Handoffs
A handoff is only real when the receiving side has the artifact it needs to act. “I told them” is not a handoff. A written problem statement, a definition doc, a PR link, an end-of-day summary: those are. If the next person has to ask a follow-up question before they can start, the handoff wasn’t complete.
This page maps every recurring handoff at Systeric: what moves, from whom to whom, in what form, and what gate it has to clear first. Follow the links for the mechanics of each one.
The map#
| Handoff | From → To | The artifact | Gate / sign-off | Where it’s defined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roadmap → Discover | PM (planning) → PM (discovery) | A metric goal and a narrative bet | Fits the half’s capacity budget | Half Strategy |
| Discover → Define | PM → PM, PD, PE | A solution-free problem statement, validated against data | Leadership review | Discover |
| Define → Build | PM, PD, PE → PE | The definition doc, plus size, release plan, and release notes draft | PE green-light (implementable, nothing missing), then leadership probes the solution | Define |
| Build → Launch | PE → PM | A working feature, budget tracked, plus the release notes | Demo against the definition at each milestone | Build, Launch |
| Launch → Learn | PM → PM, PD, PE | Shipped and announced, with adoption watched | Launch signature (stakeholders notified, notes finalized, leadership approved) | Launch, Learn |
| Learn → Roadmap | PM, PD, PE → PM (next planning cycle) | Learnings and new problems | Metric result complete | Learn |
| Cross-functional at launch | PM → marketing, sales, ops | A heads-up before ship, not a notification after | Every affected stakeholder informed before the release goes out | Launch |
| Timezone end-of-day | Whoever is ending their day → whoever picks up next | A written summary: what’s in progress, blocked, and pending | None: it’s the default, not an escalation | The Team |
| Onboarding | Onboarding buddy → apprentice (independent); apprentice → next rung | Day-90 and day-180 milestone calls, evidenced in the 1:1 log | Never a surprise: named continuously before the checkpoint | PE Apprenticeship, PM Apprenticeship |
| Code handoff | Author → reviewer | The PR, with a one-sentence ask | Response within the same working day | How We Ship |
Why this matters#
Every stage of How We Build ends with something specific crossing to the next owner: a problem statement, a definition doc, a shipped feature, a learning. When that artifact is missing or incomplete, the receiving side either stalls or guesses, and guessing is how a sharp Discover turns into a fuzzy Build. The gates in the table above exist to catch that before it happens, not to slow the handoff down.
Related: Cadence, The DRI, Communication