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status: active
last_updated: 2026-03-31
version: 1.0
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# Scaling Readiness Assessment

This reference file provides a structured framework for evaluating whether your business is ready to scale. The assessment covers four domains — infrastructure, processes, team capacity, and financial runway — producing a composite readiness score from 0 to 12 mapped to three verdict levels with prioritized next actions.

## Table of Contents

1. [Assessment Domains](#assessment-domains)
2. [Scoring Rubric](#scoring-rubric)
3. [Verdict Thresholds](#verdict-thresholds)
4. [When to Scale](#when-to-scale)
5. [How to Scale](#how-to-scale)

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## Assessment Domains

The scaling readiness assessment evaluates four critical domains. Each domain is scored from 0 to 3 based on specific criteria.

### Infrastructure Domain (0-3 points)

**Purpose:** Evaluate your technical infrastructure's ability to handle growth.

| Score | Criteria |
|-------|----------|
| **0** | Manual infrastructure, single points of failure, no monitoring or alerting |
| **1** | Basic automation, some redundancy, manual scaling |
| **2** | Automated deployment, redundant systems, basic monitoring |
| **3** | Serverless or fully managed infrastructure, auto-scaling, comprehensive observability |

### Processes Domain (0-3 points)

**Purpose:** Evaluate your business processes' scalability.

| Score | Criteria |
|-------|----------|
| **0** | Ad-hoc processes, undocumented workflows, owner-dependent execution |
| **1** | Some documented processes, inconsistent execution |
| **2** | Core processes documented and standardized, some automation |
| **3** | All core processes documented, automated workflows, continuous improvement |

### Team Domain (0-3 points)

**Purpose:** Evaluate your team's capacity for scaling.

| Score | Criteria |
|-------|----------|
| **0** | Solo founder with no delegation, burnout risk |
| **1** | Small team with overlapping roles, limited specialization |
| **2** | Defined roles, some delegation, manageable workload |
| **3** | Scalable team structure, clear delegation pathways, hiring-ready |

### Financial Runway Domain (0-3 points)

**Purpose:** Evaluate your financial capacity for scaling.

| Score | Criteria |
|-------|----------|
| **0** | < 3 months runway, negative cash flow trend |
| **1** | 3-6 months runway, uncertain unit economics |
| **2** | 6-12 months runway, positive unit economics |
| **3** | > 12 months runway, strong margins, growth capital available |

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## Scoring Rubric

### Per-Domain Scoring

Each domain is scored independently on a 0 to 3 scale based on the criteria above. The scoring is deterministic — identical assessment inputs produce identical scores.

**Scoring Method:**
- Answer questions for each domain
- Map answers to the 0-3 scale using predefined criteria
- No randomness or LLM variance in score calculation
- Scores are integers only (no decimals)

### Composite Score Calculation

The composite readiness score is the sum of all four domain scores. The maximum possible score is 12.

**Composite Score = Infrastructure + Processes + Team + Financial Runway**

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| **Range** | 0 to 12 |
| **Minimum** | 0 (all domains scored at 0) |
| **Maximum** | 12 (all domains scored at 3) |

### Deterministic Scoring (BR-001)

This assessment uses deterministic scoring — identical inputs always produce identical scores. There is no randomness or LLM variance in score calculation.

**Verification:**
1. Run the assessment twice with identical answers
2. Verify the composite score matches exactly
3. If scores differ, report as a bug (scoring must be deterministic)

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## Verdict Thresholds

The composite score maps to one of three verdicts with prioritized action recommendations.

### Summary Table

| Score Range | Verdict | Readiness Level |
|-------------|---------|-----------------|
| 0-4 | Not Ready | Critical gaps exist across multiple domains |
| 5-8 | Approaching Ready | Solid foundation with identifiable gaps |
| 9-12 | Ready to Scale | Strong foundation across all domains |

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### Not Ready (Score 0-4)

**Indicates:** Critical gaps exist across multiple domains. Scaling now would likely fail.

**Top 3 Actions:**
1. Address the lowest-scoring domain first (priority: critical gaps)
2. Establish basic infrastructure automation and monitoring
3. Extend runway to at least 6 months before scaling investments

**Guidance:** Focus on foundational improvements. Defer scaling initiatives until readiness improves.

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### Approaching Ready (Score 5-8)

**Indicates:** Solid foundation with identifiable gaps. Selective scaling possible with caution.

**Top 3 Actions:**
1. Strengthen the weakest domain (target: score 2+ in all domains)
2. Document and automate core processes before hiring
3. Build hiring roadmap and pool of candidates

**Guidance:** Ready for cautious, targeted scaling. Prioritize process automation before team expansion.

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### Ready to Scale (Score 9-12)

**Indicates:** Strong foundation across all domains. Prepared for significant growth.

**Top 3 Actions:**
1. Execute scaling plan with confidence (process automation, tool upgrades, hiring)
2. Monitor key metrics and adjust scaling pace based on performance
3. Reassess quarterly to maintain readiness as business grows

**Guidance:** All systems prepared for scaling. Execute sequenced scaling approach systematically.

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## When to Scale

Look for these five concrete indicators that signal scaling readiness:

- **Consistent Revenue Traction** — > 20% month-over-month growth for 3+ consecutive months, OR > $10k MRR with stable retention (> 85% gross retention)

- **Demand Exceeds Capacity** — Qualified leads or customer requests consistently exceed your ability to deliver, indicating product-market fit and unmet demand

- **Unit Economics Positive** — Customer lifetime value (LTV) exceeds acquisition cost (CAC) by 3x or more, with payback period < 12 months

- **Process Stability Achieved** — Core processes (onboarding, support, fulfillment) are documented and execute consistently with < 10% error rate

- **Runway Supports Growth** — Minimum 12 months of runway at current spend, or sufficient access to capital to fund 6+ months of aggressive scaling

**Note:** If you launched less than 30 days ago, use projected metrics and mark as "(projected)" — reassess with actuals after 30 days.

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## How to Scale

When scaling, follow this sequenced approach to maximize efficiency and minimize risk:

1. **Process Automation First** — Before investing in tools or hiring, automate existing processes. Audit core processes for repetitive manual tasks, implement automation for customer onboarding and notifications, build workflow triggers for common scenarios, and document automation so it can be maintained. Automation reveals which processes are truly scalable and creates capacity without adding headcount.

2. **Tool Upgrades Second** — Once processes are automated and understood, upgrade your tool stack. Evaluate tools for scalability limits, implement tools that support growth, build integrations between tools to reduce manual data transfer, and migrate from manual tooling to automated systems. Tools multiply process efficiency, but upgrading tools before processes are stable leads to tool chaos.

3. **Hiring Third** — Only hire after processes are automated and tools are scaled. Define clear roles with documented responsibilities, create hiring profiles that address specific capacity gaps, hire for roles that directly enable revenue growth, and implement onboarding processes that scale. Hiring is the most expensive and irreversible scaling action — hire into automated, tool-supported processes for maximum ROI.

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## Usage Notes

- **Minimum Business Age:** Assessment works for businesses at any stage. For < 30 days, mark financial projections as "(projected)".
- **Process Documentation:** If `core-processes.md` does not exist, the processes domain scores 0/3. Complete STORY-557 to improve process accuracy.
- **Serverless Infrastructure:** If infrastructure is serverless or fully managed (AWS Lambda, Vercel, etc.), infrastructure auto-scores 3/3.
- **Reassessment:** Run quarterly to track readiness improvement as business grows.
