Agency Phase 1 Strategy

Triggers

• strategy phase
• architecture planning
• system architecture
• brand identity
• budget planning
• sprint planning
• feature prioritization
• technical architecture
• project architecture
• design system planning
• resource allocation
• ROI planning
• backlog creation
• task breakdown
• RICE scoring
• MoSCoW classification

Instructions

Phase 1 defines what we're building, how it's structured, and what success looks like — before writing a single line of code. Every architectural decision is documented, every feature prioritized, every dollar accounted for. Duration: 5-10 days.

Pre-Conditions

Verify before starting:

1. Phase 0 Quality Gate passed (GO decision)
2. Phase 0 Handoff Package received
3. Stakeholder alignment on project scope

Step 1: Strategic Framing (Day 1-3, Parallel)

Use organization_spawn or swarm_spawn to activate in parallel:

Studio Producer — Strategic Portfolio Alignment:

• Input: Phase 0 Executive Summary + Market Analysis Report
• goal_create: Strategic Portfolio Plan with project positioning
• goal_create: Vision, objectives, and ROI targets
• goal_create: Resource allocation strategy
• goal_create: Risk/reward assessment
• goal_create: Success criteria and milestone definitions
• Timeline: 3 days.

Brand Guardian — Brand Identity System:

• Input: Phase 0 UX Research (personas, journey maps)
• goal_create: Brand Foundation (purpose, vision, mission, values, personality)
• goal_create: Visual Identity System (colors, typography, spacing as CSS variables)
• goal_create: Brand Voice and Messaging Architecture
• goal_create: Logo system specifications (if new brand)
• goal_create: Brand usage guidelines
• Timeline: 3 days.

Finance Tracker — Budget and Resource Planning:

• Input: Studio Producer strategic plan + Phase 0 Tech Stack Assessment
• goal_create: Comprehensive project budget with category breakdown
• goal_create: Resource cost projections (agents, infrastructure, tools)
• goal_create: ROI model with break-even analysis
• goal_create: Cash flow timeline
• goal_create: Financial risk assessment with contingency reserves
• Timeline: 2 days.

Step 2: Technical Architecture (Day 3-7, Parallel, after Step 1)

UX Architect — Technical Architecture + UX Foundation:

• Input: Brand Guardian visual identity + Phase 0 UX Research
• goal_create: CSS Design System (variables, tokens, scales)
• goal_create: Layout Framework (Grid/Flexbox patterns, responsive breakpoints)
• goal_create: Component Architecture (naming conventions, hierarchy)
• goal_create: Information Architecture (page flow, content hierarchy)
• goal_create: Theme System (light/dark/system toggle)
• goal_create: Accessibility Foundation (WCAG 2.1 AA baseline)
• Timeline: 4 days.

Backend Architect — System Architecture:

• Input: Phase 0 Tech Stack Assessment + Compliance Requirements
• goal_create: Architecture pattern (microservices/monolith/serverless/hybrid)
• goal_create: Database Schema Design with indexing strategy
• goal_create: API Design Specification with versioning
• goal_create: Authentication and Authorization Architecture
• goal_create: Security Architecture (defense in depth)
• goal_create: Scalability Plan (horizontal scaling strategy)
• Timeline: 4 days.

AI Engineer — ML Architecture (if applicable):

• Input: Backend Architect system architecture + Phase 0 Data Audit
• goal_create: ML System Design (model selection, data pipeline, inference strategy)
• goal_create: AI Ethics and Safety Framework
• goal_create: Model monitoring and retraining plan
• goal_create: Integration points with main application
• goal_create: Cost projections for ML infrastructure
• Condition: Only activate if project includes AI/ML features. Timeline: 3 days.

Senior Project Manager — Spec-to-Task Conversion:

• Input: ALL Phase 0 documents + Architecture specs
• goal_create: Comprehensive Task List with acceptance criteria per task
• goal_create: Work Breakdown Structure with dependencies
• goal_create: Critical path identification
• goal_create: Risk register for implementation
• Rules: Do NOT add features not in the specification. Quote exact text from requirements. Be realistic about effort estimates.
• Timeline: 3 days.

Step 3: Prioritization (Day 7-10, Sequential, after Step 2)

Sprint Prioritizer — Feature Prioritization:

• Input: Task List, System Architecture, UX Architecture, Budget, Strategic Plan
• goal_create: RICE-scored backlog (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort)
• goal_create: Sprint assignments with velocity-based estimation
• goal_create: Dependency map with critical path
• goal_create: MoSCoW classification (Must/Should/Could/Won't)
• goal_create: Release plan with milestone mapping
• Validation: Studio Producer confirms strategic alignment.
• Timeline: 2 days.

Gate Decision

Dual sign-off required: Studio Producer (strategic) + Reality Checker (technical)

• APPROVED: Proceed to Phase 2 with full Architecture Package
• REVISE: Specific items need rework (return to relevant Step)
• RESTRUCTURE: Fundamental architecture issues (restart Phase 1)

Use knowledge_write to persist the entire Architecture Package.

Deliverables

• Strategic Portfolio Plan (Studio Producer)
• Brand Identity System (Brand Guardian)
• Financial Plan with ROI Projections (Finance Tracker)
• CSS Design System + UX Architecture (UX Architect)
• System Architecture Specification (Backend Architect)
• ML System Design (AI Engineer — if applicable)
• Comprehensive Task List with acceptance criteria (Senior PM)
• Prioritized Sprint Plan with RICE scores (Sprint Prioritizer)
• Phase 1 -> Phase 2 Handoff Package

Success Metrics

• Architecture covers 100% of spec requirements
• Brand system complete (logo, colors, typography, voice)
• All technical components have implementation path
• Budget approved and within constraints
• Sprint plan is velocity-based and realistic
• Security architecture defined
• Compliance requirements integrated into architecture

Verify

• The deliverable for this phase exists as a concrete artifact (doc, ticket, board, repo) and its location is shared, not described
• Each commitment has an owner name, a due date, and a definition-of-done that someone other than the author could check
• Risks are listed with likelihood/impact and a named mitigation, not as a generic 'risks: TBD' bullet
• Dependencies on other teams/vendors/agents are explicit; an ack from each dependency is recorded or marked 'pending'
• Success criteria for the next phase are numeric or otherwise objectively testable
• A rollback / kill-switch / 'we will stop if X' criterion is written down before work starts