Skip to content

Core Principles of MOMENTUM

This document summarizes the core principles that guide the MOMENTUM framework. These concepts are the foundation for the workflows and artifacts used in this methodology.

1. Strategy is a Rebuildable Specification

A product strategy is not a story or a slide deck; it is a behavioral specification. It must be complete and clear enough that a new team could use it to rebuild the product to the same scope and behavior. This "rebuildability bar" is the ultimate test of a strategy's quality.

2. The Abstraction Layers: Strategy, Evidence, and Artifacts

Information is organized into clear layers to maintain clarity and separation of concerns.

  • Strategy (product-strategy.md): The condensed, authoritative specification (the "what" and "why"). It is the abstract.
  • Evidence (product-evidence.md): The detailed rationale and proof that underpins the strategy. It is the full paper with all the data.
  • Artifacts (/delivery/*): The disposable, regeneratable items (epics, stories) that express the strategy for execution.

This structure ensures that intent is preserved at the right level, while implementation details are handled downstream.

3. Production Reality Grounds Strategy

While pre-production feedback from prototypes and user research is vital for validating and course-correcting a strategy before building, real-world usage is the definitive measure that grounds and evolves the strategy over time. Production data provides the strongest signal for formal changes to the strategy SSOT.

4. Strategy Changes are Deliberate and Versioned

Strategy is not meant to be static, but it must not drift accidentally. All changes should be intentional, reviewed, and traceable. Using Git for strategy ensures that every change is a deliberate act, complete with a rationale for why it was made.

5. Shipped Artifacts are Immutable

Once a story is shipped to production, its artifact (story-*.md) becomes a historical record and must not be changed. This ensures auditability, traceability, and a coherent product narrative.

  • If a bug is found, fix the code but not the story's acceptance criteria.
  • If behavior needs to change, create a new story that supersedes the old one.

  • If a feature is removed, mark the original story as deprecated.

  • Source: Immutable Shipped Stories

6. The Human is the Decider, AI is the Assistant

The MOMENTUM framework uses AI as a powerful assistant, not as a replacement for the Product Manager. The human owns the intent, makes the decisions, and provides the critical context. The AI's role is to structure input, draft artifacts, ensure consistency, and highlight gaps.