Organizational Schema Theory — Prompt Toolkit

Businesses are test suites. You are the architect.

graph TD
    subgraph Cascade["TDD Cascade (top-down design)"]
        L0["Module 1<br/>Experience Design<br/>(L0: Acceptance Tests)"]
        L1["Module 2<br/>Signal Architecture<br/>(L1: Integration Tests)"]
        L2["Module 3<br/>Process Contracts<br/>(L2: Unit Tests)"]
        L3["Module 4<br/>Procedures<br/>(L3: Implementation)"]
        L4["Module 5<br/>Inputs<br/>(L4: Dependencies)"]
        L5["Module 6<br/>Sourcing<br/>(L5: Infrastructure)"]
    end

    subgraph Validation["Validation"]
        M7["Module 7<br/>Signal Mapping"]
        M8["Module 8<br/>Gap Analysis"]
    end

    L0 --> L1
    L1 --> L2
    L2 --> L3
    L3 --> L4
    L4 --> L5
    L5 --> M7
    M7 -->|"connects to L1"| M8
    L1 -.->|"SBT 8 dimensions"| M7

    style L0 fill:#1E3A5F,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD
    style L1 fill:#264D73,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD
    style L2 fill:#2E6087,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD
    style L3 fill:#36739B,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD
    style L4 fill:#3E86AF,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD
    style L5 fill:#4699C3,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD
    style M7 fill:#0d47a1,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD
    style M8 fill:#004d40,color:#fff,stroke:#BAE6FD

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What Is This?

Organizational Schema Theory applies Test-Driven Development methodology to business design. Businesses are designed backward from desired customer experience through testable, version-controlled specifications where each operational layer validates the layer above it.

This toolkit is an 8-module AI prompt pipeline. Copy prompts into any capable LLM (Claude, GPT, Gemini) and produce a complete operational specification -- from customer experience goals down to sourcing requirements. No framework knowledge required to start.

Quick Start

Zero to complete business specification in 40 minutes:

1. Copy the prompt from prompts/01_EXPERIENCE_DESIGN.md into your LLM
2. Describe your business in plain language: "I run a neighborhood bakery. We want customers to feel welcomed, trust our ingredients, and leave with something they are proud to share."
3. Get structured YAML: experience contracts, signal requirements, process specifications
4. Cascade through Modules 2-6, pasting each output into the next prompt (~5 min each)
5. Validate with Module 8 -- the LLM identifies gaps, orphans, and conflicts
6. Iterate -- fix gaps by revisiting the relevant module

For common business types, start with a starter pack instead of describing from scratch.

For automated validation, feed YAML output into orgschema-validate.

The 8 Modules

#	Module	Grounded In	Input	Output
1	Experience Design	Design Thinking, JTBD	Business description (plain language)	L0 experience contracts
2	Signal Architecture	SBT 8 Dimensions	Module 1 output	L1 signal requirements
3	Process Contracts	SIPOC, ISO 9001	Module 2 output	L2 process contracts
4	Procedure Specification	Toyota Standardized Work	Module 3 output	L3 procedures
5	Input Specification	Bill of Materials, SCM	Module 4 output	L4 input specs
6	Sourcing Requirements	ISO 9001 clause 8.4	Module 5 output	L5 sourcing requirements
7	Signal Mapping	SBT Signal Decomposition	Modules 1-6 output	Operations-to-brand signal map
8	Gap Analysis	TDD, Lean Muda	All module outputs	Validation report

Each module has a prompt in prompts/ and a YAML template in templates/. See templates/FRAMEWORKS.md for alternative framework citations per module.

Industry Starter Packs

Pre-filled L0 experience contracts for common business types. Copy, modify, and feed into Module 2.

Starter	Contracts	Types Included
Food Service	12	5 experience, 4 constraint, 3 commitment
Retail	11	6 experience, 3 constraint, 2 commitment
SaaS (B2B)	10	5 experience, 3 constraint, 2 commitment
Professional Services	9	5 experience, 2 constraint, 2 commitment
Education	10	6 experience, 2 constraint, 2 commitment

Executor Profiles

Procedures (Module 4) support three executor types in a single file:

Profile	Description	When to Use
human (default)	Human operator following step-by-step procedures	Most businesses starting out
hybrid	Human with automated assistance (sensors, auto-dosing)	Scaling with quality control
automated	Fully automated system (IoT, robotics)	High-volume or precision-critical

The active profile is selected by a single field: active_executor: human. Change it to hybrid or automated to switch. Module 8 (Gap Analysis) can compare profiles and flag signals that change when you switch executor types.

Scope

This toolkit produces a complete operational specification: from customer experience goals (L0) through sourcing requirements (L5), with signal mapping and validation.

The following domains are adjacent but outside this toolkit's scope:

• Financial modeling (pricing, P&L, unit economics)
• Labor management (hiring, scheduling, compensation)
• Marketing and customer acquisition
• Legal and corporate structure
• Capital expenditure and facility planning

These domains interact with operational specifications -- a sourcing requirement has cost implications, a procedure has staffing implications -- but specifying them requires domain-specific frameworks beyond this toolkit's purpose. The operational specification produced here serves as structured input to those planning processes.

Key Concepts

Concept	Meaning
TDD cascade	Six-level test hierarchy: L0 acceptance tests through L5 infrastructure
Contract	What must be achieved (the test) -- executor-invariant
Procedure	How it is achieved (the implementation) -- executor-specific
Quality gate	Measurable parameter with min/max/target that a process must satisfy
Forkability	Copy the test suite, rewrite the implementation for your context
Schema vs Data	Schema (what to measure) is publishable; Data (values) is competitive moat
Backward traceability	Every parameter traces to the L0 contract it serves

See docs/GLOSSARY.md for the complete terminology reference.

Repository Structure

orgschema-toolkit/
├── prompts/                    8 LLM-ready module prompts
│   ├── 01_EXPERIENCE_DESIGN.md
│   ├── 02_SIGNAL_ARCHITECTURE.md
│   ├── 03_PROCESS_CONTRACTS.md
│   ├── 04_PROCEDURE_SPECIFICATION.md
│   ├── 05_INPUT_SPECIFICATION.md
│   ├── 06_SOURCING_REQUIREMENTS.md
│   ├── 07_SIGNAL_MAPPING.md
│   ├── 08_GAP_ANALYSIS.md
│   └── README.md
├── templates/                  YAML output schemas (one per module)
│   ├── 01_experience_contracts.yaml
│   ├── 02_signal_requirements.yaml
│   ├── 03_process_contracts.yaml
│   ├── 04_procedures.yaml
│   ├── 05_input_specifications.yaml
│   ├── 06_sourcing_requirements.yaml
│   ├── 07_signal_map.yaml
│   ├── 08_validation_report.yaml
│   └── FRAMEWORKS.md
├── starters/                   Industry starter packs
│   ├── food_service.yaml
│   ├── retail.yaml
│   ├── saas.yaml
│   ├── professional_services.yaml
│   └── education.yaml
├── docs/
│   ├── METHODOLOGY.md
│   └── GLOSSARY.md
├── CITATION.cff
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

Related Projects

Project	Description
orgschema-framework	Python validator + JSON Schema (orgschema-validate CLI)
orgschema-demo	Spectra Coffee reference implementation (25 YAML files, CI/CD)
sbt-framework	Spectral Brand Theory toolkit (brand perception analysis)

Citation

@article{zharnikov2026ost,
  author  = {Zharnikov, Dmitry},
  title   = {The Organizational Schema Theory: Test-Driven Business Design},
  year    = {2026},
  journal = {SSRN Working Paper},
  url     = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6323456}
}

Author

Dmitry Zharnikov -- spectralbranding.com | orgschema.com

License

MIT -- see LICENSE.