jmsktm/tracker

ID8TRACKER - Pipeline Nervous System

Purpose

Track all ID8Labs projects from idea capture through exit. Enforce quality gates, calculate activity decay, trigger review rituals, and generate portfolio dashboards.

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Lifecycle States

CAPTURED → VALIDATING → VALIDATED → ARCHITECTING → BUILDING → LAUNCHING → GROWING → OPERATING → EXITING → EXITED

Special States

• ICE - Intentionally frozen, decay paused
• KILLED - Failed/abandoned with lessons logged (terminal)
• ARCHIVED - Successfully completed (terminal)

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Commands

/tracker status [project-slug]

No argument: Show portfolio dashboard With argument: Show detailed project card

Process:

1. If no argument, read all project cards from .id8labs/projects/active/
2. Calculate decay for each project
3. Generate dashboard using templates/dashboard.md
4. Highlight any projects in warning (50-79%) or critical (80%+) decay

/tracker new <project-slug> <project-name>

Create a new project in CAPTURED state.

Process:

1. Generate project card from templates/project-card.md
2. Set state to CAPTURED, created/last_activity to today
3. Save to .id8labs/projects/active/{slug}.md
4. Confirm creation with summary

/tracker update <project-slug> <new-state>

Transition project to new state.

Process:

1. Load project card
2. Verify transition is valid (see frameworks/project-states.md)
3. Check gate requirements (see frameworks/stage-gates.md)
4. If gate passed:
   • Update state
   • Reset decay (state_entered = today)
   • Log transition in state history
   • Save project card
5. If gate blocked:
   • List unmet requirements
   • Suggest actions to close gaps

/tracker ice <project-slug> [reason]

Freeze a project. Decay stops.

Process:

1. Load project card
2. Record previous state and freeze date
3. Set state to ICE
4. Log reason (required if not provided, prompt for it)
5. Move file to .id8labs/projects/ice/
6. Confirm freeze

/tracker thaw <project-slug>

Revive a frozen project.

Process:

1. Load project from .id8labs/projects/ice/
2. Run revival questions (see frameworks/decay-mechanics.md REVIVAL section)
3. Restore to previous state
4. Reset decay timer
5. Move file to .id8labs/projects/active/
6. Confirm revival with recommitment

/tracker kill <project-slug> [reason]

Terminate a project permanently.

Process:

1. Load project card
2. Prompt for lessons learned if not provided
3. Set state to KILLED
4. Log reason and lessons
5. Move to .id8labs/projects/archive/
6. Confirm kill with lessons summary

/tracker log <project-slug> <activity>

Log activity to a project. Resets decay timer.

Process:

1. Load project card
2. Add activity to activity log with timestamp
3. Update last_activity to today
4. Save project card
5. Confirm log entry

/tracker pulse

Daily 2-minute pulse check.

Process:

1. Load all active projects
2. Calculate decay for each
3. Use rituals/daily-pulse.md format
4. Show:
   • Any critical (80%+) projects
   • Any warnings (50-79%)
   • Recommended focus for today
   • Quick wins available

/tracker review

Weekly 15-minute review.

Process:

1. Load all projects (active + ice)
2. Calculate metrics
3. Use rituals/weekly-review.md format
4. Walk through each active project:
   • Progress since last review
   • Blockers
   • Gate readiness
5. Generate recommendations

/tracker strategy

Monthly 30-minute strategy session.

Process:

1. Load entire portfolio (active + ice + recent archive)
2. Use rituals/monthly-strategy.md format
3. Portfolio health analysis
4. Stage distribution
5. Ice box cleanup decisions
6. Pattern recognition
7. Next month intentions

/tracker dashboard

Regenerate the DASHBOARD.md file.

Process:

1. Load all projects
2. Calculate all metrics
3. Use templates/dashboard.md
4. Write to .id8labs/dashboard/DASHBOARD.md
5. Confirm generation

/tracker gates <project-slug>

Show gate requirements for next transition.

Process:

1. Load project card
2. Identify current state and target state
3. Load requirements from frameworks/stage-gates.md
4. Show checklist with current completion status

/tracker gate-pass <project-slug> <requirement>

Mark a gate requirement as met.

Process:

1. Load project card
2. Add requirement to gates_passed array
3. Save project card
4. Show updated gate status

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Decay Calculation

decay_percent = (days_since_last_activity / state_max_duration) * 100

Decay Windows by State

| State | Warning (50%) | Critical (80%) | Freeze (100%) | |-------|---------------|----------------|---------------| | CAPTURED | 7 days | 11 days | 14 days | | VALIDATING | 15 days | 24 days | 30 days | | VALIDATED | 10 days | 17 days | 21 days | | ARCHITECTING | 7 days | 11 days | 14 days | | BUILDING | 45 days | 72 days | 90 days | | LAUNCHING | 10 days | 17 days | 21 days | | GROWING | 90 days | 144 days | 180 days | | OPERATING | - | - | No decay | | EXITING | 30 days | 48 days | 60 days |

What Resets Decay

• Invoking any ID8Labs skill for the project
• Manual /tracker log entry
• State transition via /tracker update
• Completing a gate requirement

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Integration with Other Skills

When other ID8Labs skills complete work, they MUST log to tracker:

## Handoff Pattern

After skill completion:
1. Save skill outputs
2. Call: /tracker log {project-slug} "{skill-name}: {summary}"
3. If state transition appropriate, suggest: /tracker update {project-slug} {new-state}

Example Integration Points

| Skill Completes | Log Message | Suggested Transition | |-----------------|-------------|---------------------| | scout (BUILD) | "Scout: Validation complete - BUILD verdict" | VALIDATING → VALIDATED | | scout (KILL) | "Scout: Validation complete - KILL verdict" | → KILLED | | architect | "Architect: Architecture doc complete" | VALIDATED → ARCHITECTING | | launch | "Launch: Product launched to {channel}" | BUILDING → LAUNCHING | | growth | "Growth: Experiment {name} completed" | (no transition, activity log) | | ops | "Ops: SOP created for {process}" | GROWING → OPERATING | | exit | "Exit: Exit memo drafted" | OPERATING → EXITING |

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Memory MCP Integration

Use Memory MCP to store portfolio-level learnings:

Create entities for:
- Successful patterns (what works)
- Kill post-mortems (what failed)
- Review insights (strategic observations)
- Velocity benchmarks (how long things take)

Query Memory when:

• Starting a new project (recall similar patterns)
• Hitting a blocker (check if solved before)
• Completing a stage (log learnings)

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Health Status Indicators

| Symbol | Status | Decay Range | Action | |--------|--------|-------------|--------| | 🟢 | Healthy | 0-49% | None needed | | 🟡 | Warning | 50-79% | Surface in pulse | | 🔴 | Critical | 80-99% | Escalate in review | | ⛔ | Frozen | 100% | Block transitions | | ❄️ | Ice | N/A | Intentionally paused | | ⚰️ | Killed | N/A | Terminal | | ✅ | Archived | N/A | Complete |

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File Operations

Reading Projects

Active: .id8labs/projects/active/*.md
Ice: .id8labs/projects/ice/*.md
Archive: .id8labs/projects/archive/*.md

Writing Projects

• Parse YAML frontmatter for structured data
• Preserve markdown content
• Update timestamps on every write

Dashboard Location

.id8labs/dashboard/DASHBOARD.md

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Error Handling

| Error | Response | |-------|----------| | Project not found | List available projects, suggest /tracker new | | Invalid state transition | Explain valid transitions, show current state | | Gate blocked | List unmet requirements with suggestions | | Missing required field | Prompt for the field | | File write error | Report error, suggest manual check |

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Reminder Configuration

Settings stored in .id8labs/config/settings.yaml:

reminders:
  pulse_frequency: daily    # daily, every-other-day, off
  review_frequency: weekly  # weekly, biweekly, off
  strategy_frequency: monthly

nudge_style: direct         # gentle, direct, aggressive

decay:
  warn_threshold: 50
  critical_threshold: 80
  freeze_threshold: 100

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Changelog

v1.0.0 (2025-12-21)

• Initial release
• Full lifecycle state machine
• Decay mechanics with configurable windows
• Gate verification system
• Review rituals (daily/weekly/monthly)
• Dashboard generation
• Memory MCP integration for learnings