P — Prove: Success Validation

Did the needle move?

This phase closes the loop back to Phase R. One question drives everything.

What to Measure

Pull the baseline and targets from docs/success-metrics.md and measure against them:

• Quantitative: Did each metric hit its target? (e.g. "quotes sent in 4min vs 4h before")
• Qualitative: Re-run the survey or interview from the Phase R baseline frustration score — did it improve?
• Second-order effects: Did the downstream impacts materialise? (e.g. cart abandonment dropped after checkout speed improved)

Outcomes

Success → document what worked, close the project, capture learnings.

Partial → identify which metrics hit and which didn't. Was the target unrealistic, or did the solution miss?

Fail → return to Phase R. The problem may have been misdiagnosed, or the success criteria were wrong.

In Serbia, when things go sideways, we make jokes. It's not denial — it's perspective. Balkan humor is the ability to look at a disaster and find the absurdity before you find the culprit. Apply that here. If Phase P says fail, laugh once — then go back to Phase R with fresh eyes. A failed outcome is the most honest piece of data you'll collect in the whole project. The problem was misdiagnosed. Now you know exactly where. That's worth something.

Exit Checklist

• Quantitative metrics measured against baselines in docs/success-metrics.md
• Qualitative scores re-evaluated against Phase R frustration baseline
• Second-order effects checked
• Success / partial / fail called explicitly — no ambiguity
• Learnings documented
• Client signed off