Quick Reference: P-Cubed

Prepare → Prove → Produce

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Identify What You Have

Level	Size	Your Job
Problem	Undefined	Discovery → Define Initiative
Initiative	Weeks/Months	Decompose → Define Epics
Epic	Days/Weeks	P-Cubed → Produce Tasks
Task	1-2 Days	Execute → Ship

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The Phases

Prepare

Discovery:

• Ask questions
• Track unknowns explicitly
• Talk to people with context

Exit when: Can explain it clearly, no more surprises, questions resolved.

Surface tradeoffs:

• What does each option optimize for?
• What are we giving up?
• What's the cost to change later?

Planning:

• Break into Tasks (1-2 days each)
• Write: "This is done when ___."
• Sequence architectural work first

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Prove

Required for architectural decisions. Optional for design.

• Spike the riskiest assumption
• Validate tradeoffs in practice
• Refine the plan

Exit when: Major risks tested, approach survives scrutiny, ready to commit.

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Produce

For each Task:

1. Build: do the work
2. Test: verify against criteria
3. Ship: complete, communicate, move on

After each Task:

• What did you learn?
• Adjust remaining plan if needed

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The Checklist

Before you start:

• [ ] What level is this?
• [ ] What does done look like? (Written down)
• [ ] What's load-bearing?

Before you build:

• [ ] Tradeoffs documented
• [ ] Architectural risks spiked
• [ ] Tasks scoped to 1-2 days

Before you ship:

• [ ] Criteria met (check the definition, not your feelings)
• [ ] Communicated to stakeholders

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The Mantra

Define done before you start. Check criteria, not feelings. Ship when done means done.