# Critical Decisions Checklist

## Phase 0: Foundation (NOW — Week 4)

This week's decisions lock in everything needed for 12 weeks of confident execution.

### 🔴 DECISION 1: Brick's Technical Specialty
**Why**: Templates his first articles, determines his voice in depth

**Status**: ⏳ **PENDING**

**Options**:
- Backend (servers, databases, APIs)
- Frontend (React, Vue, CSS, UX)
- DevOps (deployment, infrastructure, containerization)
- Full-stack (end-to-end development)
- Architecture (system design, scalability)
- Database design (data modeling, optimization)

**Action**: Pick one, finalizes his profile and content roadmap

**Deadline**: This week

---

### 🔴 DECISION 2: Initial Persona Roster (Personas 2–10)
**Why**: Determines content calendar, arc participants, expertise mix

**Status**: ⏳ **PENDING**

**What we need**:
- 5–9 persona sketches (name, expertise, rough voice idea)
- Real people you know, or recruit during Phase 1?
- Mix of expertise (ensure complementary skills)

**Example structure**:
- Persona name
- Technical specialty
- Voice idea ("rough but relatable," "professional educator," "comedy-focused")
- Platform presence (YouTube? Blog? GitHub?)

**Deadline**: End of Week 1

---

### 🔴 DECISION 3: First Narrative Arc
**Why**: Drives all content scheduling and engagement

**Status**: ⏳ **PENDING**

**Options**:
- **Conflict arc**: Persona A (PHP expert) vs. Persona B (Node expert) — which is better?
- **Learning journey arc**: New persona builds in public, learns on camera
- **Collaboration arc**: Multiple personas team up to build something
- **Drama arc**: Personal storyline (career change, comeback story)
- **Other custom arc**: Your idea!

**What's needed**:
- Arc title
- Main characters involved
- 3–6 month timeline
- Key beats (monthly story moments)
- Content tie-ins (which articles support this story)
- Engagement hooks (why will users care?)

**Deadline**: End of Week 2

---

### 🔴 DECISION 4: Revenue Model
**Why**: Dev team needs this to build payment processing

**Status**: ⏳ **PENDING**

**Decisions needed**:
- **Membership tiers**: Free / $5/mo / $15/mo? What's included?
- **Courses**: One-time purchase? Pricing ($29–$99)?
- **Persona revenue share**: 70/30 split? 80/20? What cuts to TekDek?
- **Sponsorships**: Per-article? Seasonal? Partner discounts?
- **Challenge rewards**: Premium users only? Paid challenges?

**Deadline**: End of Week 3

---

### 🔴 DECISION 5: Launch Target Date
**Why**: Everything else is scheduled around this

**Status**: ⏳ **PENDING**

**Options**:
- Q3 2026 (July–September)
- Q4 2026 (October–December)
- Early 2027 (January–March)
- Flexible/TBD

**Why it matters**: Determines sprint length, dev team roadmap, Phase 1/2/3 timing

**Deadline**: End of Week 4

---

## Phase 1: Foundational Development (Week 5–12)

### ⏸️ CHECKPOINT 6: Voice Consistency Validation (Week 8)
**Decision**: Does Brick's voice actually work across platforms?

**Why**: If not, we pivot before scaling to other personas

**Validation criteria**:
- [ ] 2–3 Brick articles published (blog, tutorial, opinion)
- [ ] Consistent voice across platforms (blog, social media, code comments)
- [ ] Reader feedback positive (comments, shares, engagement)
- [ ] Technical accuracy verified

**If voice works**: Proceed with personas 2–3, confident in scaling

**If voice fails**: Adjust Brick profile, try different approach

---

### ⏸️ CHECKPOINT 7: Arc 1 Engagement (Week 10)
**Decision**: Is the narrative arc driving user engagement?

**Why**: If not, we adjust narrative strategy before Phase 2

**Engagement metrics**:
- [ ] Views per article (target: 1K+)
- [ ] Comments per article (target: 20+)
- [ ] User retention (target: 40%+ repeat readers)
- [ ] Social shares (target: 100+ per major post)

**If arc engages**: Proceed to Phase 2 with confidence

**If arc is flat**: Try different conflict, different personas, or pivot narrative strategy

---

### ⏸️ CHECKPOINT 8: Go/No-Go for Phase 2 (Week 12)
**Decision**: Ready to launch MVP to public?

**Why**: This is the major go/no-go moment for public beta

**Success criteria**:
- ✅ 3 personas with proven voice consistency
- ✅ 8–10 quality articles published
- ✅ Arc 1 showing engagement
- ✅ Portal MVP complete and tested
- ✅ APIs operational and documented
- ✅ Content monitor tracking publications
- ✅ Curation workflow proven

**If all criteria met**: Launch Phase 2

**If criteria not met**: Extend Phase 1, address gaps

---

## Phase 2: MVP Launch (Week 13–16)

### ⏸️ CHECKPOINT 9: MVP Success Metrics (Week 16)
**Decision**: Did MVP launch meet success criteria?

**Metrics to review**:
- [ ] 500+ registered members (target)
- [ ] 100+ challenge participants
- [ ] Arc 2 engagement (comments, participation)
- [ ] Revenue conversion (50%+ to membership)
- [ ] Site stability (99.5%+ uptime)

**If metrics healthy**: Proceed to Phase 3 scale

**If metrics poor**: Reassess product-market fit, gather user feedback, potentially pivot

---

## Phase 3: Scale & Iteration (Week 17–24)

### ⏸️ CHECKPOINT 10: Vertical 2 Launch Go/No-Go (Week 21)
**Decision**: Is DIY/Fitness/Finance vertical ready to launch?

**Why**: Critical validation that replication template works

**Evaluation criteria**:
- [ ] 3–5 personas for vertical 2 onboarded
- [ ] Voice consistency across new domain
- [ ] First arc planned and ready
- [ ] Portal ready for multi-vertical support
- [ ] Marketing plan for vertical 2 launch

**If template replicates well**: Proceed with vertical 2 expansion

**If replication struggles**: Refine template, extend timeline, or select different vertical

---

## Decision Log

```
PHASE 0 (THIS WEEK)
[ ] 1. Brick's specialty — PENDING
[ ] 2. Initial persona roster (5–9) — PENDING
[ ] 3. First narrative arc — PENDING
[ ] 4. Revenue model — PENDING
[ ] 5. Launch target date — PENDING

PHASE 1
[ ] 6. Voice consistency validation — CHECKPOINT WEEK 8
[ ] 7. Arc 1 engagement — CHECKPOINT WEEK 10
[ ] 8. Go/no-go for Phase 2 — CHECKPOINT WEEK 12

PHASE 2
[ ] 9. MVP success metrics — CHECKPOINT WEEK 16

PHASE 3
[ ] 10. Vertical 2 launch readiness — CHECKPOINT WEEK 21
```

---

## How Decisions Flow

Each decision unlocks the next phase:

1. **Brick's specialty** → Determines his first content, tests voice consistency
2. **Persona roster** → Enables arc planning, content calendar drafting
3. **First arc** → Drives Phase 1 content production
4. **Revenue model** → Dev team builds payment + analytics systems
5. **Launch date** → Entire timeline cascades from this commitment

**If any decision slips, all downstream work is blocked.**

---

## Next Step

**For Glytcht**: Reply with Decisions 1–3 (Brick specialty, personas, first arc)

Once locked, ParzivalTD finalizes all profiles, narrative framework, and content calendar for Phase 1 execution.

**Then we're off to the races.**
