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📚 SMDocs: Documentation Bootstrap Systems

Two lightweight, generic documentation systems for any project:

  1. Lean Bootstrap - For teams and general projects
  2. Design Bootstrap - For designers and UX teams

Choose the one that fits your needs, or use both together.

🎯 Quick Start: Which System Do I Need?

🏢 Lean Bootstrap

For: Any project, any team, distributed work, AI agent collaboration

Solves:

  • Context loss between sessions (AI agents start fresh)
  • Documentation staying in sync
  • Quick onboarding (understand project in 15 minutes)
  • Clear routing of information (who should read what)

Setup time: 30 minutes Maintenance: ~1 hour/week

📂 Location: /bootstrap-lean/

👉 Start here: bootstrap-lean/BOOTSTRAP_LEAN.md

🎨 Design Bootstrap

For: Individual designers, design teams, UX/product designers

Solves:

  • "Will AI replace designers?" (No, here's why with proof)
  • Documenting design thinking (not just aesthetics)
  • User-validated decisions (evidence, not guesses)
  • Clear handoff to developers (zero revision cycles)

Setup time: 30 minutes Maintenance: ~30 min/week

📂 Location: /bootstrap-design/

👉 Start here: bootstrap-design/DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md

📁 Repository Structure

SMDocs/
│
├── bootstrap-lean/              [Generic documentation system]
│   ├── BOOTSTRAP_LEAN.md       → Overview & philosophy
│   ├── MISSION_CONTROL.md      → AI agent instructions & project guide
│   ├── DOCS_INDEX.md           → Central documentation registry
│   ├── QUICKSTART.md           → 30-minute setup guide
│   ├── DOCS_TEMPLATE_ENGINEERING.md    → Tech documentation template
│   ├── DOCS_TEMPLATE_PRODUCT.md        → Product documentation template
│   ├── DOCS_TEMPLATE_OPERATIONS.md     → Operations documentation template
│   └── CLAUDE_MISSION_TEMPLATE.md      → Optional AI agent mission
│
├── bootstrap-design/            [Design-specific documentation system]
│   ├── DESIGN_BOOTSTRAP_OVERVIEW.md    → Overview for designers
│   ├── DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md            → Why this matters (career perspective)
│   ├── DESIGN_QUICKSTART.md            → 30-minute setup guide
│   ├── DESIGN_SYSTEM_TEMPLATE.md       → Your design source of truth
│   ├── DESIGN_PROCESS_TEMPLATE.md      → How to work with AI
│   ├── DESIGN_DECISIONS_TEMPLATE.md    → Design Decision Records (DDRs)
│   ├── DESIGN_RESEARCH_TEMPLATE.md     → User feedback & insights
│   └── DESIGN_TO_DEV_TEMPLATE.md       → Developer handoff specs
│
└── README.md                    [This file]

🚀 Getting Started

Option 1: Use Lean Bootstrap (General Projects)

# 1. Copy to your project
cp -r bootstrap-lean/* /path/to/your/project/

# 2. Read the overview
cat bootstrap-lean/BOOTSTRAP_LEAN.md

# 3. Follow the quick start
cat bootstrap-lean/QUICKSTART.md

# 4. Customize the 3 templates for your project
# - MISSION_CONTROL.md (project info)
# - DOCS/ENGINEERING.md (tech details)
# - DOCS/PRODUCT.md (features)
# - DOCS/OPERATIONS.md (deployment)

Time to setup: 30 minutes

Option 2: Use Design Bootstrap (Designers)

# 1. Copy to your project
cp -r bootstrap-design/* /path/to/your/project/

# 2. Understand the philosophy
cat bootstrap-design/DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md

# 3. Follow the quick start
cat bootstrap-design/DESIGN_QUICKSTART.md

# 4. Customize the 5 templates for your project
# - DESIGN_SYSTEM.md (components, colors, typography)
# - DESIGN_PROCESS.md (how you work)
# - DESIGN_DECISIONS.md (why you chose things)
# - DESIGN_RESEARCH.md (user feedback)
# - DESIGN_TO_DEV.md (handoff to developers)

Time to setup: 30 minutes

Option 3: Use Both (Integrated Teams)

If your team has designers, engineers, and product people, use both:

# Copy both systems
cp -r bootstrap-lean/* /path/to/your/project/
cp -r bootstrap-design/* /path/to/your/project/

# Engineers/PMs: Read BOOTSTRAP_LEAN.md
# Designers: Read DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md
# Everyone: Understand both systems work together

Time to setup: 45 minutes Result: Integrated documentation from design → code → operations

📖 What Each System Does

Lean Bootstrap: The 3-Team Model

🔧 ENGINEERING              🎨 PRODUCT              ⚙️ OPERATIONS
Tech, architecture, APIs    Features, design,       Deploy, monitor,
Testing, how we build       requirements, why       runbooks, incidents
│                           │                        │
└───────────────┬───────────┴────────────────┬──────┘
                │
         MISSION_CONTROL.md
         (Project guide for everyone)

Best for:

  • Any technical project
  • Distributed teams
  • AI agent collaboration
  • Clear routing of information

Design Bootstrap: The 5-Document Model

DESIGN_SYSTEM.md            DESIGN_PROCESS.md       DESIGN_RESEARCH.md
(Components, rules)         (How you work with AI)   (What users told you)
│                           │                        │
└───────────────┬───────────┴────────────────┬──────┘
                │
     DESIGN_DECISIONS.md
     (Why you chose what)
            │
         DESIGN_TO_DEV.md
         (Handoff to developers)

Best for:

  • Individual designers
  • Design teams
  • Product + Design collaboration
  • Proving design value in AI era

🎯 Lean Bootstrap: Core Files

File Purpose Time
BOOTSTRAP_LEAN.md Overview, visuals, key principles Read: 5 min
MISSION_CONTROL.md AI agent instructions, project overview Read: 5 min
DOCS_INDEX.md Registry of all docs, freshness tracking Read: 3 min
QUICKSTART.md Step-by-step 30-minute setup Read+Do: 30 min
DOCS_TEMPLATE_ENGINEERING.md Tech documentation template Customize: 15 min
DOCS_TEMPLATE_PRODUCT.md Product documentation template Customize: 15 min
DOCS_TEMPLATE_OPERATIONS.md Operations documentation template Customize: 15 min
CLAUDE_MISSION_TEMPLATE.md Optional: AI agent mission briefing Optional: 10 min

🎨 Design Bootstrap: Core Files

File Purpose Time
DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md Why designers matter in AI era Read: 15 min
DESIGN_BOOTSTRAP_OVERVIEW.md Overview, big picture, benefits Read: 10 min
DESIGN_QUICKSTART.md Step-by-step 30-minute setup Read+Do: 30 min
DESIGN_SYSTEM_TEMPLATE.md Document your design source of truth Customize: 20 min
DESIGN_PROCESS_TEMPLATE.md How to work with AI tools Read: 10 min
DESIGN_DECISIONS_TEMPLATE.md Document design decisions (DDRs) Read: 10 min
DESIGN_RESEARCH_TEMPLATE.md Log user feedback & insights Read: 10 min
DESIGN_TO_DEV_TEMPLATE.md Create developer handoff specs Read: 15 min

✨ Key Principles (Both Systems)

1. Simple Over Complex

Start lightweight. Both systems are designed to be adopted in 30 minutes with minimal friction.

2. Aligned with How People Work

  • Lean Bootstrap: Uses 3 clear teams that map to real roles
  • Design Bootstrap: Uses Figma terminology designers already understand

3. AI-Friendly

Both systems provide context-rich documentation that AI agents can read and understand across sessions.

4. Documentation as Code

Everything is markdown in git. Version controlled, reviewed, owned.

5. Iteration Over Perfection

These are starting points. Customize them to match your workflow.

🎓 Reading Order

For Individual Developers/Small Teams

  1. Read: bootstrap-lean/BOOTSTRAP_LEAN.md (5 min)
  2. Do: bootstrap-lean/QUICKSTART.md (30 min)
  3. Customize: The 3 template files
  4. Use: Daily

For Designers (Worried About AI)

  1. Read: bootstrap-design/DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md (15 min)
  2. Do: bootstrap-design/DESIGN_QUICKSTART.md (30 min)
  3. Customize: The 5 template files
  4. Use: Daily, build institutional knowledge

For Design + Engineering Teams

  1. Read: Both PHILOSOPHY files (30 min total)
  2. Do: Both QUICKSTART files (60 min total)
  3. Customize: All templates for both systems
  4. Use: Integrated, designers own design docs, engineers own tech docs

🤝 How These Systems Work Together

If you're using both:

DESIGNERS                          ENGINEERS
    │                                  │
    ├─→ DESIGN_SYSTEM.md    ────→    DOCS/ENGINEERING.md
    │   (components)                  (how to build them)
    │
    ├─→ DESIGN_DECISIONS.md ────→    Understand why you chose X
    │   (why we chose this)
    │
    └─→ DESIGN_TO_DEV.md    ────→    DOCS_INDEX.md entry
        (handoff specs)              (registered as doc)

Designers maintain design documentation. Engineers maintain technical documentation. Product maintains product documentation.

Everyone reads MISSION_CONTROL.md to understand the project.

🆘 FAQ

Q: Which system should I choose?

A:

  • Small team / general project? → Lean Bootstrap
  • You're a designer worried about AI? → Design Bootstrap
  • You have both designers and engineers? → Both

Q: Can I use these for an existing project?

A: Yes! Copy the templates and start documenting what you already have.

Q: How much maintenance is this?

A:

  • Lean Bootstrap: ~1 hour/week (update timestamps when docs change)
  • Design Bootstrap: ~30 min/week (log decisions, research as you work)

Q: Can I modify these templates?

A: Absolutely. These are starting points. Make them yours.

Q: Do I need to use all files?

A: No. Start minimal. Add what you need.

Q: Will AI agents understand these?

A: Yes. Both systems are designed with AI agents in mind. They provide clear context.

📚 Real-World Examples

Example 1: Startup Using Lean Bootstrap

Day 1: Team copies bootstrap-lean/ files
Day 3: Customized MISSION_CONTROL.md, DOCS/*
Day 1 Week 2: New engineer joins, reads docs, productive same day
Month 2: AI agent (Claude) resumes work from previous session smoothly
Month 3: Clear record of all decisions, documented in git

Example 2: Designer Using Design Bootstrap

Day 1: Designer reads DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md (confidence restored)
Day 2: Sets up design system documentation (DESIGN_SYSTEM.md)
Week 1: Documents first 3 decisions (DESIGN_DECISIONS.md)
Week 3: Tests design with users, logs feedback (DESIGN_RESEARCH.md)
Month 2: 15 documented decisions, 50 pieces of user feedback
Month 3: Can show stakeholders: "Here's why each decision was intentional"

🚀 Advanced Usage

Using with Claude Code (AI Agent)

Both systems are optimized for Claude Code sessions:

# 1. Copy templates to your project
# 2. Customize placeholders
# 3. In Claude Code, reference the files:

"Here's our project setup. Read:
- bootstrap-lean/MISSION_CONTROL.md (how we work)
- bootstrap-lean/DOCS_INDEX.md (what docs exist)
- DOCS/[RELEVANT_FILE] (context for your task)"

# Claude reads these files, understands context, works effectively

Integrating with Git Hooks

Both systems work with git pre-commit hooks:

# Check that docs are updated when relevant files change
# Check timestamps are current
# Verify cross-references are valid

# This keeps documentation honest

📞 Support & Feedback

Have questions? Want to improve these templates?

  • For Lean Bootstrap: See bootstrap-lean/BOOTSTRAP_LEAN.md
  • For Design Bootstrap: See bootstrap-design/DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md

Both files have troubleshooting sections and learning resources.

✅ Success Criteria

You know these systems are working when:

✅ New people onboard quickly (15-30 minutes) ✅ AI agents understand context in first session ✅ Decisions have clear reasoning documented ✅ Everyone knows where to look for information ✅ Docs stay in sync (not contradicting) ✅ You can explain why you chose something ✅ Developers reduce revision cycles (better handoff)

🎓 Credits

Both systems were designed to solve real problems:

Lean Bootstrap: Extracted from the domideas project, which maintains 3,700+ lines of documentation while working with AI agents across multiple sessions.

Design Bootstrap: Created to answer "How do designers stay valuable in the AI era?" Focuses on proving design is about judgment and validation, not pixel-pushing.

📄 License

These templates are free to use and modify for any project.

Start small. Document as you go. Let the system evolve.

Choose your path:

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