Forge — ceremonies & events (prescriptive)

Each Forge ceremony below lists inputs, outputs, participants, timebox, agenda, and Forge-specific mechanics. Forge keeps standard ceremony names and adds precision inside them.

Default iteration length: 1 week (configurable to 2 weeks for exploratory work).

0. Ongoing — Ore intake

Intent: Capture new ideas, requests, issues, and opportunities as Ore before they enter the commitment pipeline.

Prescriptive rule: Do not refine or commit Ore during intake. Capture enough for triage; avoid detailed commitments.

1. Refinement (Ore → Ingot)

Intent: C1 (Align) + C2 (Plan the slice) — shape selected Ore into Ingots.

Agenda:

1. Product hat presents top Ore items (5–10 min).
2. Clarify problem, value, and constraints; Engineering hat assesses feasibility (15–20 min).
3. Invoke Versonas on high-risk or high-value items — time-boxed challenge (10–15 min).
4. Decide: promote to Ingot, merge, Bank, or reject. Document decisions in Ember Log (5–10 min).

Definition of Ready (Ingot):

• Problem and value statement clear.
• Acceptance criteria testable.
• Key constraints and dependencies identified.
• Estimated effort range (fits iteration horizon).
• Phase affinity identified (discover/specify/design/build/verify/release).

2. Planning (Ingot → Sparks)

Intent: C1 + C2 — decompose Ingots into Sparks and scope the iteration.

Agenda:

1. Product hat proposes iteration focus and highest-value Ingots (10 min).
2. Engineering hat decomposes Ingots into Sparks (30–45 min).
3. Sequence Sparks by risk reduction and learning value (15 min).
4. Confirm scope fits capacity; intentionally leave margin for interruption (10 min).
5. Identify Versona challenges needed before key Sparks begin (5 min).

Spark quality check:

• One clear intent.
• One primary expected outcome.
• One practical acceptance route.
• Limited dependency surface.
• Completable in one focused session (~1–4 hours).
• Phase prefix assigned.

3. Daily sync (Charge confirmation)

Intent: C3 — execute and unblock; confirm today's Charge.

Agenda:

1. Review yesterday's Charge: what completed, what carries forward (3 min).
2. Confirm today's Charge: which Sparks are active (3 min).
3. Surface blockers and Banking decisions (3 min).
4. Declare hat for the day's primary focus (1 min).
5. Identify any Versona challenges needed (2 min).

Prescriptive rule: The Charge should be intentionally smaller than theoretical capacity, leaving room for interruption, rework, and learning.

4. Review (evidence assessment)

Intent: C4 (Inspect) + C6 (Assure) — inspect what was achieved and assess evidence quality.

Agenda:

1. Engineering hat demonstrates working increment (30 min).
2. Product hat assesses against Ingot acceptance criteria (15 min).
3. Versona challenge: discipline-specific review of increment quality (15 min).
4. Governance hat reviews evidence against Assay Gate criteria (10 min).
5. Decide: ready for Assay Gate, needs more evidence, or scope adjustment (10 min).

5. Assay Gate (release readiness)

Intent: C6 — evidence-based release decision. Separate from Review to keep the question strict: is this releasable?

Evidence types (configured per work type):

• Tests passed (unit, integration, E2E as applicable).
• Acceptance criteria met and documented.
• Risk checks completed (security, compliance Versona if applicable).
• Performance / quality thresholds met.
• Stakeholder validation completed (for user-facing changes).
• Rollback or support readiness confirmed.

Prescriptive rule: Work that fails the Assay Gate is not failure — it is simply not yet releasable. Adjust scope or gather more evidence; do not lower evidence standards under schedule pressure.

6. Retro (learning → new Ore)

Intent: C5 — reflect and improve the system of work.

Agenda:

1. Review metrics: Spark throughput, Charge completion rate, Assay Gate results (10 min).
2. Ember Log review: which decisions worked, which assumptions were wrong (10 min).
3. Versona effectiveness: which challenges added value, which created noise (10 min).
4. Generate insights: patterns, systemic issues, process friction (15 min).
5. Commit to 1–3 experiments with owners and due dates (10 min).
6. Feed learnings back as new Ore where applicable (5 min).

7. Quick reference — I/O summary

8. Links

• Process maps & lifecycle · Foundation connection · Ceremony fork