Golden path (MVP)

Overview

The Golden path is the shortest route from an empty workspace to a running sprint with a teammate on board. It exists because MVP intentionally narrows the product down to this one flow: talk through an idea, turn it into a PRD, generate a backlog, let AI propose a sprint, then execute and invite others.

Every step maps to a real nav item you can click right now: New project, Idea Lab or PRD Studio, Product Backlog, AI sprint planning, Sprint board, My Tasks, and Organization invite. There is no hidden setup between steps.

The in-app onboarding checklist mirrors this exact sequence, so if you complete the checklist you have also completed the Golden path. Anything outside this path (advanced analytics, automations, executive dashboards) is deliberately out of scope for MVP and shows a coming-soon message if you try to reach it.

What you can do here

Create your first project with the AI-assisted wizard.
Turn a raw idea into a finalized PRD in Idea Lab and PRD Studio.
Generate and confirm a ranked backlog straight from that PRD.
Accept an AI-recommended sprint scope instead of planning from scratch.
Move work across the sprint board and track it in My Tasks.
Invite a teammate with the right role and seat before the sprint ends.

When to use

Your first day with GrowthOS, whether solo or with a team.
Live demos where you want to show idea-to-sprint in minutes.
Onboarding a new design partner or new hire onto the product.

Prerequisites

A logged-in Planner seat (Owner, Admin, or Member with planning access).
A configured AI provider on the server; if generation fails repeatedly, ask an Admin to contact support.

Where to find it

New project: /projects/new
Idea Lab and PRD Studio: /product/idea-lab and /product/prd-studio
Backlog, sprint, tasks: /backlog, /sprint-backlog, /my-tasks

Step-by-step

New project: open /projects/new and complete the AI-assisted wizard.
Idea Lab: open /product/idea-lab, describe the problem, and iterate with the assistant.
PRD Studio: refine the generated PRD at /product/prd-studio, then finalize it.
Backlog: open /backlog and confirm big rocks, epics, and stories look right.
AI sprint planning: from the project, open sprint AI planning and accept or adjust the recommended scope.
Sprint board: move work across columns; update assignees and status as the sprint progresses.
My Tasks: open /my-tasks to see your own queue distinct from the whole team board.
Invite: an Owner or Admin opens org invite and sends a Planner or Viewer seat to a teammate.

What success looks like

A finalized PRD exists for your first project.
The backlog is populated and at least one sprint has a confirmed scope.
At least one teammate has accepted an invite and can see the same project.

Tips & best practices

Complete the in-app onboarding checklist as you go; it tracks these exact same steps.
In MVP mode the sidebar is deliberately narrowed to this path; advanced modules appear only once enabled.
Do not worry about polishing the PRD on the first pass; finalize once stakeholders roughly agree, then iterate.

Common mistakes

Trying to reach modules outside the Golden path and being confused by the coming-soon message instead of treating it as expected MVP behavior.
Inviting a teammate before the backlog exists, leaving them with nothing to act on.
Re-running Idea Lab from scratch instead of iterating on the existing thread when scope changes slightly.