Lock the capabilitiesGrid rows
Ask: what does the drone fundamentally do, end to end? Do these rows, together, cover the whole system? Use the pencil on a row to edit, or + Add capability, until they do.
Set each cell, tier by tierclick a cell
Ask: what's the dumbest end-to-end version of this capability for the 4-Month demo? The real-on-drone version for MVP? The full version for Contract? Write the level and what it proves.
Give the cell its pipelinesinside the cell
Ask: which reusable transforms deliver this capability at this tier? Toggle them on. A pipeline used across many cells is your most important build, so get it right.
Refine the pipelinesPipelines tab
Ask: for each one, what comes IN and what goes OUT? Does it hold every module that transform needs, including the General Manager glue it leans on? Add modules, or make a new pipeline where one is missing.
Cost the modulesModules tab
Ask: how big is each module (size sets the hours), and who builds it, in-house, a firm, or a researcher? The price rolls up on its own to the cell and the tier.
Read the board and trimtop rollup
Ask: is the 4-Month tier under the cap? Does each tier still light up all 13 subsystems, a whole drone, just dumber? Too pricey, push a capability or a pipeline to a later tier; too thin, pull one earlier.
Repeatloop
Ask: does every tier now fit its budget and prove a coherent whole drone? If not, go again from the top. The Modules tab flags anything that has been missed.