A backlog where every change is evidence.
Plan, pull and deliver work from investment to release, with lifecycles that are enforced rather than suggested, and a record your auditors can use as it stands.
This is where DXMachine started: a value stream manager. It is the shortest path from a spec to a working app, because it needs no regulatory model at all.
The starting spec
This is what the App Configurator generates when you start from this example. Every row is editable before you publish, and every mechanism stays available inside the running app, so the app can keep changing after launch.
| Kind | Name | Definition | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hub | initiative | title · value_stream · okr · cost_estimate · owner | Level 1: investment |
| 2 | Child | epic | initiative 1 → n · hypothesis · capacity_ask · dependencies | Level 2: portfolio |
| 3 | Child | feature | epic 1 → n · acceptance_criteria · team · target_release | Level 3: delivery |
| 4 | Index | feature_unique | (epic, title) unique | Blocks duplicate intake |
| 5 | States | feature.lifecycle | Proposed → Vetted → Ready → In progress → Accepted → Released | WIP limit on In progress |
| 6 | SoD | accept_rule | accepted_by ≠ implemented_by | Separation of duties |
| 7 | Report | flow | Throughput, cycle time and aging by level and team | Dashboard and kanban |
| 8 | Report | change_evidence | Every release with its approvals and linked changes | SOX / SOC 2 evidence |
Early accessOpen this spec in the App Configurator, change what doesn't fit, and download the application file.
The lifecycle
Statuses in most agile tools are labels anyone can drag. Here they are enforced at the record, whether the move comes from the board, the API or an agent.
| Transition | Who may make it | What must be true | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed → Vetted | Portfolio owner | Guardrails checked: stakeholders, dependencies, cost, capacity | Allowed · attested |
| Vetted → Ready | Product owner | Acceptance criteria written; team assigned | Allowed · attested |
| Ready → In progress | Team member or agent | Team WIP limit has room | Allowed · attested |
| In progress → Accepted | Product owner, never the implementer | Acceptance criteria met; evidence attached | Allowed · separation of duties checked |
| Proposed → In progress | No one | Transition not defined | Refused · refusal recorded |
Work is pulled, not pushed
DXMachine began as a value stream manager, and this is still its native shape. Strategy enters at the top and is vetted at each level before anyone commits capacity to it. Work is pulled into execution only when there is room, under strict WIP limits and aging controls, so nothing sits unseen in a queue.
Legacy agile tools
For exampleRally · Azure DevOps Boards · Jira
- Any status can be dragged to any other, and workflows drift from team to team.
- Portfolio planning is a separate product bolted on top.
- WIP limits are advisory, and aging work goes quiet in a column.
- Auditors ask for change evidence, and someone exports and assembles it by hand.
A governed backlog in DXMachine
- Epics and features move only through the transitions you define.
- Investment, portfolio, delivery and release run as one pull system.
- WIP limits and aging controls are enforced, not just displayed.
- Every change and gate decision is already attested evidence.
Branch out without losing your place
A work item can move sideways into a specialist board, such as an architecture decision or a legal review, and then return to the main flow with its position and history intact.
Decisions become records
Each gate review produces a decision record: who approved, what they saw and which guardrails were checked. The trail is ready for an auditor as it stands.
What you get that the usual tools don't give you
WIP limits that hold
Work enters execution only when there is capacity. Aging work is surfaced, not buried in a column.
Change control for free
Every approval and release is already an attested record, ready for SOX IT general controls and SOC 2.
Agents on the board
Agents can draft stories, update status and flag risks, as named principals bounded by their role.
Start from this spec.
Open it in the App Configurator, rename it in your terms, change what doesn't fit, and review the result before anything runs. Your license includes full access to its source. Or bring it to the development advisory and we'll shape it with you.