Before the Code Exists,
a Decision Is Already Made (field notes)

A screen-share session.
A prototype.
A prompt.
A response.

Nothing breaks.
The demo works.

No one asks how it fails.

The meeting is called “Exploration Sync.”
The calendar recurrence is weekly.

Someone says “we’ll harden it later.”
No one pushes back.

The output is legible.
The room relaxes.

No rollback is mentioned.

The follow-up email summarizes “next steps.”
No one corrects the phrasing.

A second meeting appears.
Same invite. New attendees.

The word “prototype” disappears.
The word “roadmap” appears.

No owner is named.
A deadline is.

Someone asks about latency.
No one asks about liability.

A budget line is penciled in.
It is described as provisional.

The meeting notes say “assume for now.”

No alternative path is discussed.

The demo is shown again.
It looks the same.
It feels different.

Legal is not present.

An integration partner is mentioned “just to explore.”

The phrase “edge cases” is used without examples.

A standing meeting is scheduled.
Attendance is expected.

Ops is looped in after the date is fixed.

No one asks who turns it off.

The artifact is still described as optional.
The dependency is not.

The code is not written yet.

The calendar is full.