Quarterly milestone template for the transition from managed service to self-serve platform. Year 1: L2 with manual provisioning. Year 2: L3 with self-serve. Year 3: L3+ with marketplace. Dates and specific milestones populate once L2 is stable.
The "L2 trailing, L3 leading" framing comes from Ch 9's sequencing principle: architecture decisions made in month one must anticipate year two and year five. In practice this means:
The transition is not a big bang rewrite. It is a gradual shift in where new customers land and where engineering investment flows.
Goal: First SKU live, first three customers paying, FedRAMP Moderate authorization in progress. Architecture is stable and documented. No self-serve features built yet. All engineering capacity goes to making L2 excellent.
| Quarter | Platform milestone | Architecture milestone | Customer milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | L2 deployment runbook finalized; provisioning time under 2 weeks; boundary stable and documented in SSP | GovCloud region selected; data plane deployed; control plane manual ops procedures documented | Design partner deployed (alpha); 30-day review passed |
| Q2 | L2 feature set frozen (no new Zone 1 features until 3-customer threshold reached); only Zone 2 configuration expansion allowed | 3PAO engaged; SSP first draft submitted; control inheritance map finalized | Second customer in beta; design partner upgraded to production config |
| Q3 | L2 provisioning time under 1 week; onboarding playbook v1 final; ConMon tooling operational | 3PAO assessment phase 1 complete; POA&Ms opened and tracked; first ConMon report generated | Third customer signed; 3-customer validation threshold reached |
| Q4 | L2 stable; team begins L3 architecture planning (control plane API design, self-serve portal wireframes) | 3PAO assessment complete; ATO decision expected; FedRAMP authorization in progress | Option year exercise for customer 1; second-sku-spec scoring initiated |
Goal: New customers onboard via self-serve portal. L2 customers migrate on a voluntary schedule. Platform Architect role shifts from ops to product engineering. ConMon is routine, not crisis.
| Quarter | Platform milestone | Architecture milestone | Customer milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q5 | Control plane API v1 deployed (internal use only); provisioning via API instead of runbook; provisioning time under 48 hours | FedRAMP authorization received (target); first post-authorization ConMon cycle begins | Customers 4-5 onboarded via new API-driven provisioning; L2 customers offered migration date |
| Q6 | Self-serve portal alpha (agency admin UI): user management, Zone 2 configuration, usage dashboard | Architecture handles 10 tenants without manual intervention; observability stack fully operational | Two existing customers migrate to L3 track; one new customer onboards self-serve (supervised) |
| Q7 | Self-serve portal beta: provisioning flow live for new customers; SCIM integration with two tested agency IdPs | Multi-tenant performance benchmarks established; chaos testing for tenant isolation | All new customers enter L3 track; L2 customers on formal migration timeline (see l2-to-l3-transition-plan-v0) |
| Q8 | L3 GA declaration: self-serve is the default; L2 manual provisioning available only for agencies with documented exception | Ten tenants live on L3; ConMon evidence package fully automated; 3PAO annual re-assessment cycle established | 10+ customers on L3; NRR above 120%; second SKU launch initiated (if scorecard threshold met) |
Goal: Agency can discover, evaluate, and purchase NorthAI via GSA Advantage! or a partner marketplace (CHN-operated or government-wide). Optional modules available as self-serve add-ons. FedRAMP Moderate authorization is the base; optional IL4 capability available for qualifying agencies.
| Quarter | Platform milestone | Architecture milestone | Revenue milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q9 | Optional module marketplace v1: Zone 3 (optional modules) available as self-serve add-ons; billing via CLIN modification or GSA MAS order | Module registry architecture: each optional module has its own authorization scope document; clear boundary extension protocol | ARR target: [TBD based on pricing]; NRR above 130%; 20+ customers |
| Q10 | Partner channel self-serve: CHN can onboard NorthAI for a customer without NorthAI staff involvement; partner portal v1 | Partner-scoped API keys; audit trail for partner-initiated provisioning; partner ConMon responsibilities documented | First CHN-sourced self-serve customer on L3 track without NorthAI staff involvement |
| Q11 | GSA Advantage! listing live; customers can initiate order from Schedule directly; CLIN 0001 and CLIN 0003 available on Advantage! | Order-intake automation: GSA order triggers provisioning workflow automatically | First GSA Advantage! direct order; simplified acquisition threshold orders ($350K and below) processed without CO involvement |
| Q12 | Year 3 review: L3+ fully operational; marketplace is primary acquisition channel for new customers; L2 fully sunset (unless documented exception) | Architecture review: assess IL4 expansion feasibility; if 3+ customers request IL4, initiate boundary extension planning | 25+ customers; ARR at or above Series A milestone commitment; recurring revenue ratio above 80% |
| Gate | Criteria to advance | Who approves |
|---|---|---|
| L2 to L3 build start (Q4) | 3 paying customers on L2; ATO in progress; L2 feature set frozen; engineering capacity available (not consumed by ConMon) | Platform Architect + First-SKU Launch Lead |
| L3 GA declaration (Q8) | FedRAMP authorization received; 5+ customers migrated successfully to L3; self-serve portal UAT passed with at least 2 agencies; ConMon automated | Platform Architect + Authorization Architect + First-SKU Launch Lead |
| Marketplace launch (Q9) | GSA MAS application approved; 10+ customers on L3; optional module architecture reviewed by 3PAO; CLIN structure compatible with marketplace order flow | Federal Posture Lead + Platform Architect + Revenue Lead |