Playbook › Stage gates
Stage gates
Stage gates: the decisions that move the engagement forward. Each gate is a recorded decision with
named evidence. Gates block by mechanism, not by convention: the same gate machinery that governs agent outputs governs the engagement itself.
The gates
| Gate | Entry evidence | Exit decision |
|---|---|---|
| G0. Kickoff ready | Engagement scoped; track leads named; access requests submitted; security review clock started. | All four tracks begin in parallel. |
| G1. Discovery exit | Questionnaires and interviews complete across tracks; current-state assessment done; systems inventory complete; ontology triage classified every finding; personas and journeys drafted. | Proceed to specification; open unknowns have named owners. |
| G2. Specification freeze | Binding filled across all bands; overlay release cut; PRD-evals approved with golden exemplars; integration requirements parametrized; environment dry-run green end to end. | One-click provisioning authorized; build begins on the roadmap order. |
| G3. Build exit, per capability | Evals at target, tests green, HITL configured, pattern conformance reviewed, mini-output and assembly path demonstrated. | Capability activates through C2; next roadmap item enters build. |
| G4. Go-live | Observability live and content-blind verified; budgets and alerts set; approvers and backups named; baseline metrics captured for the comparison. | Steady-state operation begins. |
| G5. Value review | Maturity benchmarks measured against baseline; adoption and gate metrics reviewed; overlay and roadmap refreshed. | Next-wave roadmap approved; promotion candidates enter the knowledge loop. |
Gate records live with the engagement; anything a gate defers is written to the Decision Register with an activation trigger, never carried silently.