QUAD Cheat Sheet
Quick reference for all QUAD terminology. Search or filter by category.
Adoption Level
(5)0D Origin
No AI agents. Pure human QUAD with all methodology benefits but manual execution.
1D Vector
Sequential AI agents. One agent runs at a time with human approval between each step.
2D Plane
Parallel AI agents within phases. UI and API agents work simultaneously, human gates between phases.
3D Space
Full pipeline automation. Agents chain automatically, humans only at start and end.
4D Hyperspace
Self-improving AI. Agents learn from outcomes and optimize themselves. Exception-only human involvement.
Circle
(4)Circle 1: Management
Business-focused team (80% business, 20% technical). Includes BA, PM, Tech Lead. Uses Story Agent.
Circle 2: Development
Code-focused team (30% business, 70% technical). Full Stack, Backend, UI, Mobile devs. Uses Dev Agents.
Circle 3: QA
Quality-focused team (30% business, 70% technical). QA Engineers, Automation, Security. Uses Test Agents.
Circle 4: Infrastructure
Ops-focused team (20% business, 80% technical). DevOps, SRE, Cloud, DBA. Uses Deploy/Monitor Agents.
Time Unit
(4)Cycle
4-week development period (replaces Sprint). Contains 4 Pulses. Major deliverable at end.
Pulse
1-week work unit within a Cycle. Contains daily Checkpoints. Minor deliverables.
Checkpoint
Daily sync point. AI generates status report, humans review async. Replaces standup meetings.
Trajectory
3-month planning horizon (3 Cycles). Quarterly roadmap alignment.
Core
(1)QUAD
Quick Unified Agentic Development. AI-powered methodology with 4 Circles, documentation-first approach.
Artifact
(2)Flow Document
Living specification that travels with a feature. Contains requirements, design, tests, deployment info. Single source of truth.
Backlog
Prioritized list of work items. Managed by Circle 1 (Management). AI assists with prioritization.
Process
(4)Human Gate
Approval checkpoint where humans review AI output before proceeding. Critical for quality control.
WIP Limit
Work-In-Progress limit per Circle. Prevents overload. AI monitors and alerts when exceeded.
Phase
Major workflow stage: Plan, Develop, Test, Deploy, Monitor. Each phase has specialized agents.
Cycle Velocity
Average story points completed per Cycle. Used for planning. AI tracks and predicts trends.
Principle
(1)Docs-First
Write specs before code. AI reads docs to generate code. Docs are always up-to-date.
AI Agent
(6)Story Agent
AI that expands user stories with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and technical considerations.
Dev Agent
AI that generates code from Flow Documents. Variants: Dev Agent (UI), Dev Agent (API).
Test Agent
AI that generates test cases from acceptance criteria. Variants: UI Test Agent, API Test Agent.
Deploy Agent
AI that handles CI/CD pipelines, deployments, and rollbacks. Integrates with GitHub Actions, etc.
Monitor Agent
AI that watches production systems, detects anomalies, and alerts or auto-heals issues.
Review Agent
AI that reviews code, checks for patterns, security issues, and suggests improvements.
Estimation
(6)Tetrahedron (4)
Small complexity. Simple feature, 1-2 day effort.
Cube (6)
Medium complexity. Standard feature, 3-5 day effort.
Octahedron (8)
Large complexity. Complex feature, 1-2 week effort.
Dodecahedron (12)
Extra large complexity. Major feature, 2-3 week effort. Consider breaking down.
Icosahedron (20)
Epic complexity. Too large for single story. Must be split into smaller stories.
Platonic Solids
Estimation system using geometric shapes: Tetrahedron(4), Cube(6), Octahedron(8), Dodecahedron(12), Icosahedron(20).