Who participates and when
Phase 5 is not a technical phase nor exclusive to the product team. It's the continuation of the organizational consensus built in Phase 2. The stakeholders who signed the Solution Brief don't disconnect after go-live — their participation is what keeps iteration connected to organizational priorities.
Key roles
| Role | Responsibility in Phase 5 | Approximate dedication |
|---|---|---|
| Product Lead | Signal interpretation. Response prioritization. Iteration Brief writing. Decision on which signals to escalate to strategic review. | 20-60% depending on cycle moment |
| Context Engineer | Context Document owner. Executes updates. Maintains the Context Update Record. Configures and supervises synthesis agents. | 20-40% depending on cycle moment |
| Data Lead | Design and maintenance of the measurement system. Connection between KPIs and data sources. Dashboard quality. | 10-20% ongoing |
| Stakeholders from Phases 1-2 | Quarterly strategic review. Validation that market signals are interpreted in the context of the original problem. Approval of changes to Problem Statement or Solution Brief. | Monthly (synthesis session) + quarterly (strategic review) |
| Support / Sales | Qualitative signal channel. Direct user feedback. Ticket and complaint patterns not captured in automated data. | Continuous (capture) + monthly (synthesis session) |
Phase 5 sessions
Signal interpretation cannot be done individually. Market signals are best read when people with different perspectives — technical, business, user — analyze them together.
Weekly KPI and behavior review
| Cadence | Weekly. 45-60 minutes. |
| Participants | Product Lead + Data Lead + Context Engineer. |
| Focus | Are KPIs moving as expected? Are there anomalous behavior patterns in the last week? |
| Output | Classified signals with cause hypotheses. Decision: process in the next iteration or escalate to monthly review. |
Monthly qualitative feedback synthesis
| Cadence | Monthly. 2-3 hours. |
| Participants | Product Lead + Context Engineer + support/sales representative + 1-2 stakeholders from Phases 1-2. |
| Focus | What are users saying and doing that isn't captured in automated data? Are there feedback patterns signaling a definition problem? |
| Output | Updated Signal Log with qualitative findings. Signals classified by type of affected assumption. |
Quarterly strategic review
| Cadence | Quarterly. Half a day. |
| Participants | Full team + key stakeholders from Phases 1 and 2. |
| Focus | Is the Problem Statement still correct? Is the solution still right for the market as it has evolved? What have we learned that we didn't know at launch? |
| Output | Next cycle's Iteration Brief. Explicit decision on whether to return to Phase 1, 2, 3, or 4. |
The product team analyzes market signals in parallel to the business. Stakeholders who signed the Solution Brief don't participate in interpretation. The product team's conclusions don't connect with organizational priorities.
How to detect it: The Iteration Brief proposes changes that business stakeholders question. There are signals the product team sees clearly but the organization doesn't act on.
How to prevent it: Stakeholders from Phases 1 and 2 participate in the monthly synthesis session and quarterly strategic review.
Intensity varies with maturity
| Cycle moment | Intensity | Main activities |
|---|---|---|
| First 4-8 weeks post-launch | High | Daily KPI review. Weekly interviews. Very active Signal Log. First Iteration Brief. |
| 2-6 months post-launch | Medium-high | Weekly KPI review. Monthly interviews. Monthly synthesis. Monthly Iteration Briefs. |
| 6-18 months post-launch | Medium | Automated KPIs. Monthly interviews. Quarterly strategic review. |
| 18+ months post-launch | Low-medium with peaks | Automatic monitoring. Monthly synthesis. Quarterly or semi-annual review. 30-40% peaks during strategic reviews that produce returns to Phases 1-2. |
Intensity is inversely proportional to context maturity. Phase 5 requires more human effort when the Context Document is less precise. As it incorporates market learnings, automation absorbs more of the routine work and human effort shifts toward strategic decisions.