SENAR Guide: Onboarding New Team Members

Reading Order

  1. Day 1 (30 min): Read SENAR Core — understand the 8 rules, 2 gates, verification checklist
  2. Day 1 (15 min): Read Guide Quickstart — internalize the 6 habits
  3. Day 2 (30 min): Read Guide Worked Example — see a complete task end-to-end
  4. Day 2 (20 min): Read Guide AI Review Checklist — your verification reference
  5. Week 1: Read Guide Tool Guides — set up your AI tool with SENAR practices

First Task Protocol

Your first SENAR task should be:

  • Small scope — a bug fix or simple feature (< 1 hour)
  • Paired with an experienced Supervisor who reviews your gates
  • Full ceremony — do every step explicitly, even if it feels slow

Checklist for your first task:

  • Write goal + acceptance criteria before touching code
  • Define what’s in scope and what’s NOT
  • Run Start Gate checklist
  • Work with AI, noting any dead ends (> 15 min)
  • Verify each AC with evidence
  • Run Done Gate checklist
  • Document any dead ends, decisions, or gotchas

Ramp-Up Timeline

WeekFocusExpected Outcome
1Core rules + 2-3 supervised tasksUnderstand the workflow
2Independent tasks with post-reviewComfortable with gates
3Full independence + checklist internalizedFPSR tracking meaningful
4Knowledge contribution + peer reviewFull team member

Common New-Member Mistakes

  1. Skipping the negative scenario — Rule 1 requires at least one “what should NOT happen”
  2. Not documenting dead ends — Even “I tried X and it didn’t work” is valuable
  3. Treating the checklist as optional — Start with Standard tier every time
  4. Confusing exploration with implementation — Exploration is free, but committing requires a task

What NOT to Worry About

  • Metrics (FPSR, Dead End Rate) — your first 10 tasks are baseline, not graded
  • Perfect knowledge entries — any capture is better than none
  • Speed — the process gets faster with practice, not by skipping steps
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