Exercises: Module 12 — Capstone Project¶
The capstone module's exercises are the project milestones themselves. See README.md for the full milestone descriptions.
Project Milestones as Exercises¶
Each milestone in the capstone README serves as an exercise. They are listed here for reference:
| Milestone | Description | Est. Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Problem hypothesis and research plan | 2–3 |
| 2 | User research (5 interviews + synthesis) | 4–6 |
| 3 | Validated problem statement and opportunity sizing | 1–2 |
| 4 | Product strategy one-pager | 2–3 |
| 5 | Prioritization (RICE/ICE) and MVP scope | 1–2 |
| 6 | OKRs and success metrics | 1 |
| 7 | 6-month outcome-based roadmap | 1–2 |
| 8 | GTM plan for MVP launch | 1–2 |
| 9 | Package assembly and reflection | 1–2 |
Complete milestones in order. Each one builds on the previous.
Checkpoint Questions¶
Use these questions to evaluate your own work before moving to the next milestone:
After Milestone 2 (research): - Could I describe the user's job in one clear sentence? - Did any interview surprise me? If not, was I actually listening or just confirming? - Are my "opportunities" truly user needs (not feature requests)?
After Milestone 4 (strategy): - Can I complete this sentence without hesitation: "We are explicitly NOT building X because..."? - Does my North Star metric measure user value or business revenue? (Should be user value) - Could an engineer read my strategy and understand which problems are in scope vs. out?
After Milestone 7 (roadmap): - Can I complete this sentence for each roadmap item: "We'll know this worked when [metric] moves from [baseline] to [target]"? - Do the roadmap items connect back to specific opportunities from my research? - Does the Now horizon feel genuinely minimal, or am I still trying to build everything?
After Milestone 9 (reflection): - Am I being honest about what didn't work, or am I writing a success story? - What would I tell my past self at the start of this project?