Delivery milestones

Document: SDD-03
Status: Working draft
Date: 18 September 2026 (updated 3 October 2026)

Nomenclature: M1–M5 anchors below. Capability IDs: SDD-11 · index SDD-15.

1. Sequence

Milestone order follows the admissions-first decision and working-system dependencies. It is not prescribed by government. All unagreed dates remain TBC. A milestone describes when a capability must work, not when investigation begins.

flowchart LR
  M1[1. Confirm rules<br/>and integration] --> M2[2. Admissions launch]
  M2 --> M3[3. Core student portal]
  M3 --> M4[4. Lesotho pilot<br/>acceptance]
  M4 --> M5[5. Campus expansion<br/>and remaining CMS]

SoR posture across milestones: M1–M4 deliver modern portals on the existing campus CMS family via the Portal API (ADR-1, confirmed Aslam 23 Sep 2026). M4 acceptance campus is Lesotho (Working Group, 3 Oct 2026 — supersedes Cyberjaya-first gate). M5+ expands to other campuses (Cyberjaya, proposed Eswatini, …) and is where progressive unified one-stop CMS consolidation may begin — only for verified gaps and with an agreed migration strategy. M5 is not a licence to rewrite every working desk.

Kickoff: TBC. Backend commitments: TBC.

2. Milestone definitions

M1 — Confirm rules and integration

This is not a UI milestone. It unblocks every later “Needs checking” row.

M2 — Admissions launch

Must work end to end:

1. Applicant account (CAP-01).
2. Application + documents + declarations (CAP-02, CAP-03, CAP-55).
3. Track / offer / accept (CAP-07).
4. Registry review, qualification checks, offer, first enrolment (CAP-03, CAP-05, CAP-06, CAP-07).
5. Marketing communications without owning the decision (CAP-16).
6. Staff access via existing CMS unless a gap is verified (CAP-44).
7. Portal API first slice (CAP-53).
8. Auth, privacy, monitoring, backups (CAP-01, CAP-37, CAP-38, CAP-39).
9. Accessible forms and mobile shell (CAP-35, CAP-36).

Student portal demo screens are not the release condition for M2.

M3 — Core student portal

Student-only demo UI is insufficient. Lecturer publish/mark and staff approval paths for the same CAP IDs must be Live or explicitly served by the old CMS.

M4 — Lesotho pilot acceptance

Pilot approach and inventory: docs/ai/architecture/lesotho-pilot.md, docs/ai/backend/old-cms-lesotho.md.

M5 — Campus expansion and remaining CMS

Includes quizzes/exams, live class, library, visa, accommodation, scholarships, online payment gateway, study centres, remaining staff desks — prefer Portal API + verified old CMS first; rebuild or migrate only when the gap and migration strategy are explicit (SDD-11).

flowchart TB
  subgraph phase ["This phase — M1 to M4"]
    P[Four portals] --> API[Portal API]
    API --> CMS[Campus CMS family SoR<br/>Lesotho pilot first]
  end
  subgraph later ["Longer term — M5+"]
    G[Verified gap] --> MIG[Migration strategy]
    MIG --> U[Progressive unified CMS]
    CMS -.->|retire desk only when ready| U
  end
  phase --> later

3. Tension with current build

The student portal v1 frontend is deepest on M3 student screens. Product priority still puts M2 before M3.

Design rule for the next two weeks:

1. Freeze new student demo screens unless they are on the M2 critical path (auth, mobile shell, accessibility).
2. Prioritise CAP-53, CAP-01, applicant CAP-02/CAP-03/CAP-07, and Registry old-CMS verification.
3. Keep existing student demos, but label them Demo until wired.

4. Definition of done (any capability)

A capability is Live only when all of the following are true:

1. Real data from the system of record, not a mock session.
2. Durable save where the user can mutate data.
3. Server-enforced permission for that role and campus.
4. The paired staff/lecturer action exists in new UI or is verified in the old CMS.
5. Accountable owner named.
6. Core mobile accepted if the CAP is in PRODUCT-MOBILE.
7. Country/campus operating checks in the next-action column are closed or explicitly waived.

5. Counts (detailed checklist)

Re-counted from the live sheet on 19 September 2026. Same figures as 18 September. Progress, the sequence chart, and the open tasks are in SDD-13.

6. Related documents

Portal breakdowns: SDD-04 through SDD-08.