Pipeline 07 of 07
The ledger layer
The boring half that pays
The directory structure, skills, connectors and cost ledger keep this line usable across a long run.
The ledger layer
The boring half that pays
The directory structure, skills, connectors and cost ledger keep this line usable across a long run.
01 Map
- Runs on
- A whiteboard and an owner per step
- Fixes
- Every step gets written down with an owner: what a person decides, what a model drafts, what a script handles alone at four in the morning.
- Takes
- Half a day
02 Skills
- Runs on
- Claude Skills
- Fixes
- A skill is a directory holding a SKILL.md file plus references, templates and scripts. Its description stays in context and the body loads only when a task matches, so instruction sets stay out of the way until needed.
- Takes
- Two days
03 Code
- Runs on
- Claude Code
- Fixes
- The repetitive end: batch renaming, render queues, spreadsheet updates, site copy edits and the client-facing pages themselves.
- Takes
- Three days
04 Connect
- Runs on
- MCP servers
- Fixes
- The studio gets wired to the tools already in use: Higgsfield for generation, Drive for assets, Sheets for the tracker, Slack for approvals.
- Takes
- One day
05 Interface
- Runs on
- Figma Make
- Fixes
- A pipeline turns into something the client can operate. React and Tailwind underneath, so a prototype can graduate into the real product.
- Takes
- Two days
06 Ledger
- Runs on
- Sheets, a run log
- Fixes
- Naming convention, version tags, run log and cost per accepted asset. This is the part that makes a creative studio explainable to a finance team.
- Takes
- Ongoing
Control gates
-
Human gate
Test A person signs off the brief and the final cut, at any volume.
Fail No exception has ever been worth it.
-
Rights gate
Test Model licence checked for commercial use under the client terms.
Fail Swap the model before rendering, never after.
-
Secret gate
Test No keys, client data or unreleased assets inside a prompt.
Fail Rotate the key and route through the connector.
-
Cost gate
Test Credit ceiling per asset agreed before a batch starts.
Fail The job halts and asks for a decision.
Loop Half a day mapping how the work runs today, one to two weeks building, then a live walkthrough. Everything sits inside the client accounts.