Friday Block 5 Release-Evidence Maintenance - A Fifteen-Minute Ritual for Q3 2026 Cert and Partner Intake

You spent ninety minutes bootstrapping release-evidence/ during the taxonomy sprint. Three weeks later the README lies: build 481 shipped, folder still says 479. A partner opens your diligence zip and the top bullet map points to missing PNGs.

Q3 2026 cert and partner intake rewards folders that compound truth weekly, not folders that were true once in April. This Process & Workflow article defines a fifteen-minute Friday ritual inside Block 5 Finance and runway—or immediately after it—so maintenance survives crunch.

Why this matters now (May 2026)

1. Intake windows — Late-August partner reviews ask for current artifacts, not bootstrap-week snapshots.
2. Fest stack alignment — Truth audits, attribution folders, and AI governance all land under release-evidence/—without maintenance, roots sprawl.
3. Operating review credibility — Four Friday adoption proves cadence; maintenance proves substance.
4. Solo time economics — Fifteen minutes beats a panic forty-hour pre-intake rebuild.

Direct answer: Every Friday, run the BLOCK5-EVIDENCE checklist (below), log one row in release-evidence/05-operations/evidence-maintenance-log.md, and fix only blocking lies—not cosmetic perfection.

Who this ritual is for

• Teams with release-evidence/ already created
• 1–5 person studios using the 30-minute operating review
• Anyone approaching Q3 partner email or console cert paperwork

Skip if: no release-evidence/ root yet—do taxonomy bootstrap first.

Where it lives in the Friday sheet

Default placement: after Block 5 finance, before “cross-block decisions”:

## 5. Finance and Runway (5 min)
…

## 5b. Release-evidence maintenance (15 min)  ← this ritual
- Build hash this week:
- README top map still true? Y/N
- New artifacts added (paths):
- Broken links fixed:
- Next week blocker:

## Cross-block decisions

If Friday is overloaded, shorten finance to 3 minutes once runway is stable—do not drop 5b during Q3 prep months.

Thirty-minute Friday becomes forty-five (once)

The operating review stays thirty minutes for thinking. Block 5b adds fifteen minutes for proof. Total 45 minutes still beats the old five-meeting three-hour stack.

Teams resisting forty-five minutes should delete a recurring Tuesday sync—not skip 5b.

Pre-flight: is your taxonomy still valid?

Once per month during 5b, read taxonomy article section list:

Add subfolder only with README bullet same day—no silent misc/.

Evidence rot patterns (name them to spot them)

Naming patterns makes fifteen minutes decisive—you are not “organizing files,” you are killing lies.

Folder-by-folder maintenance detail

01-build/

Minimum weekly:

• Latest smoke or export log filename with date
• Input preflight hash if Unity rebinding touched
• Replay artifact pointer if cert bug fixed

Do not re-upload giant binaries every Friday—pointer + hash suffices.

marketing-and-demo/

• Truth audit folder: note last gate completed
• Attribution: Sunday export exists for that week?
• Playtest: install log row if new testers

05-operations/

• Copy operating review sheet into operating-reviews/
• Append this maintenance log row
• Pricing freeze status one line

ai-disclosure/

If generative features exist:

• Prompt promotion log row when promotions ship
• Disclosure checklist touchpoint date

If no AI, README says ai-disclosure: N/A—prevents partner grep confusion.

The BLOCK5-EVIDENCE checklist (fifteen minutes)

Timer rule: when fifteen minutes fire, stop—log incomplete items as next week’s first task.

Maintenance log format

release-evidence/05-operations/evidence-maintenance-log.md:

| Week ending | Build | README OK | Fixes made | Owner | Blocker |
|-------------|-------|-----------|--------------|-------|---------|
| 2026-05-16 | 518 | Y | updated marketing tag | Alex | none |

Partners grep this file to see ongoing discipline.

README top map (keep to seven folders)

Per taxonomy, root README bullets map subfolders to claims. Maintenance means:

1. Every bullet has a real path
2. No bullet points to empty dirs
3. Build hash line updated when RC ships
4. Known gaps listed honestly (better than silence)

Sample root README snippet

# release-evidence — build 518 (2026-05-16)

| Folder | Contents | Last verified |
|--------|----------|---------------|
| 01-build/ | smoke logs, input preflight | 2026-05-16 |
| marketing-and-demo/ | truth audit, attribution | 2026-05-14 |
| 05-operations/ | operating reviews, this log | 2026-05-16 |
| ai-disclosure/ | prompt governance | 2026-05-10 |

Gaps: console cert N/A until Q4.

What to fix vs defer

Integration with sibling workflows

Monthly deep pass (optional, not Friday)

First Friday of month, add +30 minutes:

• Zip cold-open test without author narration
• Archive builds older than 90 days to archive/
• Re-read taxonomy article for new subfolders your game needs

Do not turn monthly pass into weekly perfectionism.

Quarter timeline (May–August 2026 model)

September is read-only except post-mortem rows.

Cold-open drill (monthly, +20 minutes)

On first Friday of month, add:

1. Zip release-evidence/ (exclude huge binaries)
2. Colleague or timer opens README only
3. Find build hash, operating log, one marketing artifact in <90 seconds
4. Fail → fix map bullets, not zip software

Same drill as publisher diligence—practice before partners pay you.

Solo founder vs two-person split

Solo: run checklist top-to-bottom; still log row—proves cadence to future publisher you.

Git discipline

• Commit maintenance log + README updates same day
• Message: ops: evidence maintenance YYYY-MM-DD
• Avoid Friday-only local changes never pushed—partner zip from laptop ≠ repo

When to escalate beyond fifteen minutes

Escalation is scheduled, not “all night because neglected.”

Contrarian note

Some teams treat evidence folders as legal theater. The 2026 counter-argument is engineering velocity: grep-able truth lets you patch faster because support questions reference paths, not oral history.

Glossary

Extended FAQ

We use Google Drive instead of repo?

Pick one canonical; maintenance ritual applies to canonical only. Drive mirror OK if hash noted in README.

Binary too large for git?

Store hash + Steam build id in 01-build/; binary in cloud path linked in README.

Crunch week skip?

Log SKIPPED — crunch row—honest skip better than fake Y. Resume next Friday.

Publisher wants Notion?

Export PDF snapshot monthly; repo still source—export date in log.

Seven-week adoption challenge (optional)

Pairs with four Friday operating adoption.

Failure modes

1. Bootstrap once, never maintain — README fossil
2. Dumping binaries without README row — ungrep-able zip
3. Skipping ritual during crunch — exactly when partners appear
4. Fixing everything fifteen minutes — burnout; use fix/defer table
5. Separate Notion truth — repo folder must stay canonical

Delegation template (when founder travels)

## 5b deputy brief — week of YYYY-MM-DD
- README must show build: ___
- Run BLOCK5-EVIDENCE card
- Log row required before Sunday
- Escalate if README N→ contact: ___

Deputy does not redesign taxonomy—maintenance only.

Archive policy (quarterly)

Move superseded artifacts to release-evidence/archive/YYYY-Q2/ with README index line. Archiving is not deleting—partners may ask what shipped in April when reviewing May deal.

First Friday of Q3 (August) extra row

Add log column partner-zip-ready: Y/N. Only mark Y after monthly cold-open passes. Sending zip without Y is how teams discover broken links during live screen share with a partner on the call.

FAQ

Is fifteen minutes enough?

For maintenance, yes. For bootstrap, no—use ninety-minute taxonomy sprint.

Can we automate?

Scripts can diff README build id vs version.txt; human still signs Friday row.

Block 5 finance vs 5b evidence?

Finance answers runway; 5b answers “can we prove what we shipped?”

Multiple SKUs?

One maintenance log tab per SKU or prefix rows PC, demo.

Block 1 engineering cross-link

When Block 1 lists “top risk,” ask: does evidence folder reflect mitigation? If risk is “save corruption” but 01-build/ has no repro log, either add path this Friday or downgrade risk honesty in operating sheet.

Cross-block consistency is what separates maintenance from checkbox theater.

Fest month intensity (October 2026)

During Next Fest, run 5b Monday instead of Friday if ship cadence is daily—same fifteen minutes, different calendar anchor. Maintenance timing flexes; maintenance existence does not.

Ninety-minute first-time setup (if log missing)

Minute-by-minute script (read while timer runs)

0:00–2:00 Open repo; cd release-evidence; open README.
2:00–5:00 Compare README build to latest Steam branch build id (Steamworks or CI).
5:00–7:00 List files changed since last Friday (git log --since=1.week).
7:00–9:00 Open 01-build/ — newest log dated this week or note gap.
9:00–11:00 Open marketing-and-demo/ — any store change without tag?
11:00–13:00 Paste operating sheet; append maintenance log row.
13:00–15:00 Copy one-line summary into weekly review Block 5b section.

If build did not ship this week, still run—note “no RC; README drift check only.”

Partner email one-liner (August)

Evidence folder current through week ending <date>; start at release-evidence/README.md; maintenance log shows consecutive Fridays.

Attach zip only after cold-open passes.

DLC, pricing, and ops subfolders

When DLC anchors or regional pricing change, Block 5b confirms 05-operations/pricing/ row matches finance block—finance says freeze, folder must not contradict.

Deck, web, and multi-SKU notes

Multi-SKU without sub-README rows confuses cold-open.

Tooling shortcuts (optional)

• Shell alias evidence-friday opens README + log in editor
• CI fails if README build id older than version.txt by one major
• Pre-commit hook warns when release-evidence/ changes without log row (advanced)

Tools optional; timer + checklist mandatory.

Team culture sentence

“If it is not in release-evidence with a maintenance log row, it did not happen for partner purposes.”

Hang in Discord dev channel during Q3.

Red flags you are skipping maintenance

• Partner asks “where is proof?” and you search Discord
• README build three versions behind
• You fear zipping folder
• Finance block takes 20 minutes, 5b always cut

Fix calendar, not guilt.

Year-one vs year-two studios

Same fifteen minutes, different folder emphasis—rotate scan order accordingly.

Linking maintenance log to milestones

When milestone checklists trigger deliverables, add column milestone-id to log:

| Week ending | Build | README OK | Milestone | Notes |
|-------------|-------|-----------|-----------|-------|
| 2026-05-16 | 518 | Y | M2-preview | zip sent |

Publisher payment arguments reference rows, not memory.

Incident and hotfix rows

Production incidents deserve one-line 5b notes even if formal postmortem comes later:

2026-05-15 — hotfix 517b — save bug — evidence: 01-build/hotfix-517b.md

Replay hooks path optional attach.

Vacations and holidays

Pre-vacation Friday: double-check README + note coverage: <name>.
Vacation week: deputy runs 5b or log delegated.
Return Friday: first 5b is drift hunt—expect two weeks skew.

Metrics you are not required to track

Avoid inventing KPIs. Qualitative health only:

• Consecutive Fridays logged
• Cold-open pass/fail monthly
• Partner questions referencing folder successfully

No “evidence maturity score.”

Sample maintenance log (six weeks fictional structure)

| Week ending | Build | README OK | Fixes | Owner |
|-------------|-------|-----------|-------|-------|
| 2026-04-04 | 470 | Y | bootstrap | Sam |
| 2026-04-11 | 475 | Y | marketing tag | Sam |
| 2026-04-18 | 478 | N→Y | README hash | Sam |
| 2026-04-25 | 480 | Y | none | Sam |
| 2026-05-02 | 512 | Y | playtest log | Sam |
| 2026-05-09 | 518 | Y | pricing freeze note | Sam |

Pattern visibility beats heroics.

README lie examples (fix immediately)

• “Includes co-op” in map but demo single-player only
• “AI dialogue live” but registry frozen generative-off
• “Deck Verified” but no input preflight path
• “Pricing final” while regional sheet shows open overrides

Each is a truth audit failure stored in evidence—fix README or fix product.

When maintenance saves a cert resubmission

Quest resubmission playbook assumes artifacts exist. Friday 5b is how artifacts exist when day-one rejection email arrives—you open path, not scramble.

Printable Friday card

BLOCK5-EVIDENCE (15 min)
[ ] README build hash
[ ] 01-build spot check
[ ] marketing-and-demo tags
[ ] 05-operations log row
[ ] ai-disclosure if changed
[ ] orphan file scan
[ ] weekly review note

Sample Block 5b weekly review lines (copy-paste)

- Evidence maintenance: README build 518 OK; added attribution week-2 export;
  fixed broken link to truth-audit; ai-disclosure N/A; next week: cold-open drill.

Interaction with cert and console paperwork

Console cert submissions often mirror folder structure. When Q3 console intake opens, map rejection bullets to existing paths—if path missing, add Gap line instead of improvising night-before folders.

Patch week exception protocol

Shipping hotfix Friday:

• Extend 5b by 5 minutes only: update build hash + 01-build/hotfix-notes.md one paragraph
• Defer marketing folder unless store copy changed

Hotfix without README update recreates build drift pattern within 48 hours.

Anti-perfectionism rule

Fifteen minutes is not rename-every-file Friday. If tempted to reorganize taxonomy, schedule separate monthly block—mixing reorg with maintenance guarantees neither ships.

Related reading

• Release-evidence taxonomy bootstrap
• Operating review template
• Quest resubmission evidence habits
• Build manifest diff gates

Close: Q3 2026 intake reads your Friday habits, not your best-intention Notion page from April. Fifteen minutes on release-evidence maintenance keeps diligence packets boring in the right way—mapped, current, and grep-able—so August is a send button, not a folder archaeology sprint. Put Block 5b on the calendar before you put another feature on the roadmap—and treat a skipped Friday like a skipped build verification: note it in the log, then resume next week without shame or silent drift. The folder is a living record; Friday is when you prove it still breathes. Start next Friday even if today’s README is embarrassing—honest fixes age better than silent rot. Fifteen minutes is the whole ritual; protect it on the calendar like a build deadline, not like optional homework you skip when tired or busy.