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Required System Setup — Before You Begin

Read this first. Do not skip it.

If this setup is not completed before starting Stage 1, then Feedback Loops has not been used. Full stop.

This is not optional guidance, best practice, or “recommended setup”. This is gating infrastructure. The stages assume it already exists and will not repeat it.

The job of this section is simple: force a small number of critical decisions up front, so the process can actually work.

What You Are About to Do

Before touching any Stage 1 prompt or template, you will explicitly decide:

  • Where Feedback Loops artifacts live
  • Who owns each artifact
  • How decisions are recorded
  • How traceability is maintained over time

You are not choosing tools for elegance. You are choosing them for discipline and survivability.

Tool choice is flexible. Indecision is not.

Step 1 — Designate the System of Record

First, decide one system that will act as the official home for all Feedback Loops artifacts.

This system is the source of truth.

Ask yourselves:

  • Where will every PPE, PEV, PAB, POM, OE, SDD, and decision record live?
  • Where would a new team member be sent if they needed to understand the current state of a case?

Rules:

  • There must be exactly one primary system of record
  • All official artifacts live there
  • Side notes, chats, and drafts do not count

You may use any tool you like.

If it’s not in the system of record, it does not exist.

Next, decide how artifacts will be referenced:

  • Links
  • IDs
  • Document paths
  • Any consistent scheme

Pick one. Use it everywhere.

Step 2 — Assign Artifact Ownership

Every artifact requires a single, named owner.

For each artifact type, decide:

  • Who owns it
  • Who has authority to revise it
  • Who can close or invalidate it

Rules:

  • Ownership is singular, not shared
  • Collaboration is encouraged
  • Accountability is not negotiable

“Shared ownership” is how artifacts decay and decisions evaporate.

If no one owns the artifact, no one is responsible for its quality or outcome.

Step 3 — Decide How Decisions Are Recorded

Feedback Loops is a decision system. If decisions are fuzzy, the system collapses.

Before starting, decide:

  • Where stage gate decisions will be recorded
  • How they will be linked to the relevant artifact

Every gate decision must be:

  • Explicit (Advance / Revise / Stop)
  • Recorded alongside the artifact it applies to

Decisions must not live only in:

  • Chat threads
  • Meeting notes
  • Email
  • Someone’s memory

If a decision is not recorded, it did not happen.

Step 4 — Confirm Access and Visibility

Next, confirm who can actually see the artifacts.

Ask:

  • Can all relevant participants access the system of record?
  • Can decision-makers review artifacts without special permission?
  • Are artifacts trapped in private drafts or personal workspaces?

Rules:

  • Artifacts must be visible to those expected to trust them
  • Private, temporary, or ephemeral storage is not acceptable

If stakeholders cannot see the work, they cannot trust the process.

Step 5 — Establish Version Discipline

Finally, decide how changes will be handled.

You are not designing a version control system. You are enforcing intent.

Decide:

  • How updates will be made
  • How previous versions can be reviewed
  • How accidental overwrites are avoided

Rules:

  • Changes must be intentional
  • Changes must be reviewable
  • Artifacts must not be silently overwritten

You do not need Git. You do need evidence that changes were made on purpose.

If history cannot be understood, learning is lost.

Completion Check

Before starting Stage 1, confirm:

  • A system of record is designated
  • Artifact ownership is assigned
  • Decision recording is defined
  • Access is confirmed
  • Version discipline is agreed

If any of these are unclear, stop.

Fix the setup first.

Setup Checklist / Answer Sheet

This checklist must be completed once per initiative and kept in the system of record.

If this page cannot be produced on demand, the setup is incomplete.

1. System of Record

  • Primary system of record: ________
  • Artifact reference method (links / IDs / paths): ________

2. Artifact Ownership

  • Named owner responsible for artifacts: ________
  • Authority to revise / close artifacts confirmed: ☐ Yes ☐ No

3. Decision Recording

  • Location where stage gate decisions are recorded: ________
  • Decision format defined (Advance / Revise / Stop): ☐ Yes ☐ No

4. Access & Visibility

  • All relevant participants have access: ☐ Yes ☐ No
  • Decision-makers can review artifacts without barriers: ☐ Yes ☐ No

5. Version Discipline

  • Method for reviewing prior versions defined: ________
  • Silent overwrites prevented: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Setup Confirmation

By proceeding to Stage 1, the team confirms that:

  • All answers above are complete and accurate
  • This setup will be respected throughout the initiative

Setup confirmed by: _____ Date: _____

Read This Carefully

Skipping this setup does not make you agile. It makes the process invalid.

If this section is not completed, you are not “adapting Feedback Loops”. You are not using it at all.

Once this setup is done, proceed to Stage 1.

The stages will assume you did your job here.