1
Module · Pollen Pulse™
Not seven · one
Phase 1 ends when Pollen Pulse™ runs end-to-end as one believable operating loop inside vantage-otc.com — not in studio, not in labs, not as a mockup — and a Bayer category director can see Claritin's actual category live on the screen. Every other module, every other market, every other sponsor is deferred. This document is the single source of truth for Phase 1 execution.
VANTAGE-OTC.com's first operational grammar. Every Phase 2+ module — Flu & Cough Watch™ · AI-SoV · Retail Velocity · Switch Signals · Ecosystem Layer · Category Acceleration · Opportunity Engine · Marketplace matching — inherits this same five-step structure. Protect the clarity of the loop above everything.
If a proposed change cannot be justified against these six principles, it doesn't happen during Phase 1. Period.
Every feature proposal must materially strengthen the answer to one question: "Would a CHC operator open VANTAGE-OTC.com again tomorrow morning because of this feature?"
If uncertain or no — the feature defers to Phase 2. Visual sophistication that doesn't drive return is noise. Forecasting complexity that doesn't drive return is overengineering.
Not pollen scores. Not weather data. Not dashboards. Not seasonal widgets. The product is the five-step cascade itself — SIGNAL → INTERPRETATION → COMMERCIAL MEANING → MARKET CONTEXT → ACTION — applied to Pollen Pulse™ in Phase 1, inherited by every other module in Phase 2+.
Every visual decision · every copy decision · every UX decision answers to: does this clarify the cascade or does it dilute it?
15 June is a target date, not an identity. If on any Friday gate the answer is "not believable yet," slip by one week to 22 June. Fallback is non-negotiable.
Production-quality bar: believable · stable · coherent · trustworthy · integrated · alive. Not: broad · overloaded · over-designed · feature-rich.
Enterprise behaviour means: stored interpretation (not generated ad hoc) · YAML rule versioning · source attribution · confidence handling · stale-state UX · deterministic logic · fallback behaviour · rule_version traceability. No magic AI black box.
One module · two markets · one API · one portal surface · one embed · one sponsor sequence. The biggest improvement in this plan is what we excluded.
During implementation there will be temptation to add "one more thing" — a map · another category · a predictive graphic · an AI chat · another market · another signal type. Do not. Constraint is the asset that makes Phase 1 shippable.
All Phase 1 work uses the production VANTAGE-OTC.com shell · production CSS / classes · production architecture. No standalone visual languages. No isolated labs UX. No detached "labs-only" thinking.
The seasonal intelligence loop reinforces the existing terminal — it does not become its own separate site. Continuity strengthens belief. Fragmentation destroys it.
Phase 1 succeeds through coherence, not breadth. One module done beautifully > seven modules done partially. Enterprise buyers are excellent at extrapolation when belief exists; they are equally excellent at dismissal when belief is fragmented.
If Pollen Pulse™ works beautifully, Reckitt extrapolates Flu & Cough Watch™ on faith. If five modules work partially, Reckitt extrapolates nothing.
Anything not in the IN column doesn't happen during Phase 1. The OUT column is not "won't happen ever" — it's "won't happen during 26 May → 15 Jun." Most OUT items move into Phase 2 by Q3 2026.
Each week ends on a Friday gate · GO/NO-GO decision · slip 1 week if not believable yet. Founder bandwidth is the rate limiter — Tue + Thu 2pm CET deploy windows · two deploys/week max. Batch PRs to fit the windows.
004_pollen_interpretation.sql written · tested against prod-copy · reversibleknmi_sync.py written · interpretation rules YAML drafted · founder reviews copy/api/v1/intelligence/pollen-pulse/{market}/current · response shape locked · OpenAPI documented/portal/intelligence/pollen-pulse/ using existing portal CSS · empty-state renders/embed/pollen-pulse.js · ~30 kb · CSP-safe · vanilla JS · fetches API · renders cascade/demo/claritin-pollen-pulse/ · Claritin-themed variant · Cloudflare Access-gated · 14-day session policy template readyEach of the following will be tempting during weeks 1-3. Each one would dilute Phase 1's coherence. Each one is deferred to Phase 2 by doctrine D4. If any of these come up during stand-up, the answer is: "yes · Phase 2 · not Phase 1."
The list of things that will be tempting to add during the 3-week build. Each one has been considered. Each one has been deferred. The doctrine answer to every one of them is: "yes, that's interesting · Phase 2."
Production risks are different from concept risks · they're operational · they have specific mitigations. Each row here gets reviewed at the Friday gate. If a HIGH risk is unmitigated by Friday, slip the schedule.
None block tonight's documentation work. All six are needed before the Friday 30 May production deploy. Defaults proposed where reasonable · founder can confirm or override.
FEATURE_POLLEN_PULSE=true|false per environment · default falseThe Studio is alive · its role has shifted. Phase 1 ships in production at vantage-otc.com. This Studio holds Phase 2+ supporting strategy and the canonical Phase 1 execution doc (this page).
Everything else is Phase 2+.