Guide · Layer 1

Structural Layer

Written for: seed / Series A scientist-founder

Before we start talking numbers, a TEA needs a ‘skeleton’: what the steps are, where the analysis starts and stops, how big it is, and what it looks like in the real world. Every layer afterward hangs off these choices — a wrong number is a one-cell fix, but a wrong boundary or a missing step means rebuilding everything around it.

By the end of this layer you’ll have a simple boxes & arrows picture of your process, set next to the conventional one, with the delta your technology introduces marked.

1. 1.1 — Scope it — pin down why you’re building the TEA and how your technology plugs into the real world.
2. 1.2 — Draw the process — sketch your core technology, zoom out to the full process, fill in the boxes, and plug your tech back in.
3. 1.3 — Mark the delta & get feedback — set your flow next to the incumbent’s, mark what your technology changes, and take the diagram out for feedback.

Start with 1.1 — Scope it →