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Tutorial 03: Alignment & Signoff

Hands-on guide to discovering needs, getting stakeholders aligned, and securing commitment

Overview

This tutorial walks you through the professional process of understanding what your stakeholders need, creating an alignment document (pitch) based on that understanding, and securing formal signoff before starting your project.

Time: 60-90 minutes (including discovery meeting)
Prerequisites: Module 02 completed (WDS installed)
What you'll create: Discovery notes, alignment document, and signoff document

What You'll Learn

The discovery discipline - how to understand their outcomes before proposing solutions
The two-meeting approach - separating discovery from solution presentation
Professional patience - the carpenter measures twice, the doctor diagnoses first
How to ask discovery questions that reveal what success looks like
Creating a compelling alignment document based on real understanding
Negotiating and iterating until acceptance
Generating appropriate signoff documents
Understanding contract clauses and best practices

Before You Start

You'll need:

A project idea that needs stakeholder alignment
Access to a stakeholder for a discovery conversation
60-90 minutes of focused time (including meeting time)
Optional: Existing communications/documents from stakeholders

AI Support:

Saga WDS Analyst Agent will guide you through the process
She'll help you prepare for discovery
Help you craft discovery questions
Guide you through creating the alignment document AFTER discovery
Help generate the signoff document after acceptance

Critical mindset: You are NOT ready to pitch until you understand what they need. Discovery comes first.

Step 1: Prepare for Discovery (5 min)

First, clarify your scenario:

Consultant proposing to client → Discovery will help you understand their business needs
Business hiring suppliers → Discovery will help you clarify what you're buying
Manager/employee seeking approval → Discovery will help you understand stakeholder priorities
Doing it yourself → Skip this tutorial, go to Module 04: Create Product Brief

Your scenario: [Write your scenario here]

With Saga, prepare your discovery questions:

What do you want to learn?
What questions will reveal what success looks like for them?
What pain points do you suspect exist (to be confirmed)?

Step 2: Conduct Discovery Meeting (20-30 min)

This is the most important step. Do NOT skip this.

Your goal: Understand what they need, NOT pitch your solution.

In the discovery meeting:

Ask questions - Use the questions you prepared with Saga

Understanding their outcomes:
- "What does success look like for you?"
- "What's not working right now?"
- "Tell me more about that..."
- "How does that impact your business/team/users?"
- "What happens if we don't solve this?"
- "What have you tried before?"
- "What would make this a home run?"
Understanding their risks and concerns:
- "Is there something specific you're concerned about?"
- "What would help you feel confident about moving forward?"
- "What lessons have you learned from past projects?"
- "What would make you feel this is going well as we proceed?"
- "What dependencies or external factors should we plan for?"
- "What would be important to include in our agreement?"
- "How would you like us to handle changes or unexpected situations?"
Listen deeply - Take detailed notes on what they say (both opportunities AND concerns)
Find the pain point AND the risks - Keep asking until you understand both what they want to achieve and what they're worried about
Confirm both exist - "So if I understand correctly, you're looking to achieve X, which will deliver Y, and you'd like us to plan for Z?"
Resist the urge to solve - Even if you see the perfect solution, DON'T present it yet
- The carpenter measures twice
- The doctor diagnoses first
- You understand before solving
End with commitment to return - "Thank you for sharing this - your goals and what's important to you for this to succeed. Let me think about how I can help you achieve what you need while addressing what you've mentioned. I'll come back to you with a thoughtful proposal."

Why discover risks? Understanding what's important to them for the project to succeed helps you:

Create contract provisions that give them confidence
Set realistic expectations together
Build trust by showing you're thinking about how to make this successful
Design solutions that address what matters to them
Include mutually beneficial protections in the agreement

Take detailed notes during or immediately after the meeting.

Step 3: Extract Information & Reflect (10 min)

Now work with Saga to synthesize what you learned:

Share your discovery notes with Saga. She will help you extract:

Realizations or observations they mentioned
Their definition of success
Pain points they're experiencing
Concerns and risks they raised (these will inform contract provisions)
Past project problems they mentioned (what went wrong before)
Requirements they discussed
What happens if they don't solve this
Context and background
Timeline or urgency
Budget or constraints
Dependencies and constraints
What would make them uncomfortable

Critical check: Can you clearly articulate:

What success looks like for THEM in their own words?
What specific concerns and risks they mentioned?

If YES to both: You're ready to create the alignment document AND design contract provisions that address real concerns
If NO to either: You need another discovery conversation or follow-up questions

The risks you discover become contract protections: For example:

They mention "past contractors disappeared mid-project" → Include milestone-based payments and regular check-ins in contract
They mention "we've had scope creep before" → Include detailed "What's NOT included" section and change order process
They mention "we got stuck waiting on vendor access" → Include dependency management and pause clauses
They mention "timeline is critical for launch date" → Include time-based milestones and delay penalties/protections

Step 4: Explore Alignment Sections (20-30 min)

Work through these 10 sections (in whatever order makes sense) based on what you learned in discovery:

The Realization - What they've said needs attention (use their evidence)
Why It Matters - Why this matters to THEM and who they help (use their words)
How We See It Working - Your solution approach (based on understanding their needs)
Paths We Explored - 2-3 solution options you considered
Recommended Solution - Preferred approach and why it serves them
The Path Forward - How the work will be done (WDS phases and practical approach)
The Value We'll Create - What happens if they DO build this (their desired outcomes)
Cost of Inaction - What happens if they DON'T build this (their stated consequences)
Our Commitment - Resources needed and potential risks
Summary - Summary reflecting back their needs

Saga will guide you through each section, asking one question at a time and reflecting back what she hears.

Key principle: Everything should connect back to what they told you in discovery. You're not making this up - you're synthesizing their needs into a clear proposal.

Best Practice: Realization Section with Evidence

When exploring "The Realization" section, Saga will help you:

Identify the realization - What have you realized needs attention?
Confirm it's real - Is there evidence that supports this?
Gather evidence - What proof do you have?

Soft Evidence (qualitative):

Testimonials: "Customers tell us..."
Complaints: "Support tickets show..."
Observations: "We've noticed that..."
Interviews: "In user interviews, people mentioned..."

Hard Evidence (quantitative):

Statistics: "45% of users..."
Analytics: "Bounce rate increased 25%..."
Surveys: "78% rated this as 'difficult'..."
Logs: "Server logs show 500 errors occur..."

Example:

"Our customers consistently report frustration with checkout (testimonials). Analytics confirm: 45% abandon checkout, taking 12 minutes on average - 3x longer than industry standard (statistics). Support tickets show 60% of complaints are about checkout complexity (complaints), and our survey found 78% rated it as 'difficult' (survey results)."

If you don't have evidence yet: That's okay! Acknowledge this and propose gathering evidence as part of the project.

Step 5: Synthesize Alignment Document (5 min)

Saga will help you create:

docs/1-project-brief/pitch.md

Clear, brief, readable in 2-3 minutes
Makes the case for the project using their language
Reflects back what they told you they need
Ready to share with stakeholders in your SECOND meeting

Review together: Does this capture what they said they need? Does it show you understand their desired outcomes?

Now schedule your SECOND meeting with the stakeholder:

Present the alignment document
Show you understood what they need
Gather feedback
Make changes and iterate
Update until everyone is on board

This is negotiation, not rejection: Their feedback helps you refine the proposal until it serves them perfectly.

Remember: You're not defending your idea - you're collaborating to find the version that works for everyone.

Step 7: Get Acceptance (Variable time)

Once stakeholders accept:

Everyone is aligned on Idea, Why, What, How, Budget, Commitment
You have buy-in before starting detailed work
Ready to secure formal commitment

Step 8: Generate Signoff Document (15-20 min)

After acceptance, Saga will help you create:

Choose your document type:

Project Contract - For consultant → client
Service Agreement - For business → suppliers
Signoff Document - For internal company projects
- Optional: Upload your company's signoff format

Key principle: Short and concise contracts

The Strategic Professional emphasizes: "Long contracts are hard to understand, and it's easier to hide strange provisions in dense text. Keep it clear and brief. The contract is based on the pitch they already accepted - you're formalizing what they agreed to, not writing from scratch."

Saga will guide you through:

Scope of work - References the accepted pitch (what's in, what's explicitly out)
Deliverables - From the pitch
Timeline - Milestones from the pitch
Payment terms - Cost and payment schedule from the pitch (with upfront payment guidance for fixed-price contracts)
Change order process - How scope changes are handled
Acceptance criteria - When work is considered complete (from their definition of success in the pitch)
Intellectual property ownership - Who owns what
Termination clause - How either party can exit
Confidentiality - If needed
Legal jurisdiction and contract language - If needed
Work initiation terms - When work begins
Dispute resolution - If needed
Warranties & limitations - What you guarantee (and don't)

The contract references the pitch - Everything points back to the accepted alignment document. This keeps it short, clear, and aligned.

Output: docs/1-project-brief/[contract/service-agreement/signoff].md

Step 9: Finalize & Proceed (5 min)

Once signoff document is finalized:

✅ Alignment achieved
✅ Commitment secured
✅ Foundation established
✅ Pitch and contract ready to become backbone of project brief

The connection: The pitch and contract aren't throwaway documents. When you move to Module 04 to create your Product Brief, these documents become the foundation. The brief builds on the alignment and legal framework you've established.

Workflow complete:

✅ Listen - Discovery meeting
✅ Create - Pitch based on understanding
✅ Present - Shared proposal
✅ Negotiate - Refined together
✅ Accept - They said yes
✅ Contract - Short, clear, based on pitch
✅ Sign - Both parties committed
➡️ Next: Brief - Use pitch and contract as backbone

Next: Module 04: Product Brief

Success Criteria

You've completed this tutorial when:

✅ Discovery meeting completed with detailed notes
✅ Can clearly articulate what success looks like for them
✅ Alignment document created based on real understanding
✅ Alignment document shared in presentation meeting
✅ Stakeholders have accepted (everyone aligned)
✅ Signoff document generated and ready for signature
✅ Ready to proceed to Product Brief

Common Questions

Q: Can I skip the discovery meeting?
A: No - that's where you learn what they actually need. Without it, you're guessing.

Q: What if I think I already know what they need?
A: The carpenter still measures twice. Confirm your assumptions with real discovery questions.

Q: Can I present a solution in the discovery meeting?
A: Resist that urge. Take notes, confirm understanding, say "Let me think about this." Come back with something thoughtful.

Q: Do I always need this?
A: No - skip if you're doing it yourself or have full autonomy.

Q: Can I skip the signoff document?
A: Yes - the alignment document might be enough. Signoff formalizes the commitment.

Q: What if stakeholders want changes?
A: That's normal! Iterate and negotiate until everyone is on board. Their feedback makes the proposal better.

Q: How long does the whole process take?
A: Variable - discovery meeting (30-60 min), document creation (30-60 min), presentation & negotiation (variable, could be hours or days). The time invested in understanding saves weeks of misalignment later.

Next Steps

Continue to Module 04: Product Brief →

← Back to Module Overview | Back to Course Overview

Part of Module 03: Alignment & Signoff

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