Guided journey
I'm joining a project midway
You've been brought onto a project that's already running. There's prior research, an existing PRD or operational scenario, possibly a prototype in flight. The goal isn't to redo the team's work — it's to get up to speed without restarting the loop.
Joining mid-flight is harder than starting fresh, but the reflex to "redo the research properly" is almost always wrong. Prior work is the team's accumulated context — discarding it costs the team weeks and signals you don't trust their judgment.
The work below is about reading the artefacts the team has already produced, understanding which loop iteration they're in, and finding a contribution slice that helps rather than disrupts. Resist forming strong opinions until you've done all six steps.
Steps
Locate the project's prior research
Pull the latest research synthesis for the programme. If it's stale or missing, that's a finding worth surfacing.
Read the current PRD or operational scenario
Whichever artefact the team passes through to Design. This is the spec the prototype is built against — read it as it stands today, not as you'd write it.
Find the most recent test plan and its results
What did the team last try to validate, and what did the evidence say? Check DASH for survey responses, observations, and OKR status.
Sit with the team — surface what isn't written down
Half of what a team has learned lives in the heads of the people doing the work. Book a 30-minute walk-through with the lead and the most-recent contributor before forming opinions.
Identify which inner-loop iteration the team is in
Are they prototyping, validating with users, or stuck somewhere between? The answer determines where you can contribute fastest without disrupting flow.
Propose a contribution point
Don't drop into the team's flow uninvited. Name the slice you'd take on; let the team confirm it's the right one. The fastest way to add value mid-project is to take work the team has already prioritised but not yet started.