User Guide

Everything you need to know about the Boot Camp portal

Public guide — readable without an account. Sign in to open projects, chat, and tasks in the portal.

Interactive tutorial (paused)

The guided onboarding tutorial is temporarily unavailable while we finish the documentation and demo content for each step. The User Guide below has the same material in article form.

Boot Camp Methodology

Boot Camp is a structured way to build software with AI. The portal and the AI assistant follow the same stages so that analysis, architecture, and implementation stay aligned and traceable — with feature specs, ADRs, and a clear task-to-roadmap flow.

The methodology is split into five stages. The AI guides you through each stage and keeps documentation (specs, decisions, roadmap) in sync with the repo.

1. Boot

Project scaffolding and team setup. Infrastructure, documentation structure, and team policies are pre-configured. Azure DevOps provisioning, rules deployment, and initial docs.

2. Analyse

Understand the problem. Gather requirements, analyze the existing system, run intake and risk assessment. Use chat to refine scope and create feature specs before any code.

3. Develop

Build the solution. Follow specs, write tests, and use AI agents for coding tasks. Feature specs and ADRs are required before implementation. Kanban-based task workflow tracks progress.

4. Launch

Go-live and handover. Deployment checklist, acceptance testing, production verification, and documentation finalised. Everyone signs off together.

5. Maintain

Evolve and operate. Customer feedback, new feature requests, and market shifts feed back into Analyse — starting the next cycle. Meanwhile: dependency updates, security patches, tech debt tracking, monitoring, and compliance upkeep keep the product healthy.

Getting started wizard

New workspaces use the Getting started flow at /getting-started after sign-up (or anytime your organization still has onboarding open). You must be signed in — from the public guide, use Sign in first. Progress is saved on your customer record.

  1. Project — Name, product type, and whether you use a remote repo (Azure DevOps, GitHub, Bitbucket, or none yet).
  2. Credentials — When you picked a host, enter a PAT or app password. Test connection is required for GitHub and Bitbucket before you continue.
  3. Initialize — Runs init-project (clone / layout under src/ when a repo is linked). Live status appears when an execution server is connected.
  4. Discovery — Enter company values for Boot stage discovery; the portal adds a starter Task Center item to finish the rest.

GitHub and Bitbucket — what to enter

  • URL — Use the HTTPS clone URL (e.g. https://github.com/org/repo.git or your Bitbucket HTTPS URL). SSH URLs are not supported in this wizard.
  • GitHub token — Personal access token that can read the repo: classic PAT with repo scope, or a fine-grained PAT with read access to repository contents and metadata. Paste it in step 2 and run Test connection.
  • Bitbucket — Bitbucket Cloud app password (or PAT) with repository read access, plus your account username and the repo URL. Run Test connection before saving.
  • Azure DevOps — In the same step, supply a DevOps PAT with access to the project/repo; the wizard validates through the DevOps credential path.

Credentials are stored encrypted on the server and are not shown again after you save. For MCP and local IDE setup, open the Developers tab in this guide; rule layout for contributors is under Rules for developers (same Users tab).

Using the AI Chat

The AI chat is your primary interface for interacting with the Boot Camp agent. It understands the project context and follows structured engineering practices.

Things you can ask

"What architecture pattern should I use for the user authentication module?"

"Create a Task Center task for implementing the search feature"

"Review this code snippet for potential issues"

"Set up the Azure DevOps integration for this project"

"What Boot Camp stage should this project be in?"

"Generate a feature spec for the notification system"

Tips

  • Enter sends the message. Shift+Enter adds a new line.
  • Drag and drop files onto the chat area, or use the paperclip to browse. Max 15 MB per file.
  • The assistant remembers your full conversation history per project.
  • Interactive mockups: When the AI creates an HTML mockup, click the file path in the chat to preview it in a panel, or open in a new tab / download.

File attachments (chat)

The assistant reads your attachments so it can summarize, compare, or answer questions about them. Supported types and how they are processed:

  • Documents: use PDF. Word files (.doc, .docx) are not accepted; save or export as PDF first.
  • Spreadsheets: .xlsx and .csv are supported (sheet and cell text is extracted for the AI).
  • Images (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP) for vision; code and text files (e.g. .ts, .md) as plain text.

If an upload is rejected (for example a Word document), the portal shows a short message explaining what to use instead. Partial uploads still work: valid files are sent; failed ones stay in your attachment list so you can remove or replace them.

Feature vs ADR — what’s the difference?

Boot Camp uses two main kinds of documentation: feature specs and ADRs (Architecture Decision Records). They answer different questions.

  • Feature (feature spec) — Describes what we’re building: the capability, acceptance criteria, and scope. You create or update one when you scope a task or plan a new capability. It lives in the project repo under docs/features/<name>/README.md.
  • ADR (Architecture Decision Record) — Describes why we made a technical or design choice (e.g. “We use PostgreSQL because…”, “We use REST not GraphQL because…”). You add one whenever the team makes an important decision that others need to understand later. It lives in docs/decisions/ADR-NNN-title.md.

In short: a Feature is what we build; an ADR is why we chose a particular way to build it.

Lifecycle stage vs “phase” in docs. The five methodology stages (Boot → Maintain) describe where the project is overall. Feature specs and ADRs use phases for implementation slices inside one document (e.g. spec Phase 1 / Phase 2). When you create an ADR, the Phase field records decision timing (analysis, architecture, …) — that label is not the same as the project's current lifecycle stage.

Rules for developers

The AI assistant follows Boot Camp rules — codified guidance that keeps documentation and workflows consistent. Rules live in .cursor/rules/ in the project repo.

Boot Camp vs project-specific rules

  • Boot Camp rules — Universal methodology (git workflow, testing, documentation). Synced from the template to all projects via rules-push. Live in .cursor/rules/*.mdc.
  • Project-specific rules — Rules that apply only to this project. Examples: tenant-specific conventions, project naming standards, or custom PR policies. Live in .cursor/rules/project/*.mdc. Rules-push never overwrites these — they stay with the project.

When adding a new rule: Default to project-specific. Create .cursor/rules/project/<topic>.mdc with source: project in the frontmatter. Only add to the flat Boot Camp rules when the rule is part of the shared methodology for all projects.

Features

Projects

Each project has its own chat, docs, and configuration. Open a project to work with the AI or browse documentation.

AI Chat

Conversational assistant that knows Boot Camp. Ask about architecture, attach files for analysis, or request feature specs and mockups.

Backlog

Roadmap proposals: high-level features and bugs. Use 'Elaborate in chat' to scope items; once scoped and accepted, add them to the roadmap (docs/ROADMAP.md).

Documentation

Browse project docs from the repo (specs, ADRs, mockups) in a tree view. Rendered in the portal so you don't need to open the repository.

Task Center Backlog vs Roadmap

What is the Task Center backlog?

The backlog is the first column in the Task Center Kanban. Tasks at status BACKLOG are proposals: high-level ideas or bugs not yet committed to the delivery plan. Create a FEATURE or BUG task to capture a new idea.

What is the roadmap?

The roadmap is the approved delivery plan by milestones. Items on the roadmap have been scoped (turned into a clear feature spec or bug-fix plan) and accepted by the team or stakeholder. So: Task Center Backlog = intake proposals; roadmap = committed work.

How does work move from chat to roadmap?

  1. Use Chat on a chat/* branch. The assistant creates or updates docs (feature specs, ADRs) on that branch.
  2. When the topic is ready for review, use the Send for review (checklist) button in the chat bar to push and open a task without starting a new topic — or click New Topic and choose Save and promote for review to archive and promote in one step.
  3. An admin opens the task, reviews the diff, and clicks Approve → Merge to merge into develop.
  4. After merge, update docs/ROADMAP.md in git when the team commits to delivery.

Review flow

  • Chat branchNew Topic → Save and promote → Tasks → open the FEATURE or BUG item in review → Approve → Merge into develop (ADR-035).
  • Review tab — Short help page only; merging happens in Tasks, not via docs/contributions/.

Features vs bugs

Features: Discuss in chat on a topic branch; have the assistant create or update the feature spec on that branch, then promote and merge via a FEATURE or BUG task in review.

Bugs: Same pattern: reproduce and scope in chat on the branch, merge when reviewed, then reflect delivery in docs/ROADMAP.md.

Summary

  • Backlog — Task Center tasks at status BACKLOG; create a FEATURE or BUG task to capture a new idea.
  • Scoping — Chat on a chat/* branch; assistant writes specs on that branch.
  • Roadmap — approved work in docs/ROADMAP.md after stakeholder acceptance.
  • Flow: Chat → New Topic (promote) → FEATURE/BUG in SPEC_REVIEW → merge to develop → update roadmap in git.
  • Review: Tasks — chat-promoted work items merge to develop like other branch reviews.

Tips for business owners & Analyse stage

These features help stakeholders validate requirements early and get the most out of the portal during the Analyse stage.

Interactive HTML mockups

Ask the chat for a web UI mockup (e.g. "create a mockup for the login screen"). When the assistant writes an HTML file under docs/assets/mockups/, click the file path in the message — a panel opens with the mockup rendered live. Use the toolbar to open in a new tab or download.

Attach intake documents

Drag and drop requirements docs, spreadsheets, or screenshots into the chat. The assistant can summarize them and suggest feature specs or tasks.

Feature specs & open questions

Ask for "create a feature spec for [X]" or "what are the open questions for this project?" to keep analysis structured and traceable.

How rules work (and why documentation stays consistent)

The portal and the AI follow the same Boot Camp rules: codified guidance that both humans and AI use. For documentation, the rules say things like: create a feature spec before any implementation; once something is scoped and accepted, add it to docs/ROADMAP.md; record important technical decisions in docs/decisions/ (ADRs). The AI is instructed to update these docs whenever it changes behavior or completes work, so the repository stays the single source of truth. As a business owner you can rely on the Docs tab to reflect what has been agreed and what is planned — and the chat assistant will suggest or create the right documents (specs, ADRs) because the rules require it.

Full details: project documentation includes a Tips for business owners & analysis page (linked from the Docs browser and from the ? help on Chat and Docs).

Need help?

Every page has a help button (the ? icon) in the top area. Click it for context-specific guidance, tips, and links to related features. You can also ask the AI chat assistant any question about the platform.