QUAD™ - Terminology & Jargons

The 1-2-3-4 Hierarchy

QUAD uses mathematical terminology throughout:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         QUAD™ - Circle of Functions                             │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                                 │
│   ┌─────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐        │
│   │    1    │    │      2      │    │      3      │    │      4      │        │
│   │ METHOD  │    │ DIMENSIONS  │    │   AXIOMS    │    │  CIRCLES    │        │
│   ├─────────┤    ├─────────────┤    ├─────────────┤    ├─────────────┤        │
│   │  QUAD   │    │  Business   │    │  4 Circles  │    │ Management  │        │
│   │         │    │  Technical  │    │  AI Agents  │    │ Development │        │
│   │         │    │             │    │  Docs-First │    │ QA          │        │
│   │         │    │             │    │             │    │ Infra       │        │
│   └─────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘        │
│                                                                                 │
│   METHOD: The algorithm/procedure (QUAD = Quick Unified Agentic Development)   │
│   DIMENSIONS: Coordinate axes (Business ↔ Technical focus)                     │
│   AXIOMS: Foundational truths that define QUAD                                 │
│   CIRCLES: Geometric shapes representing functional teams                       │
│                                                                                 │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

QUAD Glossary

QUAD uses new terms instead of Scrum jargon:

Old TermQUAD TermMeaning SprintCycle4-week period of continuous work Daily StandupPulseOptional weekly sync (5-15 min) Sprint PlanningTrajectorySetting priorities for the cycle Sprint ReviewCheckpointMonthly demo + release decision RetrospectiveCalibrationMonthly reflection + improvement BacklogHorizonWork ahead, prioritized queue Backlog GroomingRefinementBreaking down and clarifying work Sprint BacklogCycle QueueWork selected for current cycle Story PointsComplexityEstimation using chosen method VelocityFlow RateSpeed of work through pipeline BurndownProgressionVisual of work remaining Definition of DoneCompletion CriteriaWhen work is truly done Scrum MasterScheduling AgentAI handles coordination Product OwnerCircle LeadBA/PM/TL in Management Circle

Adoption Levels (Dimensional Geometry)

QUAD adoption follows dimensional progression (0D → 4D):

LevelNameSymbolDimensionWhat You Get 0DOrigin•PointDocumentation-first, no agents 1DVector→LineAI agents (sequential execution) 2DPlane▭PlaneParallel agent execution 3DSpace⬛CubeEnd-to-end pipelines 4DHyperspace⧈TesseractGuardrails + self-improving agents Timeline mapping:

• Origin (0D): 12 months (traditional timeline)

• Vector (1D): 9 months (25% faster)

• Plane (2D): 6 months (50% faster)

• Space (3D): 4 months (66% faster)

• Hyperspace (4D): 2 months (83% faster)

QUAD Glossary Card

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
QUAD GLOSSARY
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

CYCLE         4-week period of continuous work
PULSE         Optional weekly sync (5-15 min)
TRAJECTORY    Setting priorities for the cycle
CHECKPOINT    Monthly demo + release decision
CALIBRATION   Monthly reflection + improvement
HORIZON       Work backlog (what's ahead)
REFINEMENT    Breaking down and clarifying work
CYCLE QUEUE   Work selected for current cycle
FLOW RATE     Speed of work through pipeline
PROGRESSION   Visual of work remaining
COMPLETION    Definition of done criteria
IMPEDIMENT    Blocker that needs resolution

CIRCLES       4 functional teams (Mgmt, Dev, QA, Infra)
AGENTS        AI helpers assigned to each circle
ENABLING      Optional support teams (Architect, Security)

ADOPTION LEVELS (0D-4D)
─────────────────────────
ORIGIN        0D - Documentation-first, no agents
VECTOR        1D - AI agents, sequential execution
PLANE         2D - Parallel agent execution
SPACE         3D - End-to-end pipelines
HYPERSPACE    4D - Guardrails + self-improving

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

The 4 Circles

+------------------+------------------+ CIRCLE 1CIRCLE 2 MANAGEMENTDEVELOPMENT B80% / T20%B30% / T70% +------------------+------------------+ CIRCLE 3CIRCLE 4 QAINFRA B30% / T70%B20% / T80% +------------------+------------------+

B = Business Focus T = Technical Focus

Circle 1: Management (Business 80% / Technical 20%)

Roles: Business Analyst, Project Manager, Tech Lead Key Activities:

• Requirements gathering and user stories

• Timelines and stakeholder management

• Technical decisions and architecture oversight

AI Agents: Story Agent, Scheduling Agent, Documentation Agent, Estimation Agent

Circle 2: Development (Business 30% / Technical 70%)

Roles: Full Stack Developer, Backend Developer, UI Developer, Mobile Developer Key Activities:

• End-to-end feature development

• API services and business logic

• Frontend interfaces and mobile apps

AI Agents: Dev Agent (UI), Dev Agent (API), Code Review Agent, Refactor Agent

Circle 3: QA (Business 30% / Technical 70%)

Roles: QA Engineer, Automation Engineer, Performance Tester, Security Tester Key Activities:

• Test planning and manual testing

• Test automation frameworks

• Performance and security testing

AI Agents: UI Test Agent, API Test Agent, Performance Agent, Test Generator Agent

Circle 4: Infrastructure (Business 20% / Technical 80%)

Roles: DevOps Engineer, SRE, Cloud Engineer, DBA Key Activities:

• CI/CD pipelines and deployments

• Reliability and monitoring

• Cloud infrastructure and database optimization

AI Agents: Deploy Agent (DEV/QA/PROD), Monitoring Agent, Incident Agent, Cost Agent

Cycle Events

EventFrequencyDurationPurpose PulseWeekly (optional)5-15 minQuick sync, blockers, AI dashboard review CheckpointMonthly1 hourDemo to stakeholders, release decision CalibrationMonthly30-60 minRetrospective, agent learning review TrajectoryMonthly1-2 hoursPlanning priorities for next cycle

Estimation Methods

QUAD offers multiple estimation methods. Teams choose in settings:

Option 1: Platonic Solids (Default)

ShapeFacesComplexityEquivalent Tetrahedron4Trivial/Simple1-2 Cube6Moderate3-5 Octahedron8Medium5-8 Dodecahedron12Complex8-13 Icosahedron20Very Complex13-21

Option 2: Dimensions

ShapeDimensionsComplexity Point0DTrivial (config change) Line1DSimple (one file) Triangle2DModerate (few files) Square2D+Medium (multiple components) Cube3DComplex (cross-system) Tesseract4DVery Complex (architecture)

Option 3: Powers

NotationValueComplexity 2^01Trivial 2^12Simple 2^24Moderate 2^38Complex 2^416Very Complex

Option 4: Classic Fibonacci

PointsComplexity 1Trivial 2Simple 3Moderate 5Medium 8Complex 13Very Complex

Enabling Teams

Enabling Teams are optional support groups that are NOT counted as QUAD circles:

TeamWhen Needed Architect GroupLarge systems, complex integrations, shared databases Security TeamRegulated industries, handling sensitive data Compliance TeamHealthcare (HIPAA), Finance (SOC2), EU (GDPR) Note: QUAD = 4 Circles + AI Core + Optional Enabling Teams