Course Roadmap — Prompt Order Theory™

Your numbered path from idea to launch.

This roadmap is Prompt Order Theory™ in practice — the 23 named steps I use on every app I ship, mapped to 23 in-order lessons (each lesson is labelled with its blueprint step, so some numbers cover more than one lesson). Each lesson opens with a "Quick Start" — what it is, why it matters, the exact prompt to copy, and what to check after. Do them in order and skip the wasted credits.

What is Prompt Order Theory™? Terms glossary

Your Progress

Recommended before Module 1

Build once. Reuse the blueprints for every app.

Start with the Handy 6-Prompt Pack in Resources — six reusable stand-alone prompts I use across every build. Most are $29 each, AdminMike™ is $49, or grab the 6-prompt pack for $149 and save $45. (This is NOT the full 23-step Prompt Order Theory™ system — that's the Prompt Vault.)

Explore the 6-prompt pack

Optional primer — not part of the 23 steps

Skill primers you can take any time

Brand asset checklist (part of Step 1)
The name, domain, logo, favicon and tagline you gather BEFORE prompt #1 — free with your account.
Open primer
Marketing & growth prep
Positioning, headlines and launch channels — valuable, but deliberately outside the official 23 build steps.
Open primer
What is an API?
Explained for non-techies — a primer, not one of the 23 steps.
Open primer
How to talk to your AI builder
Tone, structure & habits that get clean results — a standalone primer, not one of the 23 steps.
Open primer
Pick an idea people actually want (free)
Free idea research you do before prompt #1 — pairs with the free Step 1 lesson.
Open primer
GitHub — back up your code
Why every serious app connects to GitHub, and how.
Open primer
MCP basics
What MCP is and when to set one up.
Open primer
What is Browserbase?
When to let your app drive a real browser.
Open primer
HIPAA for medical apps
Only if you handle patient information.
Open primer
App stores (Apple & Google)
If you really want to be in the stores.
Open primer
Prompt order recap
The full 23-step timeline in one place.
Open primer

Phase

Discover & Brand

Lessons 1–2

Phase

Build the Shell

Lessons 3–9

Phase

Connect & Charge

Lessons 10–13

Phase

Launch & Beyond

Lessons 14–23

Step 1 of 23 · Foundation· Discover & BrandFree
Your very first prompt
- Name + domain, tagline, logo, favicon, colours, the idea, your user, and the features you imagine — all in prompt #1.
Start
Step 2 of 23 · Vision· Discover & Brand
Product constitution & roadmap
- Turn the idea into a permanent plan: primary success event, core workflow, business rules, V1/V2 features, what must never change.
Step 3 of 23 · Guardrails· Build the Shell
Permanent development rules
- The protection rules every future prompt must obey — no redesigns, no removals, no invented features.
Step 4 of 23 · Verification· Build the Shell
Make the AI prove it understands
- Before any change: what it will do, what it will preserve, what might conflict, and how you'll both check.
Step 5 of 23 · Prompt protection· Build the Shell
Always-on prompt protection
- A standing reviewer that checks every future prompt against your foundation, constitution, guardrails and existing features.
Step 6 of 23 · Conversion· Build the Shell
Landing page conversion system
- Upgrade the landing page prompt #1 gave you: hook, value, CTA, trust, pricing, objections.
Step 7 of 23 · SEO· Build the Shell
Search & discovery foundation
- Titles, headings, structured data, social metadata, canonicals, sitemap and robots — on the pages you now have.
Step 8 of 23 · Auth· Build the Shell
Login, sign-up & user identity
- Accounts, sessions, roles and protected routes — before a single piece of user-owned data exists.
Step 9 of 23 · Database· Build the Shell
Database architecture
- One clean core object, the tables it needs, relationships and ownership fields.
Step 10 of 23 · Security· Connect & Charge
Row-level security & protection
- Lock the tables that now exist: ownership policies, admin limits, storage and API protection.
Step 11 of 23 · CRUD· Connect & Charge
Complete data lifecycle (CRUD)
- Secure create, read, update and delete for your core object — on top of real tables and real policies.
Step 12 of 23 · APIs & integrations· Connect & Charge
APIs & AI integration architecture
- Only the external services V1 truly needs: keys, error handling, fallbacks and cost monitoring.
Step 13 of 23 · Payments· Connect & Charge
Payments, subscriptions & access
- Plans, checkout, webhooks, trials, entitlements and billing — safely, on top of auth, data and RLS.
Step 14 of 23 · Happy path· Launch & Beyond
The primary success event
- Your single most important workflow, built end to end: screens, validation, states, saved result.
Step 15 of 23 · Secondary features· Launch & Beyond
Secondary features, one at a time
- The rest of your approved V1 list, built one feature per prompt, reusing the architecture you already have.
Step 16 of 23 · Navigation· Launch & Beyond
Final navigation architecture
- Now that the features exist, organise them: primary, secondary, settings, help, admin, desktop and mobile.
Step 17 of 23 · Dashboard· Launch & Beyond
The signed-in workspace
- Quick actions, continue-where-you-left-off, recent activity and role-appropriate widgets.
Step 18 of 23 · Admin centre· Launch & Beyond
Admin & stability centre
- Users, whitelist, subscriptions, finance, analytics, feature inventory, stability scans and corrective prompts.
Step 19 of 23 · Guide· Launch & Beyond
User documentation & help
- Getting started, step-by-step guides, FAQs, tooltips and a help assistant — for finished features only.
Step 20 of 23 · PWA· Launch & Beyond
Installation & offline foundation
- Manifest, icons, service worker, safe caching, install badge and iPhone install instructions.
Step 21 of 23 · Launch· Launch & Beyond
Launch infrastructure & compliance
- Footer, privacy, terms, accessibility, contact, bug reports, billing links and release readiness.
Step 22 of 23 · Testing· Launch & Beyond
Complete application verification
- Test the finished app like a real user: auth, CRUD, payments, core workflow, mobile, PWA, security.
Step 23 of 23 · Optimization· Launch & Beyond
Evidence-based improvement
- Speed, cost, database, SEO, conversion and tech debt — then re-run the full test pass.

Your numbered path from idea to launch.

Build once. Reuse the blueprints for every app.

Skill primers you can take any time

Your very first prompt

Product constitution & roadmap

Permanent development rules

Make the AI prove it understands

Always-on prompt protection

Landing page conversion system

Search & discovery foundation

Login, sign-up & user identity

Database architecture

Row-level security & protection

Complete data lifecycle (CRUD)

APIs & AI integration architecture

Payments, subscriptions & access

The primary success event

Secondary features, one at a time

Final navigation architecture

The signed-in workspace

Admin & stability centre

User documentation & help

Installation & offline foundation

Launch infrastructure & compliance

Complete application verification

Evidence-based improvement