Month 11-Week 4: Capstone v0.2 hardening + month retro + outreach follow-ups¶

Week summary¶

Goal: Address feedback from launch. Tag v0.2.0. Follow up on outreach. Run month-11 retro.
Time: ~9 h over 3 sessions.
Output: Capstone v0.2.0; addressed feedback; outreach conversations scheduled; month-11 retro.

Why this week matters¶

Month 11 was loud. Month 12 needs to be focused. This week consolidates: ships v0.2 with feedback applied, follows up on the relationships you started, and sets up M12 cleanly.

Prerequisites¶

M11-W01–W03 complete.
Capstone v0.1 launched.

Recommended cadence¶

Session A-Tue/Wed evening (~3 h): triage feedback + plan v0.2
Session B-Sat morning (~3.5 h): implement top 3 + tests
Session C-Sun afternoon (~2.5 h): outreach follow-ups + retro

Session A-Triage feedback + plan v0.2¶

Goal: Sift through all the feedback from launch. Pick the top improvements.

Part 1-Aggregate feedback (60 min)¶

Collect from: - HN comments. - Reddit comments. - X replies + quote-tweets. - Direct emails / DMs. - Issues opened on the repo.

Dump into a single doc, lightly categorized: - Bug reports. - Feature requests. - Doc improvements. - Conceptual disagreements.

Part 2-Triage (60 min)¶

For each item: - Severity (does it block users?). - Effort (hours). - Strategic fit (aligned with capstone identity?).

Pick top 3-5 to address in v0.2.

Part 3-Plan v0.2 (60 min)¶

Open GitHub issues. Group into a v0.2 milestone. Write a one-paragraph release-plan in the milestone description.

Output of Session A¶

v0.2 milestone planned.

Session B-Implement top 3 + tests¶

Goal: Substantive improvements that address real feedback.

Part 1-Implementation (150 min)¶

Three improvements. One per ~50 min.

Part 2-Tests + docs (45 min)¶

Tests for new behavior. README/docs updated.

Part 3-Tag v0.2.0 (15 min)¶

git tag v0.2.0
git push --tags
gh release create v0.2.0 --notes "<release notes>"

Brief release-notes post on your blog (200-300 words, what changed, thank specific commenters).

Output of Session B¶

v0.2.0 released.
Brief release notes published.

Session C-Outreach follow-ups + retro¶

Goal: Convert outreach into conversations. Run month-11 retro.

Part 1-Follow up on outreach (45 min)¶

For each of the 5 outreach messages: - If they replied: schedule a short call / video chat. - If they didn't: send one polite nudge with a relevant link to your release notes. - Track in your tracking file.

For people who replied, prepare 3 specific questions before the call. Goal: learn from them, not pitch yourself.

Part 2-CFP follow-ups (15 min)¶

Check status of CFPs. For accepted talks: prep dates. For rejected: add to a "next round" list.

Part 3-Month-11 retro (75 min)¶

MONTH_11_RETRO.md:

# Month 11 retro

## Artifacts shipped
- Capstone v0.1.0 + v0.2.0
- 4000-word capstone post: <link>
- Talk slides + delivered/scheduled
- Updated resume, LinkedIn, GitHub
- 5 outreach messages sent
- 2-3 CFPs submitted

## Engagement
- HN: <points/position>
- Reddit: <upvotes/comments>
- DMs received: <#>
- Outreach responses: <#>

## KPIs vs Q4 targets
| Metric | Target | End of M11 |
|---|---|---|
| Capstone v0.2 | Y | ✓
| Long-form post | Y | ✓
| Talk | Y | ✓ (or scheduled)
| Outreach | 5 | ✓

## Lessons
1. ...
2. ...
3. ...

## M12 plan
- Job-market reconnaissance.
- Interview prep.
- Year-2 plan.
- Year-end retro.

Output of Session C¶

Outreach progressed.
Month-11 retro committed.

End-of-week artifact¶

v0.2.0 released
Top 3 improvements addressed
Outreach conversations progressing
Month-11 retro

End-of-week self-assessment¶

My capstone evolves based on real feedback.
I have at least 1 substantive conversation with a target practitioner.
My pace is sustainable into M12.

Common failure modes for this week¶

Implementing every feature request. Triage hard.
Letting outreach go cold. One polite nudge max; then move on.
Skipping the retro. It's the cheapest leverage you have.

What's next (preview of M12-W01-final month)¶

Job-market reconnaissance OR continued building toward year-2 launch.