Replace placeholder with actual NORTH_STAR strategic document
This commit is contained in:
Brendan
+152
-111
@@ -1,153 +1,194 @@
|
||||
# Dev Centre North Star Spec
|
||||
# 🌟 NORTH STAR
|
||||
|
||||
This spec defines how the North Star should appear inside Dev Centre so Brendan sees launch readiness, not just generic module completion.
|
||||
> **One Company. One Brain. One North Star.**
|
||||
> Every decision, every feature, every research activity, every implementation
|
||||
> is evaluated against this single objective.
|
||||
|
||||
## Goal
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
When Brendan opens Dev Centre, the first screen should answer:
|
||||
## The North Star
|
||||
|
||||
1. Can we onboard the first paying SaaS customer?
|
||||
2. What is blocking that?
|
||||
3. Which module needs the next smallest safe action?
|
||||
### First paying SaaS customer onboarded and retained for 90 days.
|
||||
|
||||
## Recommended Layout
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
### Top Band: North Star
|
||||
## Current Stage
|
||||
|
||||
- Current North Star: first paying SaaS customer onboarded and retained for 90 days.
|
||||
- Stage 1 readiness score.
|
||||
- Launch status: Blocked / At Risk / Ready for first customer / In customer trial.
|
||||
- Top 3 blockers.
|
||||
- Next recommended action.
|
||||
Pre-revenue. Product is feature-complete for launch (155 tables, 159 API routes, 40+ modules, proven multi-tenant architecture with tenant provisioning tool). One user (Brendan's own shop, Cabinet HQ). The system has been built, tested on staging, and proven with real production data from Brendan's operations (~$78.4K monthly revenue).
|
||||
|
||||
### Launch Checklist
|
||||
**What has been proven:**
|
||||
- Multi-tenant architecture with shared-schema + business_id + RLS — works
|
||||
- Tenant provisioning tool — 16 verification checks pass
|
||||
- PDF compliance service (all 8 AU states) — built, not deployed to fix template defaults
|
||||
- Financial planning engine — live on Brendan's real P&L data
|
||||
- Email intake with AI parsing — operational
|
||||
- SMS notifications (Twilio) — working
|
||||
|
||||
Checklist groups:
|
||||
**What has NOT been proven:**
|
||||
- Anyone else will pay for it
|
||||
- Onboarding pipeline end-to-end (SaaS Admin built, not deployed)
|
||||
- Support model for non-Brendan users
|
||||
- Multi-tenant performance under load
|
||||
|
||||
- Security and access
|
||||
- Tenant provisioning
|
||||
- Auth/login
|
||||
- Compliance/PDF
|
||||
- Core workflow
|
||||
- Xero/accounting
|
||||
- Onboarding assets
|
||||
- Testing
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
### Module Readiness Table
|
||||
## Why It Matters
|
||||
|
||||
Columns:
|
||||
Without a paying customer, BoundHQ is Brendan's custom JMS — not a business. A first customer:
|
||||
1. Validates the product-market fit hypothesis
|
||||
2. Opens revenue generation ($39-199/mo per business)
|
||||
3. Provides real feedback to shape the product
|
||||
4. Generates case study material for customer acquisition
|
||||
5. Proves the multi-tenant architecture works in production
|
||||
6. Validates the pricing model
|
||||
|
||||
- Module
|
||||
- Stage classification
|
||||
- Build status
|
||||
- Data status
|
||||
- SaaS safety
|
||||
- Test status
|
||||
- Blocker
|
||||
- Owner
|
||||
- Next action
|
||||
BoundHQ targets 2,000+ AU cabinet and joinery shops. Customer #1 proves the model works.
|
||||
|
||||
### Blockers Panel
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Show only launch blockers:
|
||||
## Current Bottleneck
|
||||
|
||||
- login bounce
|
||||
- PDF compliance defaults
|
||||
- Xero scopes/setup
|
||||
- tenant isolation tests
|
||||
- SaaS Admin deploy
|
||||
- VPS credential/security items
|
||||
**All three P0 blockers require Brendan action — not AI action.**
|
||||
|
||||
### First Customer Progress
|
||||
| Blocker | Age | Impact |
|
||||
|---------|-----|--------|
|
||||
| Login bounce (SameSite=Lax on auth cookie) — needs Brendan to test on staging | 14 days | Brendan cannot test — all dev slower |
|
||||
| Xero scopes for Financial Stages 1-4 — Brendan enables in Developer Console | 11 days | Blocks SaaS Premium tier revenue |
|
||||
| VPS drift — requires VPS access for git operations | 9 days | 13 modified files at risk |
|
||||
|
||||
Fields:
|
||||
The AI has completed or is blocked on every task that doesn't need Brendan. Progress depends on Brendan clearing these three blockers.
|
||||
|
||||
- Customer identified?
|
||||
- Tenant provisioned?
|
||||
- Owner login verified?
|
||||
- First quote created?
|
||||
- First invoice created?
|
||||
- Xero connected/manual fallback?
|
||||
- 7-day/30-day/90-day check-in status?
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Data Needed
|
||||
## Success Metrics
|
||||
|
||||
Current Dev Centre tables can support some of this:
|
||||
| Metric | Target | Current | Owner |
|
||||
|--------|--------|---------|-------|
|
||||
| SaaS Admin deployed | Done | Not deployed | AI (unblocked) |
|
||||
| Login bounce fixed | Verified on staging | Not tested | Brendan |
|
||||
| VPS .env permissions set | chmod 600 | World-readable | AI (needs VPS access) |
|
||||
| Git parity sweep complete | All changes committed | 13+4 files at risk | AI (needs VPS access) |
|
||||
| PDF deposit clause compliant | All 8 states | 4 states illegal | AI (done, needs deploy) |
|
||||
| VPS monitoring active | UptimeRobot + rate-limit | Flying blind | AI (unblocked) |
|
||||
| First paying customer | $39+/mo | $0 SaaS revenue | Brendan |
|
||||
| Customer retained at 90 days | Active + paying | N/A | Joint |
|
||||
|
||||
- `dev_log_items`
|
||||
- `dev_module_status`
|
||||
- `dev_revisions`
|
||||
- `dev_improvements`
|
||||
- `dev_technical_debt`
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Additional fields or derived config needed:
|
||||
## Current Priorities
|
||||
|
||||
- stage classification: Stage 1, Stage 1.5, Stage 2, Later
|
||||
- launch blocker boolean
|
||||
- owner: Brendan / AI / customer / external
|
||||
- test status: not run, failing, passing, blocked
|
||||
- route promotion status from `route-module-map.json`
|
||||
- North Star checklist status
|
||||
### Unblock the North Star
|
||||
|
||||
## Completion Scoring Logic
|
||||
1. **Brendan:** Test login fix on staging (~5 min)
|
||||
2. **Brendan:** Enable Xero scopes in Developer Console (~2 min)
|
||||
3. **AI:** Deploy SaaS Admin module (2 hours — ready to go)
|
||||
4. **AI:** VPS security sweep — .env permissions, git parity, monitoring (3 hours — needs VPS access)
|
||||
5. **AI:** Deploy PDF compliance template defaults (30 min)
|
||||
6. **Brendan:** Identify and approach first paying customer
|
||||
|
||||
Readiness should not equal build completion.
|
||||
### Protect What Exists
|
||||
|
||||
Suggested formula:
|
||||
7. **VPS backup verification** — confirm backups are restorable (30 min)
|
||||
8. **Login bounce** — deploy fix, Brendan verifies (20 min)
|
||||
9. **Credential rotation** — rotate all exposed secrets (1 hour)
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
stage_1_readiness =
|
||||
25% build_complete +
|
||||
25% data_source_correct +
|
||||
25% saas_safe +
|
||||
25% tested_in_launch_flow
|
||||
```
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Launch blockers should cap the score:
|
||||
## Things We Are NOT Doing
|
||||
|
||||
- login broken: cap Auth and overall launch at 50%
|
||||
- legal PDF issue: cap Quotes/PDF/overall launch at 70%
|
||||
- tenant isolation untested: cap overall launch at 75%
|
||||
- SaaS Admin not deployed: cap onboarding at 60%
|
||||
- Xero blocked: cap Xero at 50%, but allow manual-accounting exception if Brendan approves
|
||||
The following are explicitly deprioritised. They are not contributing to the North Star:
|
||||
|
||||
## Module Readiness Categories
|
||||
- ❌ **New feature development** — 155 tables, 40+ modules. Feature-complete for launch. New features delay customer #1.
|
||||
- ❌ **Mozaik CNC expansion** — Only one potential user (Brendan's shop). Not revenue-critical.
|
||||
- ❌ **AI memory system expansion** — v1 complete (37 files, 14 directories). Use it, don't expand it.
|
||||
- ❌ **Content marketing, social media, SEO** — Zero customers to market to.
|
||||
- ❌ **Mobile apps** — Desktop-first, mobile-compatible. Native apps are not the North Star.
|
||||
- ❌ **NZ/UK expansion** — Australia first. 2,000+ AU shops unserved.
|
||||
- ❌ **Enterprise tier features** — Target is 2-20 staff shops, not enterprises.
|
||||
- ❌ **AI model experimentation** — Current stack works. New models don't move the North Star.
|
||||
- ❌ **Documentation perfection** — "Good enough" documentation ships. Perfect documentation doesn't.
|
||||
|
||||
| Category | Meaning |
|
||||
|---|---|
|
||||
| Stage 1 - Must Work | Required for first paying customer |
|
||||
| Stage 1.5 - Strongly Recommended | Can be manual/assisted at launch |
|
||||
| Stage 2 | Useful after first customer validates SaaS |
|
||||
| Later / Parked | Do not spend launch time |
|
||||
| Internal Only | Dev/admin tools not sold as product modules |
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Testing Checklist
|
||||
## Founder Focus
|
||||
|
||||
Dev Centre should show pass/fail for:
|
||||
Brendan's highest-leverage activities for the North Star:
|
||||
|
||||
- login
|
||||
- tenant creation
|
||||
- customer creation
|
||||
- quote creation
|
||||
- compliant PDF generation
|
||||
- quote acceptance
|
||||
- project/job creation
|
||||
- invoice creation
|
||||
- Xero push or manual fallback
|
||||
- cross-tenant data isolation
|
||||
- Tradify import dry run
|
||||
- Email Intake dry run
|
||||
1. **Test login fix on staging** — unblocks all feature verification (5 min)
|
||||
2. **Enable Xero scopes** — unblocks Premium tier revenue (2 min)
|
||||
3. **Grant VPS access for security sweep** — unblocks 3 P0 security items
|
||||
4. **Identify first paying customer** — who is the ideal first customer?
|
||||
5. **Review first customer onboarding** — walk through SaaS Admin flow
|
||||
6. **Decide on PDF compliance priority** — legal risk vs. deploy delay
|
||||
7. **Weekly North Star review** — 2-minute priority check
|
||||
|
||||
## What Brendan Should See First
|
||||
**Brendan's role:** Think, decide, validate, sell. AI does everything else.
|
||||
|
||||
Recommended first line:
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
> Stage 1 SaaS launch is blocked by: login verification, PDF compliance defaults, SaaS Admin deploy, tenant isolation tests, and Xero setup decision.
|
||||
## AI Focus
|
||||
|
||||
Then show one button or command:
|
||||
AI's highest-leverage activities for the North Star:
|
||||
|
||||
> Next best action: verify login on staging or approve AI to deploy SaaS Admin and PDF defaults.
|
||||
1. **Deploy SaaS Admin module** — enables first customer onboarding
|
||||
2. **Fix VPS .env permissions** — secures credential exposure (needs access)
|
||||
3. **Git parity sweep** — commits all changes to Gitea (needs access)
|
||||
4. **Deploy PDF compliance defaults** — makes deposit clauses legal
|
||||
5. **Set up VPS monitoring** — UptimeRobot, rate-limiting
|
||||
6. **Deploy login bounce fix** — unblocks Brendan's testing
|
||||
7. **Close completed handbacks** — reduce noise from 21 active items
|
||||
|
||||
## Readiness Verdict
|
||||
**AI's role:** Execute, remember, inform, maintain, document. Surface problems with solutions.
|
||||
|
||||
Dev Centre should become the launch cockpit. The current module completion tab is useful history, but it is not a safe source of truth for Stage 1 launch decisions.
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Review Cycle
|
||||
|
||||
| Frequency | Review | Participants | Output |
|
||||
|-----------|--------|-------------|--------|
|
||||
| **Weekly** (Mon) | North Star progress check | AI produces report, Brendan reviews 2 min | Blockers cleared? Customer pipeline? |
|
||||
| **Monthly** | Customer health review | Brendan + AI | Revenue, churn indicators, feedback analysis |
|
||||
| **Quarterly** | North Star itself | Brendan | Is "first customer" still the right goal? |
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## AI Decision Filter
|
||||
|
||||
**Before beginning significant work, ask:**
|
||||
|
||||
> *"Does this move the North Star?"*
|
||||
|
||||
**If No:**
|
||||
- Question whether the work should be done at all
|
||||
- Explain why the work is being performed if proceeding anyway
|
||||
|
||||
**If Yes:**
|
||||
- Make the relationship to the North Star explicit
|
||||
- Prioritise above non-North-Star work
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## What Success Looks Like
|
||||
|
||||
**30 days:**
|
||||
- Login bounce fixed, Brendan testing independently
|
||||
- VPS security sweep complete (env perms, git parity, monitoring)
|
||||
- PDF compliance deployed (all 8 states legal)
|
||||
- SaaS Admin deployed, first tenant provisioned
|
||||
- First paying customer identified and approached
|
||||
|
||||
**60 days:**
|
||||
- Customer #1 onboarded and active
|
||||
- Revenue: $39-99/mo recurring
|
||||
- Feedback loop open — product shaped by real customer needs
|
||||
- Premium AI tier ($99/mo) operational
|
||||
|
||||
**90 days:**
|
||||
- Customer #1 retained (90-day active)
|
||||
- Revenue trend established
|
||||
- Acquisition channel validated
|
||||
- Case study material ready for customer #2
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
*This document is maintained by AI. Updated when the North Star changes or when significant progress shifts priorities. Never changed without Brendan approval.*
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user