neural-nexus-claude-project/project-config/stage-transition-templates.md

Stage Transition Templates

Overview

These templates help you transition smoothly between the four development stages: Exploration → Prototype → Development → Production. Each transition requires careful assessment and knowledge consolidation.

Template 1: Exploration → Prototype Transition

Readiness Assessment

Stage transition readiness: Exploration → Prototype

## 🎯 EXPLORATION COMPLETION CHECKLIST
**Concept Validation (Must Complete All):**
- [ ] Core game mechanic proven feasible
- [ ] Technology stack tested and confirmed
- [ ] User need validated through research/testing
- [ ] Performance targets achievable with chosen approach
- [ ] Key technical risks identified and mitigated

**Research Documentation:**
- [ ] Technology comparison documented
- [ ] Architecture decisions recorded with rationale
- [ ] Performance benchmarks established
- [ ] User research findings captured
- [ ] Competitive analysis completed

## 📊 TRANSITION READINESS SCORE: ___/10

**Missing Elements (if score <8):**
- [ ] Item 1: [What needs completion]
- [ ] Item 2: [What needs completion]

## 🚀 PROTOTYPE STAGE PREPARATION
**Updated Project Description:**
```markdown
**STAGE:** Prototype Development
**VALIDATED CONCEPT:** [Proven concept from exploration]

**EXPLORATION FINDINGS:**
- ✓ [Key technical validation]
- ✓ [User need confirmation]
- ✓ [Performance feasibility]

**PROTOTYPE SCOPE:**
- **Core Feature:** [Single most important feature to prove]
- **Success Metric:** [Measurable goal for prototype]
- **Non-Goals:** [What we're deliberately NOT building]

**TECHNOLOGY STACK:**
- **Primary:** [Main technologies with rationale]
- **Architecture:** [High-level approach]
- **Performance Target:** [Specific benchmarks]

Updated Project Instructions:

DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Prototype Development
PROJECT FOCUS: Building proof-of-concept with core functionality

**PROTOTYPE PRIORITIES:**
- Prioritize working functionality over code perfection
- Use established patterns from exploration phase
- Focus on proving core user-facing features
- Document shortcuts taken for future cleanup

🧠 KNOWLEDGE CONSOLIDATION

Archive from Exploration:

• Move research documents to archive/exploration/
• Preserve decision rationale for future reference
• Extract patterns for reuse in future projects

Carry Forward to Prototype:

• Core architectural decisions
• Performance benchmarks and targets
• Key learnings about user needs
• Technology constraints and capabilities

## Template 2: Prototype → Development Transition

### Readiness Assessment

Stage transition readiness: Prototype → Development

🎯 PROTOTYPE COMPLETION CHECKLIST

Core Functionality (Must Complete All):

• Primary feature working as intended
• User interface proves usability
• Performance targets achieved in testing
• Technology stack handles requirements
• Architecture scales to full feature set

Validation Documentation:

• User testing completed with positive results
• Performance benchmarks documented
• Architecture stress-tested with realistic data
• Code quality assessment completed
• Technical debt inventory created

📊 TRANSITION READINESS SCORE: ___/10

Prototype Lessons Learned:

• What Worked: [Successful patterns to continue]
• What Didn't: [Approaches to avoid in development]
• Surprises: [Unexpected discoveries or challenges]

🏗️ DEVELOPMENT STAGE PREPARATION

Updated Project Description:

**STAGE:** Active Development
**PROVEN PROTOTYPE:** [What the prototype successfully demonstrated]

**VALIDATED ARCHITECTURE:**
- **Frontend:** [Confirmed approach and patterns]
- **Backend:** [If applicable - confirmed stack]
- **Performance:** [Achieved benchmarks]

**DEVELOPMENT SCOPE:**
- **Feature Set:** [Complete list of planned features]
- **Quality Standards:** [Code quality, testing, documentation requirements]
- **Timeline:** [Estimated completion timeframe]

**SUCCESS CRITERIA:**
- All features implemented and tested
- Production-ready code quality
- Comprehensive documentation
- Deployment pipeline established

Updated Project Instructions:

DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Active Development
PROJECT FOCUS: Building production-quality features and architecture

**PRODUCTION QUALITY STANDARDS:**
- Follow established architectural patterns strictly
- Implement comprehensive error handling and validation
- Write maintainable, well-documented code
- Consider security implications for all features
- Optimize for performance and scalability

🔄 PROTOTYPE TO DEVELOPMENT HANDOFF

Code Quality Upgrade:

• Refactor prototype shortcuts
• Implement proper error handling
• Add comprehensive commenting
• Establish testing framework
• Set up linting and formatting

Architecture Refinement:

• Finalize component structure
• Establish coding standards
• Define API contracts
• Plan database schema (if applicable)
• Design deployment architecture

## Template 3: Development → Production Transition

### Readiness Assessment

Stage transition readiness: Development → Production

🎯 DEVELOPMENT COMPLETION CHECKLIST

Feature Completion (Must Complete All):

• All planned features implemented
• Comprehensive testing completed (unit, integration, E2E)
• User acceptance testing passed
• Performance optimization completed
• Security audit completed

Production Readiness:

• Deployment pipeline established and tested
• Monitoring and analytics implemented
• Error tracking and logging configured
• Backup and recovery procedures tested
• Documentation complete and current

Quality Assurance:

• Code review process completed
• Load testing passed
• Cross-platform compatibility verified
• Accessibility requirements met
• Legal and compliance requirements satisfied

📊 TRANSITION READINESS SCORE: ___/10

Pre-Launch Checklist:

• Domain and hosting configured
• SSL certificates installed
• CDN and caching configured
• Database optimization completed
• Backup systems verified

🚀 PRODUCTION STAGE PREPARATION

Updated Project Description:

**STAGE:** Production & Maintenance
**DEPLOYMENT STATUS:** [Live URL and current status]

**PRODUCTION METRICS:**
- **Users:** [Current active user count]
- **Performance:** [Key metrics and targets]
- **Uptime:** [Target and monitoring setup]

**MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE:**
- **Daily:** [Monitoring and health checks]
- **Weekly:** [Performance review and optimization]
- **Monthly:** [Feature planning and user feedback review]

**ENHANCEMENT PIPELINE:**
- **Priority 1:** [Next features based on user feedback]
- **Priority 2:** [Performance and scaling improvements]
- **Priority 3:** [Long-term strategic enhancements]

Updated Project Instructions:

DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Production & Maintenance
PROJECT FOCUS: Maintaining live application and planning enhancements

**PRODUCTION MAINTENANCE:**
- Prioritize stability and backward compatibility
- Consider impact on existing users for all changes
- Implement gradual rollouts for significant changes
- Maintain comprehensive monitoring and logging
- Plan for rollback scenarios on all deployments

🎯 PRODUCTION LAUNCH PREPARATION

Launch Strategy:

• Soft launch with limited users
• Monitor system performance under real load
• Gather initial user feedback
• Address any critical issues
• Plan full public launch

Post-Launch Monitoring:

• Set up automated alerts for critical issues
• Establish user feedback collection channels
• Plan regular performance reviews
• Schedule security audits
• Define success metrics and tracking

## Template 4: Production → Next Project Transition

### Knowledge Extraction

Project completion and knowledge extraction

📚 PROJECT RETROSPECTIVE

Overall Success Assessment:

• Goals Achieved: [Original objectives met]
• User Impact: [Actual user adoption and satisfaction]
• Technical Success: [Performance and reliability metrics]
• Business Success: [Revenue, growth, or other business metrics]

Key Learnings:

• Technical: [Architecture patterns, technology choices, performance optimization]
• Process: [Development workflow, team collaboration, project management]
• User Experience: [Interface design, user behavior, feedback patterns]

🔄 REUSABLE PATTERNS

Extract for Future Projects:

• Successful architectural patterns
• Effective development workflows
• User research methodologies
• Testing and quality assurance processes
• Deployment and operations procedures

Template Creation:

• Create project template from successful patterns
• Document decision frameworks
• Package reusable code components
• Create process documentation templates

🎯 NEXT PROJECT PREPARATION

Apply Learnings:

• Use successful patterns as starting point
• Avoid repeated mistakes
• Leverage proven technology choices
• Apply refined development processes

Knowledge Transfer:

• Archive complete project documentation
• Create summary for stakeholders
• Prepare handoff documentation if needed
• Update personal/team knowledge base

## Usage Guidelines

### When to Use These Templates
- **Monthly reviews** - Assess readiness for transition
- **Milestone completion** - Formal stage evaluation
- **Project planning** - Understand what each stage requires
- **Team handoffs** - Ensure complete knowledge transfer

### Customization Tips
- Adapt checklists to your specific project type
- Add domain-specific requirements
- Include team-specific processes
- Adjust timeline expectations based on project scope

### Success Metrics
- **Smooth transitions** - No lost context or momentum
- **Quality maintenance** - Each stage builds on previous properly
- **Knowledge retention** - Decisions and learnings preserved
- **Stakeholder confidence** - Clear progress and communication

Remember: Stage transitions are investment opportunities. Spend the time to consolidate knowledge properly, and future stages will be much more efficient.