Lesson 1: What to get right before the contract is signed
18 min read·13 Oct 2026
Module 12 · Lesson 1 · About 40 minutes · Needs: Module 3 (discovery and the target); Module 10, Lesson 1 (who decides what); basic Python
The situation
Friday 20 March 2026, end of week 1 at Harbourline Freight. On Wednesday Carol saw your prototype and wanted it "rolled out on Monday". In January and February Ben had told her "deployed in four weeks", that the assistant "could reply to customers", and "fully automated claims". None of it is in the contract signed on 27 February, which Viktor heard about afterwards.
Ben has two more prospects in April. Nadia asks you to replay the deal from his call notes and the signed statement of work, and write down what the engineer's side of pre-sales should have produced.