Six seats.
No spectators.
Every role on Build Day is a decision-making role. The visible leadership seats — Product Owner and Narrator — go to senior staff as stretch assignments. The buyer-skeptic seat goes to the VPs. The Builder is designated. The remaining roles are filled by the team itself in a pre-day self-assignment meeting.
Builder
The team's technical lead. Owns the entire stack end to end — scaffolding, AI plumbing, the deploy. The only role with heads-down blocks. Everyone else is producing continuously.
- 01Tech-lead seat during Discovery: scope feasibility, MVP slice, cut order
- 02Heads down during Build Sprints 1 and 2
- 03Owns the Kickoff Ritual setup in front of the room
- 04Demos cold during the Proof-of-Life Walk-Around
- 05Freezes code at 3:15 PM. No more changes during Polish.
- 06Runs the live tool during the team's pitch — silent during the demo itself
Designated. Only three people in the firm have the rapid-development experience to play this role on Build Day.
Product Owner
The team's quarterback. Walks the team through the spec during Discovery, ratifies cuts, makes scope decisions when time gets tight, runs the working agreement. The most active non-Builder role — full load from Discovery to Demos.
- 01Walks the team through the spec during Discovery
- 02Ratifies the Builder's MVP slice and cut list
- 03Locks the working agreement (decide-without-me rule, artifact drop locations, check-ins)
- 04Owns scope decisions throughout both build sprints
- 05Approves the final demo script
- 06Defends scope choices in Q&A
- 07Owns the team's commitment in the Wrap Ritual
Stretch role. Goes to senior staff who have not yet had the chance to quarterback at this scale. Pre-day, the PO also runs the self-assignment meeting that fills the rest of the team's roles.
Client Advocate
Plays the skeptical buyer. Asks the questions a real procurement decision-maker would ask — not politely. Stress-tests every output as it appears. Pushes back on anything that feels like a tech demo instead of a client tool.
- 01Asks buyer's questions cold during Discovery
- 02Stress-tests every prototype iteration: would a buyer trust this?
- 03Validates that any data, citation, or comp the Market Analyst surfaces is real and traceable
- 04Final UX stress test during Polish — finds the rough edge judges will notice
- 05Backs up the Narrator on buyer-skepticism Q&A
Experience role. VPs have actual buyer-side experience and the power dynamic of "the VP isn't satisfied" lands harder than the same words from anyone else.
Narrator
The team's storyteller and public face during the demo. Drafts the value prop in Discovery, builds the pitch outline through both sprints, owns the room during Polish, delivers the live demo in front of everyone.
- 01Drafts the v0.1 value prop out loud during Discovery
- 02Builds the pitch outline through Build Sprint 1
- 03Identifies the visual moments the live demo needs to land — tells the Builder what to build
- 04Drafts the pitch script and rehearses sections through Build Sprint 2
- 05Owns the room during Polish — rehearses the full pitch on the live tool while the Builder is silent
- 06Delivers the 8-minute demo + 5-minute Q&A
Stretch role. Goes to senior staff with stage presence. Forces a staff member to own a high-stakes communication moment in front of the whole room.
Market Analyst
Researches comparable tools, builds the competitive positioning slide, integrates with the prototype's actual outputs. On the two teams of 7, this role is doubled (one chases competitive comps, one chases pricing comps).
- 01Describes the data plan in Discovery and tells the Builder what they need from the prototype
- 02Researches comps in real time during Build Sprint 1
- 03Drafts the competitive positioning slide
- 04Finalizes comp slide during Build Sprint 2 and integrates with the prototype's actual outputs
- 05Hands competitive slide to the Narrator during Polish
- 06Backs up the Narrator on competitive Q&A
Energetic researcher with good Google-fu. A real opportunity for someone earlier in their career to contribute meaningfully without the spotlight.
Pricing Strategist
Builds the ROI model and the business case. Anchors pricing to the cost it replaces, not the cost to build. Defends the math in Q&A — the pricing slide lives or dies in defense, not in the slide itself.
- 01Drafts a v0.1 business case during Discovery so the Narrator has a number to point at by mid-morning
- 02Builds the ROI model during Build Sprint 1
- 03Pressure-tests the model against likely judge objections during Build Sprint 2
- 04Hands the pricing slide to the Narrator during Polish
- 05Backs up the Narrator on pricing Q&A
Comfortable with numbers and with defending them in public. Less spreadsheet, more advocacy.