scope-breakdownlisted

# Scope breakdown The purpose of a breakdown is not a Gantt chart. It is to **find the risky and unknown parts early**, and to make sure something useful ships before the deadline rather than at it. ## Split by outcome, not by layer Vertical slices, each independently shippable and each delivering something a user or another team can actually use. ``` bad (horizontal — nothing works until the last one lands) 1. Database schema 2. API endpoints 3. Frontend 4. Integrate good (vertical — value and learning after each) 1. Single report exports to CSV, admins only, sync, no filters 2. Filters respected in export 3. Large exports go async + email 4. Self-serve for all finance roles ``` Horizontal splits hide integration risk until the end, which is exactly when there is no time left for it. Vertical slices prove the whole path early. Each slice should be: **demonstrable** (you can show it working), **≤ 1 week** (longer means it hides unknowns), and **independently valuable or explicitly a spike**. ## Sequence by risk, not by comfort Order the work so the thing most likely to invalidate the plan happens **first**. The natural instinct is the reverse �� start with the familiar parts, feel productive, and discover the hard integration in week five. For each item ask: *if this turns out to be much harder than expected, when do I want to find out?* Always: as early as possible. Put a **timeboxed spike** in front of anything you cannot estimate. A spike has a