The ten gates
The journey runs through ten gates. The early ones point the product in a direction; the later ones turn that direction into something buildable. Every gate reads the gates above it, so a change up top ripples down: anything downstream that relied on what you changed gets flagged for another look.
Direction
01 · Project Brief02 · Features & Stories
Shape
03 · Tech Stack04 · UX Design05 · Database Schema
Pressure-test
06 · Key Risks07 · Design System08 · Downstream Review
Order
09 · Dependencies & Sequence10 · Design Screens
Read across the flow and the logic falls out. You can’t decide a data model before you know the features, or a build order before you know the dependencies. That’s why the sequence is enforced: a gate stays locked until the one before it is committed, and you can’t commit a gate that’s still incomplete.
| # | Gate | Produces |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Project Brief | project-brief.md |
| 02 | Features, Functionalities & Stories | features-functionalities-stories.csv |
| 03 | Tech Stack | tech-stack.md |
| 04 | UX Design | ux-design.md |
| 05 | Database Schema | database-schema.md |
| 06 | Key Risks | key-risks.md |
| 07 | Design System | design.md |
| 08 | Downstream Review | downstream-review.md (reconciles 01–07) |
| 09 | Dependencies & Sequence | dependencies-sequence.md |
| 10 | Design Screens (optional) | design-assets.md |
Start at Gate 01: Project Brief.