Stages
Project stages define quality expectations and acceptable trade-offs.
Overview
Catalyst projects progress through four stages. Each stage has different quality requirements, and the rules exist to prevent premature production deployment.
POC — Proof of Concept
Prove the concept works. Validate assumptions with stakeholders using working code instead of wireframes.
Quality Expectations
- • Mock data is acceptable
- • UI polish is secondary to function
- • Error handling can be basic
- • No authentication required
- • Speed over completeness
Allowed
- • Hardcoded data
- • Simplified UI
- • Missing edge case handling
- • No tests (acceptable, not recommended)
Anti-Patterns
- • Building features beyond scope
- • Premature optimisation
- • Setting up production infrastructure
- • Creating user accounts
- • Integrating real payment systems
Not Allowed
- • Real user data
- • Production deployment
- • Public URLs without protection
MVP — Minimum Viable Product
Core features for early users. Real data persistence and authentication. The minimum needed to deliver value.
Quality Expectations
- • Real data persistence
- • User authentication
- • Core happy-path tested
- • Basic error handling
- • Responsive design
Allowed
- • Limited feature set
- • Basic analytics
- • Manual operational tasks
- • Minimal documentation
Anti-Patterns
- • Feature creep beyond core
- • Premature scaling
- • Over-engineering solutions
- • Building admin before user features
Not Allowed
- • Known security vulnerabilities
- • Data loss scenarios
- • Missing core features
MMP — Minimum Marketable Product
Ready for wider release. Feature complete for target market. Professional quality and reliable performance.
Quality Expectations
- • Feature complete for market
- • Polished UI/UX
- • Comprehensive error handling
- • Performance optimised
- • Security reviewed
Allowed
- • Phased feature rollout
- • Beta labelling for some features
- • Manual processes for edge cases
Anti-Patterns
- • Launching without load testing
- • Skipping security review
- • No monitoring in place
- • Missing support documentation
Not Allowed
- • Unhandled errors
- • Performance degradation under load
- • Missing critical features
PROD — Production
Full production readiness. Operational excellence. Support and maintenance processes in place.
Quality Expectations
- • Full operational readiness
- • Monitoring and alerting
- • Backup and recovery tested
- • Support runbook complete
- • SLA defined and achievable
Allowed
- • Continuous improvement
- • Feature additions via normal process
- • Scheduled maintenance windows
Anti-Patterns
- • Deploying without rollback plan
- • Missing incident response process
- • No on-call or support coverage
- • Undocumented operational procedures
Not Allowed
- • Untested deployments
- • Missing monitoring
- • No disaster recovery plan
⚠️ The Risk of Skipping Stages
Skipping stages is the primary cause of "accidental production"—where a prototype becomes the live system without proper hardening.
- POC → PROD skip: Results in security vulnerabilities, data loss risks, and operational fragility.
- MVP → PROD skip: Leads to poor user experience, missing features, and support chaos.
- MMP → PROD skip: Causes operational failures, missing runbooks, and incident response gaps.
Each stage exists for a reason. The upgrade checklists define the work required to transition safely.
Next Steps
See Upgrade Checklists for the specific requirements when transitioning between stages, and Stacks to understand which technical stack applies at each stage.