Refinement Phase

Why this is important

To ensure a comprehensive understanding and documentation of the scope and deliverables expected from the project/app to be developed. 

Definitions

• Refinement Phase: A dedicated phase for finalizing project scope, documentation, and deliverables, involving daily calls with the client.
• Process Flow Diagram: A structured representation of business processes managed within the app. It maps user actions, responsibilities, and system automations using lane-based roles. This ensures clarity in workflows, defining task ownership, approval steps, and automated triggers to optimize efficiency and accountability in operations.
• User Flow Diagram: A visual representation of a user’s navigation, actions, and interactions within a system. It maps out screens, workflows, and key functionalities for a specific role.
• User Role: A defined set of permissions and responsibilities assigned to a user within the app. It determines access levels, available actions, and interactions with system features, ensuring role-based control over workflows, data, and functionalities.
• Conceptual Data Model: A high-level representation of the main entities and their relationships within a system. It defines the core data structure, illustrating how different elements interact without specifying technical details.
• Data Sheet: A structured online worksheet used by Business Analysts to define key system elements, including notifications and triggers, user forms and fields, entity statuses, and a user permission matrix. It ensures clarity in app functionalities, user interactions, and role-based permissions. 
• User Permission Matrix: A structured matrix that maps all possible actions within the app to specific user roles, defining their permissions and access levels. It ensures role-based control, clarifies user capabilities, and supports security and functionality management across the system. 
• Item Flow: A visual representation of the different statuses that an item (entity) can have and the actions / triggers for the statuses changes.
• PRD (Product Requirements Document): Document that captures a complete overview on the scoped project. This is the main deliverable of the Refinement Phase. (Check PRD Template)

Procedure

1. PE Assignment: Once the sales team have closed a new project sale, Head of Ops will assign a PM and PE to the new project.

2. Refinement Calls: PM will handle Kick-Off Call with the Client and book 1st Refinement Call. Before the first call is held, PE has to analyze the high-level scope the Sales Team prepared, in order to be ready and have enough context when starting the refinement process.

   1. The Agenda for the first refinement call is:
      1. Introduce yourself and introduction to the refinement phase (Figma Refinement Presentation).
      2. Do a quick review of the scope that Sales Team has already built, and take that as the starting point to build the following asseets.
      3. The focus on the first call should be to clearly identify the "North Star" of the Client (main goal); As well as the number of user roles required for this project (Who will use it) and start mapping the Process Flow (What will happen in the app)
      4. Based on the results of each call, PE should always be very clear on the expected next calls, always being proactive in confirming the next calls. 
3. Diagrams & Assets Development: The goal for the PE should be to be able to go through the assets in the following order:
   1. Defining User Roles
   2. Process Flow
   3. User Flows
   4. Conceptual Data Model (ER Diagram)
   5. Datasheet (Forms & Fields, notifications, etc)
   6. User Permission Matrix (In Datasheet)
4. Going through the Refinement Week:
   1.  PE should make sure to show up to every call with significant progress regarding the mentioned assets. - Make the most out of the clients time in refinement calls. 
   2.  PE should always keep the PM informed on any special request by the client, question on budget / timeline, and features to be included in the app.
   3.  PE is responsible for delivering the finalized Refinement Assets OTIF (On-Time, In-Form).
   4. In case there is any doubt, question or something that needs to be clarified, always ask the PM assigned.
   5. When finalizing every refinement call,  PE must go to plutio and check completed the corresponding task (Call) and identifiy the call conclusions, agreements, next steps and links to required resources.
5. In order to be able to generate a standard format for the assets and resources of the refinement week, here are examples of each asset: 
   1. Process Flow:
   2. User Flows:
   3. Conceptual Data Model:  
   4. User Permission Matrix:
   5. Other Resources: This resources are not required in all scopes.
      1. Item Flow: This diagram is required when the main process of the app consists in going through steps or statuses. This diagram consists of a visual representation of the possible statuses for an item and what are the actions that triggers it to change status. 
         1. 
         2. External Data Sources: This diagram is required when the app needs to ingest data from an external app/DB/ Data source/ etc. This diagram consists of a visual representation of: External DBs, Data to be pulled from external DB and how this data will look like in the new app.    
6. Finalizing Refinement Phase:
   1.  PE should make sure the PRD is updated with the latest features, agreements and exclusions defined in this stage.
   2.  PE must make sure to hand-off the completed PRD to the PM and Designer in the Refinement Hand-Off Call, and be ready to help the PM or the design team to understand any question or doubt in the scope.
   3. After the Design Phase is completed, PE is responsible for updating the the requried adjustments to the PRD according to any possible changes during Design Phase.
7. Documentation or References:
   1. Boards and spaces for all assets and resources are already included in the Scope Template that the Sales Team will handoff to the Product Engineer, except for the Datasheet. The Datasheet should be created by the  PE using the Datasheet Template
   2. Overall Lowcode Workflow is represented in this whimsical.