# 00 — Master Index

**The Senior→Principal Frontend Rulebook**
A cohesive operating system for a Senior Frontend Engineer (React / Next.js 15 / strict TypeScript, 10+ yrs) who wants Principal-level impact and a fast, evidence-backed promotion.

> **The system in one paragraph:** You do not get promoted for being busy. You get promoted for **demonstrated impact at the next level, sustained over time, made visible to the people who decide**. Architecture (02) gives you something worth building. Execution (03) delivers it flawlessly. QA & reliability (04) makes delivery boringly dependable. Visibility & influence (01) ensures the right people see it and that you shape decisions instead of reacting to them. Career accelerator (05) closes the loop into a cadence. Read in order once; then run the weekly loop forever.

---

## Table of Contents

| # | File | Core question it kills | Level |
|---|------|----------------------|-------|
| 00 | [Master Index](00-master-index.md) | How does the system fit together? | — |
| 01 | [Visibility & Influence](01-visibility-and-influence.md) | How do I get seen and shape decisions without politicking? | Principal |
| 02 | [Architectural Mastery](02-architectural-mastery.md) | How do I architect scalable apps *before* committing? | Principal |
| 03 | [Flawless Execution](03-flawless-execution.md) | How do I plan so implementation is fast and clean? | Senior→Principal |
| 04 | [QA & Reliability](04-qa-and-reliability.md) | How do I eradicate silly bugs and pass QA cleanly? | Senior→Principal |
| 05 | [Career Accelerator](05-career-accelerator.md) | How do I turn all of this into a fast promotion? | Executive |
| 06 | [Remote Global Track](06-remote-global-track.md) | How do I get paid global-market rates from India? | Executive |

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## How to use this system

1. **First pass (one weekend):** read 00 → 06 in order. Underline the checklists. Pick ONE tool from each chapter to adopt this week — not five.
2. **Weekly operating loop (2 hrs/week, non-negotiable):**
   - **Monday, 30 min — Plan** (03): the week's features broken into tasks with definitions of done.
   - **Daily — Execute** (03) with the **pre-PR gate** (04) on every merge.
   - **Friday, 60 min — Artifact + Visibility** (01): write the week's ADR/decision note, demo recording, or metrics update. One artifact, every week. This is the compounding engine.
   - **Friday, 30 min — Career check** (05): update your impact ledger; check the 90-day arc.
3. **Quarterly:** one high-leverage, visible architecture/reliability project (05), run through 02 → 04.
4. **The habit rule:** every chapter ends with a checklist. A system you don't run is a document. Run the checklists for 21 days; they become reflexes.

---

## The leverage map (why these five, in this order)

```
        ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
        │  02 Architecture ──→ gives you something    │
        │        │            worth building          │
        │        ▼                                    │
        │  03 Execution ────→ ships it flawlessly     │
        │        │                                    │
        │        ▼                                    │
        │  04 Reliability ──→ makes delivery boringly │
        │        │            dependable (trust)      │
        │        ▼                                    │
        │  01 Visibility ───→ the right people see it │
        │        │            + you shape decisions   │
        │        ▼                                    │
        │  05 Accelerator ──→ the loop becomes a      │
        │                     promotion case          │
        └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**The invariant:** every artifact you produce must satisfy at least one of: *shipped value*, *reliability evidence*, *architectural leverage*, or *decision influence*. If a week produces none of the four, it was a reactive week — fix the plan next Monday.

---

## What "Principal" actually means (calibrate here)

| Dimension | Senior | Principal |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Your features | The system + the team around it |
| Time horizon | This sprint | 2–4 quarters |
| Primary lever | Code quality | Architectural leverage + developer velocity |
| Failure mode to own | Bugs | Wrong architectural calls, slow org |
| Influence | Via code | Via decisions, docs, and teaching |
| You are measured on | Delivery | **Delivery × others' delivery × direction** |

Everything in this rulebook is aimed at the right-hand column.

---

## The checklists at a glance

- [ ] Read all seven files once; install one tool per chapter into this week's practice
- [ ] Set the Monday 30-min plan block and Friday 60-min artifact block in the calendar now
- [ ] Open an **impact ledger** (a note file; one line per week — artifact shipped, metric moved, decision influenced)
- [ ] Identify the single highest-leverage quarter project and park it in 05's 90-day arc
- [ ] Re-read 00 in 30 days and re-calibrate — the system should feel like a reflex by then

→ Next: [01 — Visibility & Influence](01-visibility-and-influence.md)