Phases
HELIX Phases
HELIX structures software delivery into six sequential phases. Each phase has input gates that validate the previous phase’s outputs before allowing progression.
Phase 0: Discover
Optional. Validate the opportunity before committing to Frame.
| Purpose | Research the market, users, and technical feasibility |
| Location | docs/helix/00-discover/ |
| Key artifacts | Product Vision, Business Case, Competitive Analysis, Opportunity Canvas |
| Output | A validated opportunity worth pursuing |
Phase 1: Frame
Define the problem, establish requirements, and scope the work.
| Purpose | Turn a validated opportunity into actionable requirements |
| Location | docs/helix/01-frame/ |
| Key artifacts | PRD, Feature Specs, User Stories, Principles, Concerns |
| Command | helix frame |
| Output | Requirements clear enough to design against |
Frame also selects the project’s active concerns and establishes design principles.
Phase 2: Design
Architect the solution approach.
| Purpose | Make technology and architecture decisions before writing code |
| Location | docs/helix/02-design/ |
| Key artifacts | Architecture, ADRs, Solution Designs (SD-NNN), Technical Designs (TD-NNN) |
| Command | helix design [scope] |
| Output | Design contracts that tests can verify |
Solution designs are feature-level. Technical designs are story-level slices that inherit from a solution design.
Phase 3: Test
Write failing tests that define system behavior. This is the Red phase of TDD.
| Purpose | Turn requirements and designs into executable specifications |
| Location | docs/helix/03-test/, tests/ |
| Key artifacts | Test Plans, Test Procedures, Test Suites, Security Tests |
| Output | Failing tests that define what “done” means |
Tests are the contract between design and implementation. Code must satisfy tests, not the other way around.
Phase 4: Build
Implement code to make tests pass. This is the Green phase of TDD.
| Purpose | Write the minimum code needed to satisfy the tests |
| Location | docs/helix/04-build/, source code |
| Key artifacts | Implementation Plan |
| Command | helix build [issue-id] |
| Output | Passing tests, committed code, closed tracker issues |
Build cannot start until tests are written and failing. Implementation is complete when all tests pass.
Phase 5: Deploy
Release to production with monitoring.
| Purpose | Safely deliver the built software to users |
| Location | docs/helix/05-deploy/ |
| Key artifacts | Project-specific checklists and runbooks as needed |
| Output | Running production system with observability |
Deploy cannot start until all tests pass (Green phase complete).
Phase 6: Iterate
Learn and improve for the next cycle.
| Purpose | Review what was built, capture learnings, plan the next cycle |
| Location | docs/helix/06-iterate/ |
| Key artifacts | Alignment Reviews, Backfill Reports, Metric Definitions |
| Commands | helix align, helix review, helix experiment |
| Output | Actionable follow-up work feeding back into Frame |
Iterate closes the loop. Alignment reviews and experiments produce tracker issues that drive the next cycle.