IRON REINS · START HEREUnderstand the factory
Understand the factory
before you choose one.
“AI software factory” is an umbrella term. This atlas separates the room a system occupies, the work it repeats, the boundary where it stops, and the humans still responsible for the outcome.
THE ONE RULEName the job.
Find the stopping point.Then ask who proves the result and who owns the failure.
Find the stopping point.Then ask who proves the result and who owns the failure.
TWO WAYS INTO THE ATLASMap the department.
Map the department.
Then compare the factories.
The two useful surfaces have different jobs. System Atlas shows where a capability belongs. Compare factories holds the mission still so the hard edges become visible.
01ORIENT THE ESTATE
System Atlas
Four rooms make the department legible: Make, Run, Know and Govern. Open a system passport to see its job, evidence, boundary and stance.
room→system→boundary
Use this when you are asking “what is this, and where does it sit?”Open the System Atlas →02MAKE A DECISION
Compare factories
Choose a work family, compare candidates doing the same job, and read the red edge: artifact, proof, Day 2, human residue and primary evidence.
mission→artifact→Day 2
0 Day 2 evidenced · 47 bounded in the current benchOpen the comparison bench →THE READING ORDERFour questions from
Four questions from
logo soup to a shortlist.
Follow this sequence once. After that, jump directly to the surface you need.
01Place itWhat kind of room is this?Make · Run · Know · Govern. Put the system in the department before judging it.System Atlas →02Cluster itWhat work does it repeat?See Stripe, Spotify, Vercel and other public examples as distinct loops.Factory Map →03Compare itWhere does it stop?Hold the mission constant, then scan the artifact, Day 2 status and human residue.Compare factories →04Pressure-test itCan it keep the result healthy?Detect → localize → diagnose → repair → verify → learn.Day 2 ops →
THE SHARED VOCABULARYDay 1 makes an artifact.
Day 1 makes an artifact.
Day 2 owns a living system.
A green agent run, passing build or merged PR is useful evidence—but it is not operational closure. The Day‑2 page explains exactly what earns that label.
See the six-part definition →