SDLC blueprint

Handbook

Planning flow — vision to daily Sparks

This document describes the complete pipeline from a product vision through business drivers, Product Sparks, Forge iterations, and down to daily Charge execution.

Planning flow — vision to daily Sparks

This document describes the complete pipeline from a product vision through business drivers, Product Sparks, Forge iterations, and down to daily Charge execution.

The pipeline

flowchart TD subgraph pdlc ["PDLC (product strategy)"] V[Vision] --> BD[Business Drivers] BD --> PS[Product Sparks] end subgraph forge ["Forge (delivery)"] PS --> FI[Forge Iterations] FI --> ORE[Ore intake] ORE --> ING[Ingot refinement] ING --> SPK[Spark decomposition] SPK --> CHG[Daily Charge] end subgraph release ["Release"] CHG --> REV[Review] REV --> AG[Assay Gate] AG --> REL[Release] end REL -->|"learning"| ORE

Level 1: Business Drivers → Product Sparks

Business drivers come from PDLC P1–P3 (problem discovery, solution validation, strategy). Each driver is decomposed into Product Sparks — potentially shippable product iterations.

Approach Product Spark type Duration Evidence focus
PoC Hypothesis validation 1–4 weeks Learning: did we answer the key question?
MVP Core value delivery 4–12 weeks Adoption: do users get value from the minimum feature set?
Phased Incremental capability Per phase (weeks–months) Completeness: is this phase releasable?

Decision: Which approach to use is a Product hat decision, informed by Versona challenge (BA for requirements clarity, Architecture for feasibility, PM for constraints).

Level 2: Product Sparks → Forge Iterations

Each Product Spark is delivered through one or more Forge iterations (1–2 week cycles). The iteration boundary is where scope is confirmed and evidence is assessed.

Product Spark stage Iterations typical Planning emphasis
PoC 1–2 Discover and verify Sparks dominate
MVP 3–6 Build and verify Sparks dominate; Assay Gate per iteration
Phase Variable All phase types balanced; release Sparks at end

Level 3: Forge Iterations → Ore → Ingots → Sparks → Charge

Within each iteration:

  1. Ore intake — continuous; captures new ideas, defects, and learnings.
  2. Refinement — selected Ore becomes Ingots with acceptance criteria.
  3. Planning — Ingots decomposed into phase-tagged Sparks; iteration scope locked.
  4. Daily execution — Sparks pulled into the Charge; hat-switching; Versona challenges.
  5. Review — evidence assessed.
  6. Assay Gate — release decision.
  7. Retro — learning feeds new Ore.

Mapping to WBS

Forge concept WBS equivalent ID example
Product Spark Milestone M1
Ingot Epic or Story M1E1 or M1E1S1
Spark Task M1E1S1T1
Forge iteration Sprint / time window F1, F2

Forge does not impose a new ID scheme. Use your project's existing WBS conventions.

Planning ceremony integration

Planning level Who leads Ceremony
Business drivers → Product Sparks Product hat Outside iteration; strategic planning
Product Spark → iteration scope Product + Engineering hats Iteration planning (start of each cycle)
Iteration → Ore → Ingots Product hat + Versonas Refinement sessions
Ingots → Sparks Engineering hat Planning ceremony
Sparks → Charge Engineering hat Daily sync

References

Canonical source

Edit https://github.com/autowww/blueprints/blob/main/sdlc/methodologies/forge/planning/PLANNING-FLOW.md first; regenerate with docs/build-handbook.py.