Briar Hunt
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Practice IV · Plan / ship / observe

Direction as a visible system.

Roadmaps, task definition, decisions, dependencies, cross-discipline production, release, and live observation. Tickets only help when they keep the current truth of the work available to the people making it.

Scope
Design · narrative · art · engineering · specialist audio
Systems
Roadmaps · briefs · decisions · dependencies · documentation
Tools used
Linear · YouTrack · Notion · Obsidian
Contexts
Live service · desktop product · creator event · independent product suite

01 / Operating loop

Release is not the end of the line.

This is the NDA-safe production loop used to describe my live-service work. Creative intent enters the same system as feasibility, ownership, integration, and release risk. Observation can send the work back to definition instead of generating another unconnected task.

Production loopIntent → observation → revisionGeneralised; no private schedule or team structure
  1. 01Intentplayer / product outcomepurpose understood
  2. 02Definitionbehaviour + content boundsunknowns named
  3. 03Feasibilitytechnical + production riskrisk accepted
  4. 04Dependenciesowners + order of workprerequisites visible
  5. 05Productiondiscipline outputdefinition met
  6. 06Integrationwhole-system statewhole tested
  7. 07Releaselive changerelease state known
  8. 08Observationrevision inputnext action recorded
live observation↺re-enters definition, feasibility, or production

02 / Control plane

Tools are surfaces for work objects.

Linear, YouTrack, Notion, and Obsidian have different strengths, but none of them fixes a missing owner, undefined outcome, or invisible decision. I use the tool that fits the team while keeping four work objects consistent.

Management systemObject · function · update triggerTool-agnostic model
ObjectWhat it keeps visibleWhen it changesPossible surface
01RoadmapSequence priorities and statesscope, priority, or dependency movesLinear / YouTrack
02Task briefBind owner, definition, and next actionwork advances or becomes blockedLinear / YouTrack / Notion
03Decision logKeep rationale and trade-off inspectablea material choice is madeNotion / Obsidian / ticket links
04DocumentationCarry context between disciplinessystem understanding changesNotion / Obsidian
  1. ONE SOURCE

    Every work object has a known home. Links can fan out; authority does not.

  2. SMALL RECORDS

    A brief answers what changed, who acts, and where the current state can be found.

  3. UPDATE TRIGGERS

    Records change with the work, during production rather than in a documentation pass later.

03 / Cross-discipline work

One feature; four different kinds of truth.

Design, narrative, art, and engineering each know something the others need. Direction is the work of joining those truths around one feature definition without flattening them into a generic checklist.

Feature weaveShared outcome; specialist productionIllustrative, not an internal team chart
IntentFeasibilityProductionIntegrationObservation
Game designplayer outcome + rulesrule tests + system dependenciesspecification + tuningwhole-system play testread live behaviour
Narrativeworld intent + scopecontinuity + volumebriefs + contentin-product continuityread comprehension
Artvisual language + assetsscope + pipelineasset productionin-engine reviewread legibility
Engineeringconstraints + questionsrisk + architectureimplementationsystem integrationread operating state

04 / Live delivery

When the room is live, priority becomes a clock.

Creator event delivery adds a different operating condition: the audience, talent, broadcast, and technical system are all moving at once. Triage has to preserve the show, protect people, and make the next decision explicit before the perfect diagnosis exists.

Live triageImpact × time × reversibilityGeneralised event operating model
impact time pressure
WATCHlow impact · reversible
ROUTEowner known · time available
CONTAINprotect the live surface
ACThigh impact · closing window
DECIDE
  1. 01Read the live effect

    What can the audience, talent, or operator actually see?

  2. 02Name the owner

    One person carries the next action; parallel investigation remains visible.

  3. 03Choose the safe move

    Route, contain, roll back, substitute, or continue with a known limitation.

  4. 04Close the loop

    Record the result and return anything unresolved to production after the event.

Open the creator-event delivery record ↗
Publication boundary

Product names, exact schedules, private team structure, internal materials, proprietary systems, and client metrics remain outside this record. The loops and artefacts shown here are generalised from the work; they are not reproductions of a private workspace.

Read the full NDA-safe direction case study ↗