Pathfinder Checkpoints

Checkpoints are structured progress reviews with your pathfinder. They are not surprise tests — the questions below are exactly what your pathfinder will ask. Prepare for them specifically.

Checkpoint	Window	Main focus
Checkpoint 1	Weeks 4–6	Is your project scoped correctly? Is real work happening?
Checkpoint 2	Weeks 7–9	Are you Demo Day-ready? Is documentation progressing?

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How to prepare

At least 24 hours before your checkpoint, send your pathfinder the prep form. Four fields only — no evidence links in the form itself. Your Dev Log and Kanban board are the evidence; bring them on your laptop.

👉 Open the Checkpoint Prep Form — fill it in and use your browser’s Print → Save as PDF.

What the form asks:

1. Sprint status — traffic light + one honest sentence
2. Your current blocker — specific, not “it’s hard”
3. One question for the pathfinder
4. Live work link — GitHub repo, Figma, or working app

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Checkpoint 1 — questions your pathfinder will ask

These are not surprises. Prepare for each one.

Question	What a strong answer looks like
Show me your Kanban board right now. Walk me through Done vs. Doing.	Board is open, tasks have names on them, Done column has at least 2–3 items with commit links
Read me your sprint goal. Can a real user do that today?	”Yes — here is the link” or honest “not yet — here is what is blocking it and when we will fix it”
Where is your Stage 1 validation? Who did you talk to, and what did they say?	Specific names or descriptions, quotes in Dev Log, a note on what changed because of the feedback
Pick any team member. What did they contribute this week? Show me the evidence.	Named person, specific task, direct link to the work (commit, file, notes)
What is the one thing most likely to block you before Demo Day?	Honest answer with a mitigation plan — not “nothing, we’re on track”
Show me your most recent commit. What does it do?	Developer can explain the code, not just the title

What pathfinders do — and do not do

Pathfinders coach your process: scope, methodology, team dynamics, evidence quality. They do not debug code, fix hardware, or architect your system. Bring process questions to checkpoints, not technical ones.

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Checkpoint 2 — questions your pathfinder will ask

Question	What a strong answer looks like
How many user testing sessions since Checkpoint 1? Show me the notes.	3+ sessions, notes in Dev Log with direct quotes, evidence appendix started
What changed in your product because of user feedback?	Specific before/after: “We removed X because three users couldn’t find it. We added Y after two users asked for it.”
Open your Technical Documentation draft. Walk me through it.	Draft exists with at least architecture and technology sections filled in
What is your Demo Day scenario? What will a user actually do?	A rehearsable 2-minute flow — user opens the app, does X, sees Y, team narrates what is happening
What are you cutting if you run out of time?	A clear list of Should/Could items already deprioritised. No “we’ll finish everything.”
Is every team member contributing equally?	Honest answer with evidence. Gaps named and being addressed.

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What assessors look for in checkpoint evidence

Your checkpoint prep document becomes part of your portfolio narrative. Assessors look for:

Strong evidence	Weak evidence
”Fang Jing ran 2 user interviews on March 28 — notes linked here. Three users couldn’t find the search feature, so we moved it to the nav bar."	"We did some user testing this week and got useful feedback."
"GitHub commit a3f2c1: adds feeding log POST endpoint with input validation. Liu Wei, March 30."	"We made progress on the backend."
"🟡 At risk — our image upload is broken on mobile (CORS issue). We think we know the fix. Target: working by Thursday."	"🟢 On track — everything is going well.”

Specific + linked + named = evidence. Vague + unlinked = not evidence.

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Checkpoint prep form

Four fields. No evidence links required in the form — those live in your Dev Log and Kanban board. Bring those open on your laptop; the pathfinder will ask to see them live.

👉 Open Prep Form → — print or save as PDF from your browser.

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Booking your checkpoint

Ask your pathfinder directly — they manage their own availability. Book Checkpoint 1 before you leave your Week 4 session. Do not leave it to next week.