How to Know You’re Ready to Use the Playbook
At this point, most people hesitate for the wrong reason.
They assume they need to understand everything before they begin.
They do not.
This section exists to give you a clear signal: you are ready - and to explain what “ready” actually means.
What Being “Ready” Does Not Mean
You are not expected to:
- memorise the stages
- understand every artifact
- agree with every constraint immediately
- run the system perfectly the first time
If you wait for mastery, you will never start.
What Being “Ready” Actually Means
You are ready to use the Playbook if you understand three things:
- What kind of thinking belongs in each stage
- Why the stages are ordered
- When to stop and go backward instead of pushing forward
Everything else can be learned by doing.
The Minimum Mental Checklist
Before opening the Playbook, ask yourself:
- Am I willing to slow down early to avoid rework later?
- Am I willing to make decisions explicit instead of implied?
- Am I willing to name uncertainty instead of hiding it?
- Am I willing to stop or revise if clarity does not exist?
If the honest answer to these is “yes,” you are ready.
What the Playbook Will Do for You
Once you begin using the Playbook, it will:
- tell you what to do next
- tell you what artifact to produce
- tell you when a decision is required
- keep the work moving in the correct order
You do not need to invent the process.
You need to follow it with discipline.
How to Use the Other Sections
As you work through the Playbook:
- Use Quick Reference when you forget terminology or structure
- Return to Deep Dive when disagreements arise or something feels wrong
- Ignore both when things are flowing smoothly
These sections exist to support the work, not slow it down.
What “Doing It Wrong” Looks Like
You are probably misusing the Playbook if:
- you skip steps because they feel obvious
- you treat artifacts as paperwork
- you move forward without a clear decision
- you argue about implementation details early
These are signals to pause - not push harder.
Normalising Imperfect Runs
Your first run will not be clean.
You will:
- revisit earlier stages
- rewrite artifacts
- discover missing information
- feel like you are going in circles
That is not failure.
That is the system making uncertainty visible.
The Confidence You Should Have
The confidence you should have now is not:
“I know exactly what to do.”
It is:
“I know how to recognise when I don’t know enough yet.”
That is sufficient.
One Last Reminder
Feedback Loops does not reward cleverness.
It rewards honesty, discipline, and restraint.
If you bring those, the Playbook will do the rest.
When you are ready, continue to Putting It All Together.