Skip to content

USL Pilot Program Guide

Welcome to the USL Early Adopter Program! This guide will help you navigate the 6-month pilot journey from installation to production deployment.

Program Overview

Duration: 6 months (24 weeks)
Goal: Deploy at least one production-ready USL module
Support: Weekly office hours, private Discord, priority bug fixes

Week-by-Week Timeline

Phase 1: Onboarding (Weeks 1-2)

Week 1: Installation & Setup

Objectives: - Install USL compiler and toolchain - Set up development environment - Join support channels - Complete initial training

Tasks: 1. Run automated setup script: 

curl -sSL https://usl-lang.org/install.sh | bash
# or use our pilot setup script
./scripts/pilot-setup.sh

  1. Verify installation: 

    usl --version
usl doctor  # Check environment

  2. Join support channels:

  3. Discord: [Invitation link provided via email]
  4. Email: pilots@usl-lang.org

  5. GitHub: Watch the USL repository

  6. Complete training modules:

  7. Introduction to USL (video, 45 min)
  8. Domain Layer fundamentals (video, 60 min)
  9. Service Layer basics (video, 45 min)

Deliverables: - ✅ Working USL installation - ✅ Access to all support channels - ✅ Completed training modules - ✅ Introduction email to the team

Week 2: Project Planning

Objectives: - Define pilot scope - Map existing system to USL concepts - Create project architecture - Set success metrics

Tasks: 1. Identify pilot module: - Choose a self-contained feature - Consider compliance requirements - Start small, expand later

  1. Architecture planning session:
  2. Schedule 90-minute call with USL team
  3. Review domain model
  4. Discuss integration points

  5. Identify potential challenges

  6. Create project structure: 

    usl init my-pilot-project
cd my-pilot-project

  7. Define success metrics:

  8. Development time vs. traditional stack
  9. Lines of code comparison
  10. Bug count
  11. Security audit results

Deliverables: - ✅ Project architecture document - ✅ Initial USL project structure - ✅ Success metrics defined - ✅ Week 1-2 summary report

Phase 2: Development (Weeks 3-8)

Weeks 3-4: Build First Prototype

Objectives: - Implement core domain entities - Create basic services - Write tests - Get feedback on design

Tasks: 1. Domain Layer implementation: 

domain UserManagement {
  entity User {
    id: UUID @id @auto
    email: String @unique
    passwordHash: String @secret
    createdAt: DateTime @auto
  }
}

  1. Service Layer implementation: 

    service UserService {
  createUser(email: String, password: String): User
  authenticateUser(email: String, password: String): Session
}

  2. Write tests: 

    test "User creation" {
  let user = UserService.createUser("test@example.com", "password")
  assert user.email == "test@example.com"
}

  3. Code review with USL team:

  4. Share your code in Discord
  5. Schedule office hours review
  6. Get feedback on patterns

Deliverables: - ✅ Working prototype (1-2 entities, 2-3 services) - ✅ Test coverage >70% - ✅ Code review completed - ✅ Week 3-4 progress report

Weeks 5-6: Expand Features

Objectives: - Add more entities and relationships - Implement business logic - Add access control policies - Integrate external services

Tasks: 1. Add relationships: 

entity Post {
  id: UUID @id @auto
  title: String
  content: Text
  author: User @relation
  published: Boolean @default(false)
}

  1. Implement policies: 

    policy "Authors can edit own posts" {
  allow Post.update if ctx.user.id == Post.author.id
}

  2. Add external integrations: 

    external EmailService {
  sendEmail(to: String, subject: String, body: String): Result
}

  3. Performance testing:

  4. Benchmark against baseline
  5. Identify bottlenecks
  6. Optimize queries

Deliverables: - ✅ 5+ entities with relationships - ✅ 10+ services implemented - ✅ Access control policies defined - ✅ Performance baseline established

Weeks 7-8: Polish & Integration

Objectives: - Refine implementation - Integrate with existing systems - Add monitoring - Prepare for staging

Tasks: 1. Add error handling: 

service UserService {
  createUser(email: String, password: String): Result<User, Error> {
    if email.isEmpty() {
      return Error("Email required")
    }
    // Implementation
  }
}

  1. Add logging and monitoring: 

    @log("user.created")
@metric("users.count")
service UserService {
  // ...
}

  2. Integration testing:

  3. Test with existing databases
  4. Verify API compatibility

  5. Check authentication flow

  6. Documentation:

  7. API documentation
  8. Deployment guide
  9. Troubleshooting tips

Deliverables: - ✅ Production-ready code quality - ✅ Integration tests passing - ✅ Monitoring configured - ✅ Documentation complete

Phase 3: Integration (Weeks 9-12)

Weeks 9-10: Staging Deployment

Objectives: - Deploy to staging environment - Run end-to-end tests - Security audit - Performance validation

Tasks: 1. Deploy to staging: 

usl deploy --env staging
# or use Docker
docker-compose up -d

  1. Run E2E tests:
  2. User flows
  3. Integration scenarios

  4. Load testing

  5. Security audit:

  6. Review access policies
  7. Check encryption
  8. Verify compliance

  9. Use security scanning tools

  10. Gather metrics:

  11. Response times
  12. Error rates
  13. Resource usage

Deliverables: - ✅ Staging deployment successful - ✅ All tests passing - ✅ Security audit completed - ✅ Performance metrics captured

Weeks 11-12: Optimization & Planning

Objectives: - Address performance issues - Plan production rollout - Train wider team - Prepare runbooks

Tasks: 1. Performance optimization: - Query optimization - Caching strategies - Connection pooling - Resource tuning

  1. Create runbooks:
  2. Deployment procedures
  3. Rollback plans
  4. Incident response

  5. Common issues and fixes

  6. Team training:

  7. Knowledge transfer sessions
  8. Code walkthroughs
  9. Best practices

  10. Q&A sessions

  11. Production readiness review:

  12. Checklist completion
  13. Risk assessment
  14. Rollout plan
  15. Approval from stakeholders

Deliverables: - ✅ Performance optimized - ✅ Runbooks created - ✅ Team trained - ✅ Production go/no-go decision

Phase 4: Production (Weeks 13-24)

Weeks 13-16: Limited Production Deployment

Objectives: - Deploy to production (limited scope) - Monitor closely - Gather user feedback - Iterate quickly

Tasks: 1. Phased rollout: - Start with 5-10% of traffic - Monitor for issues - Gradually increase

  1. Monitoring:
  2. Set up alerts
  3. Create dashboards

  4. Track key metrics

  5. Incident response:

  6. On-call rotation
  7. Escalation procedures

  8. Communication plan

  9. User feedback:

  10. Collect qualitative feedback
  11. Track usage metrics
  12. Identify pain points

Deliverables: - ✅ Production deployment successful - ✅ Monitoring in place - ✅ No critical incidents - ✅ Positive user feedback

Weeks 17-24: Expansion & Optimization

Objectives: - Expand to 100% traffic - Add new features - Optimize based on real usage - Document lessons learned

Tasks: 1. Full rollout: - Complete migration - Decommission old system - Verify functionality

  1. Feature expansion:
  2. Add additional modules
  3. Implement user requests

  4. Explore advanced features

  5. Continuous optimization:

  6. Performance tuning
  7. Cost optimization

  8. Code refinement

  9. Case study creation:

  10. Document journey
  11. Share metrics
  12. Provide testimonials

Deliverables: - ✅ 100% production deployment - ✅ Additional features launched - ✅ Final metrics report - ✅ Case study completed

Support Resources

Weekly Office Hours

When: Wednesdays 10 AM - 11 AM PST
Format: Video call (Zoom link in Discord)
Agenda: - Quick updates from each team - Deep dive on specific challenges - Q&A - Roadmap updates

How to Prepare: - Post questions in Discord 24 hours before - Share code snippets or architecture diagrams - Bring specific challenges, not generic questions

Discord Channel

Access: Private channel for pilot participants
Guidelines: - Ask questions anytime - Share progress and wins - Help other participants - Response time: <4 hours during business hours

Channels: - #announcements - Important updates - #general - General discussion - #help - Technical questions - #show-and-tell - Share your work - #feedback - Structured feedback

Email Support

Address: pilots@usl-lang.org
Response Time: Within 24 hours (business days)
Use For: - Private concerns - Detailed reports - Formal communications - Escalations

Emergency Hotline

Use For: Production incidents only
Details: Provided separately to deployed pilots
Response Time: <1 hour

Best Practices

Development

  1. Start Small: Begin with one self-contained module
  2. Test Early: Write tests as you develop
  3. Seek Feedback: Share code early and often
  4. Document: Keep architecture decisions documented
  5. Version Control: Use Git branches for experiments

Communication

  1. Be Specific: Provide context, code samples, error messages
  2. Share Wins: Celebrate successes in Discord
  3. Report Issues: Use structured templates
  4. Be Responsive: Reply to USL team queries promptly
  5. Be Honest: Share both positive and negative feedback

Feedback

  1. Weekly Reports: Submit even if brief (5 minutes)
  2. Be Constructive: Suggest improvements
  3. Prioritize: Focus on blockers and high-impact issues
  4. Compare: Share metrics vs. traditional approaches
  5. Think Long-Term: Consider sustainability and maintenance

Common Pitfalls

1. Scope Creep

Problem: Trying to rewrite entire system at once
Solution: Start with one module, expand gradually

2. Insufficient Testing

Problem: Moving too fast without tests
Solution: Maintain >70% test coverage, write tests first

3. Not Asking for Help

Problem: Struggling alone instead of leveraging support
Solution: Use Discord, office hours, don't hesitate to ask

4. Ignoring Documentation

Problem: Skipping examples and guides
Solution: Review relevant docs before implementing

5. Premature Optimization

Problem: Optimizing before understanding patterns
Solution: Get it working first, optimize based on metrics

Success Criteria

By the end of 6 months, you should have:

  • ✅ At least 1 production module running USL code
  • ✅ Metrics showing improvement (speed, security, or maintainability)
  • ✅ Team confidence in USL for future projects
  • ✅ Documentation of your journey
  • ✅ Feedback that influences USL roadmap

Next Steps

  1. Week 1 Action: Run ./scripts/pilot-setup.sh and join Discord
  2. Schedule: Book your architecture review call
  3. Explore: Review production examples in examples/production/
  4. Plan: Complete project planning template

Questions? Join office hours or email pilots@usl-lang.org

Last Updated: January 15, 2026
Program Duration: 24 weeks