, speed presets, speed arrows, steering, tutorial progress, and Engage compete at once. A domain expert can parse it. A cold salesperson has to improvise.

FRICTION

The value is implied, not demonstrated

The current run shows a straight path and operator takeover, but reduced overlap, consistent passes, lower fatigue, and the distinction between assisted steering and autonomy are not delivered as an unmistakable before/after story.

Live ForgeKubo simulator with Autosteer engaged at five miles per hour
Live proof captured August 17, 2026: Autosteer engaged at 5.0 MPH on a northbound Straight AB path; no JavaScript errors observed.
Sharpest issue: the app currently asks the presenter to understand the simulator before the simulator has explained the product. Reverse that. The first three minutes should teach the presenter the pitch while the customer watches the proof.

Recommended Product Move

One-Button Demo First. Open World Second.

Preserve the current open-field experience, but stop making it carry the first impression. Add a deterministic presenter path that resets to a known state and completes in roughly three minutes.

01 / ORIENT

Start Demo

One primary button: Start 3-Minute Demo. It resets the scene, selects the M7 and 10-ft mower, chooses 5 MPH, and introduces the promise in plain language.

02 / PROVE

Engage

Highlight one control: Engage Autosteer. Switch automatically to a follow or aerial camera that makes straightness and pass spacing obvious.

03 / EXPLAIN

Show The Value

Overlay a simple comparison: consistent pass, avoided overlap, steady 5 MPH. Use Kubota-approved values only; otherwise label the figures conceptual.

04 / INTERVENE

Take Control

Introduce a realistic tree, pole, pond, or boundary. Explicitly state: Autosteer does not detect obstacles; the operator remains responsible.

05 / RECOVER

Re-Engage

Guide the presenter back to a projected path and re-engage. The system confirms the action and completes the story without requiring domain vocabulary.

06 / CHOOSE

Continue

End with three clear paths: Explore The Field, Run Guided Training, or See The Product Roadmap. Depth becomes elective.

Internal Findings

ForgeFX And Kubota Evidence Converge On Simplicity

SourceFindingImplicationConfidence
August 6 Kubota reviewKubota endorsed the narrow M7 / 10-ft mower / Straight AB concept, asked for in-seat presentation, authentic controls, 3–7 MPH speeds, realistic obstacles, and visible field guidance.Keep the hero scenario narrow; increase clarity and fidelity rather than adding unrelated breadth.Internal-high
July 21 Kubota app walkthroughPaul Kern described getting lost in the production app despite using it for over a year and said this complexity is why guided training is needed.The prototype must be more learnable than the product it teaches. Contextual coaching is the core value, not decoration.Internal-high
Devin / SlackThe open-world direction was designed for showroom handoffs and informal exploration, with optional tutorial support.Preserve continuation and exploration, but add a known-state presenter path for repeatable demonstrations.Internal-high
Greg / SlackLong-form materials were repeatedly judged hard to digest; the team asked for simple documents and a clear explanation of what is being built.The demo itself should become the concise explanation. Every screen must advance the story.Internal-high
Live prototypeThe open-field route is functional and polished, but opens with many simultaneous controls and leaves business outcomes largely implicit.Use progressive disclosure, scripted camera choices, plain-language benefit callouts, and a deterministic reset.Internal-high
Outstanding Kubota inputsAdditional production-app screen captures and a follow-up walkthrough remain open tasks.Do not claim exact WorkSmart fidelity until Kubota validates terminology, icons, behavior, and safety language.Internal-high

External Findings

The Market Story Rewards A Short, Obvious Proof

Kubota Already Promises Simplicity

The official WorkSmart site positions Autosteer as quick to install and simple to operate. The App Store emphasizes hands-free steering, precision, reduced fatigue, and productivity. The prototype should make those promises visible in seconds.

Kubota Connect Is A High-Throughput Surface

The official 2026 event page lists more than 3,000 attendees and 50+ exhibitor booths. That environment favors a fast, restartable demonstration with a strong visual reveal—not a presenter-dependent tutorial.

Simulator-Based Training Is Established

John Deere publicly offers online, simulator-based, and instructor-led training, including display and CommandARM simulators. A browser-first Kubota experience can differentiate on accessibility and polish, but “a simulator exists” is not enough.

UX Research Supports Progressive Disclosure

Nielsen Norman Group recommends showing novices only the most important options first, while keeping specialized controls available on request. Recognition, visible status, and context-sensitive help reduce memory load and mistakes.

Top of the polished ForgeKubo landing page
The landing page already sells the concept well. The opportunity is to make the launched simulator deliver the same clarity without a technical narrator.

Ambitious Dynamic Workflow

Eight-Hour Claude Fable 5 Gauntlet

This is the copy-ready mission statement. It tells the agent what outcome to pursue, what not to break, how to iterate, and what constitutes proof.

Dynamic Workflow Statement

You are Claude Fable 5 operating an eight-hour autonomous product gauntlet inside /Users/forgebot/forgeapps/apps/forgekubo.

MISSION
Transform the live Kubota WorkSmart Autosteer prototype into a non-expert-proof sales demonstration that explains itself. A salesperson with no precision-agriculture expertise must be able to open kubo.forgefx.dev, run a compelling three-minute story without training, explain the product value accurately, recover from any mistake, and hand the device to a customer. Preserve the existing open-world depth as an optional second layer; do not make it the default first impression.

NORTH STAR
One obvious next action at a time. Every interaction must either demonstrate precision, demonstrate operator responsibility, or advance the customer story. If a control does none of those in the first three minutes, hide it behind progressive disclosure.

NON-NEGOTIABLES
- TypeScript, React, Vite, and Babylon.js only. Keep the existing real 3D asset pipeline.
- No mocks, fake integrations, placeholder success states, hardcoded favorable scores, invented Kubota procedures, or unsupported ROI claims.
- No recognizable raw primitives or illustrative stand-ins in review-ready visuals.
- Preserve the M7, 10-ft mower, Straight AB path, 3/5/7 MPH model, in-seat perspective, projected guidance, manual obstacle intervention, re-alignment, re-engagement, and operator-responsibility message.
- Kubota must still approve production terminology, icons, warnings, controls, equipment data, and behavior. Label unvalidated details honestly.
- Keep touch, mouse, and keyboard parity. No login. No cloud dependency for the core demo.
- Deploy only through the repository's normal Git-triggered Vercel path after all gates pass.

TARGET EXPERIENCE
Build a deterministic Start 3-Minute Demo path that resets to a known state and then:
1. Orients the presenter in plain language.
2. Shows only the 5 MPH choice and Engage Autosteer as required actions.
3. Uses an automatic follow/aerial reveal to make straight tracking, consistent spacing, and avoided overlap visually obvious.
4. Introduces one realistic obstacle that Autosteer cannot detect.
5. Prompts the presenter to take control, avoid it, realign, and re-engage.
6. Ends with a concise, state-derived proof: what Autosteer handled, what the operator handled, and what business value the viewer just saw.
7. Offers Explore The Field, Guided Training, and Product Roadmap as optional next paths.

GAUNTLET LOOP
Repeat this loop until the timebox expires or every acceptance gate passes twice in succession:
A. OBSERVE — run the current live/local flow cold at desktop, tablet landscape, and mobile; capture evidence; inspect console and WebGL failures.
B. ROAST — judge the experience as (1) a non-technical salesperson, (2) a first-time customer, (3) a Kubota product SME, and (4) an adversarial QA lead. Rank only the three highest-impact failures.
C. CHANGE — make the smallest coherent implementation that fixes those failures. Prefer subtraction, progressive disclosure, contextual prompts, deterministic resets, and automatic camera choreography over new feature breadth.
D. PROVE — run typecheck, lint if present, unit tests, production build, and Playwright. Exercise happy path, wrong action, intervention, re-engagement, restart, handoff, WebGL failure shell, and responsive layouts. Capture the active step, not just the landing page.
E. SCORE — grade cold-demo clarity, sales-story strength, agricultural credibility, interaction reliability, visual fidelity, and accessibility from 0–100. Any category below 90 or overall below 95 triggers another loop. Tests passing never overrules a confusing or toy-like scene.
F. RECORD — maintain a concise decision log with evidence, rejected ideas, exact remaining limitations, and the next ranked move. Never report success without readback from the exact live domain and intended build marker.

RESEARCH DUTY DURING THE RUN
Before changing product language or behavior, read the current creative brief, August 6 Kubota review transcript, July 21 app walkthrough, channel decisions, live app, and official WorkSmart public positioning. Use external UX evidence for interaction patterns, but use Kubota/ForgeFX sources for product truth.

ACCEPTANCE GATES
- Five cold users or role-played independent browser passes can start and finish the demo without external coaching; target zero dead ends and no more than one hint request per run.
- The presenter can state the value in one sentence after the run: Autosteer holds a precise path; the operator controls speed, watches the field, and intervenes.
- First meaningful action is visible within 10 seconds; Autosteer is engaged within 30 seconds; value reveal occurs within 90 seconds; full loop completes within 3 minutes.
- The demo always starts from a known state, supports one-tap restart, and cannot be stranded by prior local progress.
- Reduced overlap/consistent-pass value is visual and state-derived, not merely written copy.
- Desktop, tablet landscape, and mobile have no clipped controls, horizontal overflow, hidden primary action, or unreadable copy.
- Console is clean; the React shell survives WebGL failure; all state transitions and results are test-covered.
- Exact live kubo.forgefx.dev content, build marker, core interaction, and cache-busted URL are verified after deployment.

DELIVERABLES
A working, deployed prototype revision; before/after screenshots; a short evidence-backed changelog; automated test output; a scored QA matrix; a three-minute salesperson talk track embedded in the app; and a truthful limitations list naming every item still awaiting Kubota validation.

OPERATING STYLE
Work continuously. Do not stop at a plan, mockup, or local build. Do not add breadth while clarity is below target. When uncertain, choose the simpler interaction that preserves product truth. The prototype is successful only when a non-expert can demonstrate it confidently and the live build proves that outcome.
ObserveRun it cold and capture reality.
RoastFind the three failures that matter.
ChangeSubtract first; add only when necessary.
ProveTest, score, deploy, and verify live.

Updated Execution Plan / Devin's Feedback Integrated

Restart Without Pretending Work Continued

The honest status is that Devin has not advanced the prototype since the Creative Brief review because Halliburton took priority. His intended next move was the right one: turn Adam's environment and modeling work into a more streamlined user experience. The plan now makes that UX refocus explicit and does not depend on Devin being the sole implementer.

CURRENT STATUS

Paused, Not Abandoned

The live prototype remains functional. No post-brief UX refinement was completed by Devin. The next revision should therefore be presented as a restart from the current verified build—not as work already in progress.

IMPLEMENTATION

Agent-Led Refocus

Run the Claude Fable 5 gauntlet against the existing environment and models. Concentrate on the deterministic three-minute path, progressive disclosure, value visualization, restart reliability, and open-world continuation.

SCHEDULING GAP

No Review Date Found

The records establish a late-September Kubota Connect objective and one or two Kubota reviews, but no POC review date is currently locked. That is the only material planning gap that must be closed now.

TargetMilestoneExit ConditionProposed Lead
Aug. 17Lock prototype intentConfirm A / A / A: sales demo first, guided launch first, authentic simplified controls.Adam
Aug. 18–19Eight-hour implementation gauntletOne-button demo, visible value reveal, operator intervention, re-engagement, clean restart, responsive QA.Claude Fable 5
Aug. 20Internal cold-demo reviewAdam, Devin, and Greg can each run and explain the experience without coaching; blockers are ranked and assigned.ForgeFX
Aug. 21Review-build freezeInternal fixes complete; terminology and behavior still awaiting Kubota approval are clearly labeled.ForgeFX
Week of Aug. 24First Kubota POC reviewPaul, Brent, and Nate review the live experience and approve or correct the core workflow, controls, warnings, and value story.Greg
By Sept. 11Second review and conference freezeKubota feedback incorporated; demo path locked; remaining time reserved for reliability, devices, caching, and presentation rehearsal.ForgeFX + Kubota
Schedule recommendation: Greg should request the first Kubota review for the week of August 24 and reserve a second decision review no later than September 11. That leaves more than two weeks of hardening before Kubota Connect begins September 27. These are proposed targets until Kubota confirms availability.

Proposed Ownership

  • Adam: approve intent, environment/model truth, and visual bar.
  • Devin: review the streamlined UX and reconcile it with the showroom/open-world intent when Halliburton workload permits.
  • Greg: secure both Kubota review dates and consolidate client feedback.
  • Claude Fable 5: implement, test, roast, document, and verify the demo revision.

What Does Not Change

  • The open world remains available for showroom handoffs and discovery.
  • The guided path becomes the default because it is more repeatable.
  • The experience still uses Adam's real environment and modeling work.
  • Kubota remains the authority for production terminology, behavior, warnings, and interface fidelity.

Alignment Required

Three High-Level Decisions

1. What Is The Prototype's Primary Job?

  1. A. Win a three-minute salesperson-led demo
  2. B. Teach an 8–10 minute operator lesson
  3. C. Provide a self-directed open-world sandbox

2. What Should Launch By Default?

  1. A. One-button guided demo, then optional exploration
  2. B. The current open field with optional tutorial
  3. C. A three-mode chooser before entering 3D

3. Where Should Fidelity Concentrate?

  1. A. Authentic value story with simplified controls
  2. B. Near-1:1 WorkSmart interface replication
  3. C. Maximum visual spectacle and gamified discovery
My position: choose A / A / A. It gives Greg and any Kubota salesperson a reliable proof now, keeps the prototype honest, and leaves the full training platform and open-world depth visible as the expansion story.

Sources

Evidence Coverage

External Official Kubota, Apple, Kubota Connect, NN/g, USWDS, and John Deere.

Internal Live app, repository, Slack, creative brief, channel decisions, and verified Fireflies transcripts.