Replace placeholder with actual NORTH_STAR strategic document

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# Dev Centre North Star Spec
This spec defines how the North Star should appear inside Dev Centre so Brendan sees launch readiness, not just generic module completion.
## Goal
When Brendan opens Dev Centre, the first screen should answer:
1. Can we onboard the first paying SaaS customer?
2. What is blocking that?
3. Which module needs the next smallest safe action?
## Recommended Layout
### Top Band: North Star
- 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.
### Launch Checklist
Checklist groups:
- Security and access
- Tenant provisioning
- Auth/login
- Compliance/PDF
- Core workflow
- Xero/accounting
- Onboarding assets
- Testing
### Module Readiness Table
Columns:
- Module
- Stage classification
- Build status
- Data status
- SaaS safety
- Test status
- Blocker
- Owner
- Next action
### Blockers Panel
Show only launch blockers:
- login bounce
- PDF compliance defaults
- Xero scopes/setup
- tenant isolation tests
- SaaS Admin deploy
- VPS credential/security items
### First Customer Progress
Fields:
- 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
Current Dev Centre tables can support some of this:
- `dev_log_items`
- `dev_module_status`
- `dev_revisions`
- `dev_improvements`
- `dev_technical_debt`
Additional fields or derived config needed:
- 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
## Completion Scoring Logic
Readiness should not equal build completion.
Suggested formula:
```
stage_1_readiness =
25% build_complete +
25% data_source_correct +
25% saas_safe +
25% tested_in_launch_flow
```
Launch blockers should cap the score:
- 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
## Module Readiness Categories
| 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
Dev Centre should show pass/fail for:
- 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
## What Brendan Should See First
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.
Then show one button or command:
> Next best action: verify login on staging or approve AI to deploy SaaS Admin and PDF defaults.
## Readiness Verdict
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.
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# 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.*