Depth Standard

How a generic playbook entry becomes a concrete, worked, talk-track-equipped page. Hand this to the implementation agent. Apply it per file, not in bulk.

The Five Moves

Worked scenario — run one concrete, named case end-to-end with a drawn flow. Not "source → destination."
State the numbers — replace "use retries / back off" with the actual policy (counts, delays, status-code handling).
Failure path — the flow shows happy path and failure (retry → backoff → DLQ), not just success.
Talk track — a "Say it like this" box at each key decision. The literal sentence said on a call.
Audience lens — a "who sees what" view (eng / CS / customer) wherever observability applies.

File Tiers — what gets applied where

Tier	Folders	Moves
A — Full	`patterns/`, `architecture/`, `ci-cd/`	All five
B — Partial	`pre-sales/`, `implementation/`, `migration/`, `environments/`, `compliance/`, `cost-modeling/`	1, 2, 4 (add 3 + 5 where relevant)
C — Leave lean	`battle-cards/`, `templates/`, `internal/`, `lessons/`, `examples/`, `business-value/`, `stakeholder-management/`, `engagements/`, `recovery/`	None — do not pad

Note: Tier C is deliberate. A worked scenario on a one-page objection card or a talk-track box on a copy-paste template breaks its purpose. Move a folder between tiers only on a conscious call.

Format Rules

Tables: markdown tables by default. They inherit the theme and are dark-mode safe.
Custom HTML: only for what markdown can't do — .sp-say (talk track), .sp-band (scenario steps), .sp-pill (status tags). Nothing else.
Flows: mermaid, in a ```mermaid fence.
Colors: VitePress CSS variables only. Never hardcode hex — it breaks dark mode.
CSS: the .sp-* block lives once in .vitepress/theme/custom.css. Do not repeat it per file.

Note (mermaid runs in securityLevel: 'strict'): no HTML in node labels, no <br>, no click handlers. Keep labels short and single-line.

Accuracy Rule

Reputation artifact. Wrong specifics are worse than vague ones.

Universal / verifiable facts (HTTP status semantics, "backoff doubles each attempt", SQS 14-day max) → state directly.
Context-dependent values (retry counts, rate limits, latency targets, costs) → mark illustrative (~1s, e.g. 1s→2s→4s) or verify against official docs before stating.
Never invent a specific number and present it as authoritative.

Canonical Example Cast

Reuse the same systems across files so the playbook reads authored, not assembled.

CRM / system of record → Salesforce
E-commerce → Shopify
ERP → NetSuite
Payments → Stripe
Warehouse → Snowflake
Destination → internal SaaS product / internal CRM
CI / build → GitHub Actions
Artifact registry → Amazon ECR
GitOps CD → ArgoCD

Note: names are illustrations of a category, not endorsements. The page stays vendor-neutral; the example is concrete.

Voice — "Say it like this" boxes

Outcome-first, warm but direct, one clean line. Sound like the author, not a neutral model. Feed Ben_Hankins_Voice_Content_Feb26 / voice context to the agent so these come out in register.

Per-File Checklist

[ ] Tier identified, correct moves applied
[ ] One worked scenario with a drawn flow (Tier A/B)
[ ] Numbers stated or marked illustrative — none invented
[ ] Failure path shown (Tier A)
[ ] Talk track(s) in author voice
[ ] Tables in markdown; HTML only for .sp-*
[ ] No per-file <style> block once CSS is in custom.css

Appendix — exact markup

CSS (lives in custom.css):

css

.sp-say { border-left: 3px solid var(--vp-c-brand-1); background: var(--vp-c-brand-soft); border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; padding: 12px 16px; margin: 14px 0; }
.sp-say .sp-label { font-size: .7rem; font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .07em; color: var(--vp-c-brand-1); margin-bottom: 4px; }
.sp-say p { margin: 0; font-style: italic; color: var(--vp-c-text-1); }
.sp-band { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 8px; margin: 14px 0; }
.sp-band .sp-step { flex: 1 1 150px; border: 1px solid var(--vp-c-divider); border-radius: 8px; padding: 10px 12px; background: var(--vp-c-bg-soft); }
.sp-band .sp-step .sp-h { font-weight: 700; font-size: .82rem; color: var(--vp-c-text-1); margin-bottom: 2px; }
.sp-band .sp-step .sp-d { font-size: .78rem; color: var(--vp-c-text-2); }
.sp-pill { display: inline-block; font-size: .72rem; font-weight: 600; padding: 1px 8px; border-radius: 20px; background: var(--vp-c-default-soft); color: var(--vp-c-text-2); }
.sp-pill.ok { background: var(--vp-c-tip-soft); color: var(--vp-c-tip-1); }
.sp-pill.warn { background: var(--vp-c-warning-soft); color: var(--vp-c-warning-1); }
.sp-pill.bad { background: var(--vp-c-danger-soft); color: var(--vp-c-danger-1); }

Talk track:

html

<div class="sp-say">
  <div class="sp-label">Say it like this</div>
  <p>"..."</p>
</div>

Scenario band (repeat .sp-step per step):

html

<div class="sp-band">
  <div class="sp-step"><div class="sp-h">1 · Emit</div><div class="sp-d">...</div></div>
</div>

Status pill: <span class="sp-pill warn">429</span> — ok / warn / bad.

Depth Standard ​

The Five Moves ​

File Tiers — what gets applied where ​

Format Rules ​

Accuracy Rule ​

Canonical Example Cast ​

Voice — "Say it like this" boxes ​

Per-File Checklist ​

Appendix — exact markup ​