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Created November 12, 2025 12:58
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Squad Mock Demo Guide - Phase 3 (Empty→Populated States)

Squad Mock Demo Guide

Live URL: https://trysquad.ai Updated: Nov 12, 2025 (Phase 3: Empty→Populated States) For: Demo walkthrough + video recording


TL;DR - Quick Start

Access: Open https://trysquad.ai in your browser

Dev Toggle: Press Shift+P to instantly switch between empty/populated states (great for testing/screenshots)

New Feature (Phase 3): All views now show helpful empty states when you first start, then populate when you connect integrations. This creates a storytelling journey for demos.


Demo Flow Options

Option A: Full Journey (Recommended for Video - 5-6 min)

Best for: Stakeholder presentations, demo videos, showing the complete experience

Steps:

  1. Start: Open https://trysquad.ai → lands on onboarding
  2. Step 1: Value prop screen (Multi-Agent, Connected, Observable)
  3. Step 2: Create workspace (name it anything, e.g., "Acme Corp")
  4. Step 3: Click GitHub integration button
    • Watch "Connecting..." spinner (2 seconds)
    • Checkmark appears → Everything populates
  5. Navigate: Dashboard now shows suggested work, active agents, metrics
  6. Tour all 6 tabs:
    • Dashboard → Suggested work, things in flight, agent stats
    • Console → Chat with Director agent
    • Editor → Syntax-highlighted code viewer
    • Squad Ops V1 → Agent activity monitoring
    • Maps → Product Surface Map visualization
    • Bridge → Inter-squad communication

Narration Angle: "This is what a new user sees when they first connect Squad to their workspace. Watch as it instantly analyzes and surfaces high-priority work."


Option B: Quick Toggle Demo (30 seconds)

Best for: Screenshots, quick walkthroughs, testing

Steps:

  1. Open https://trysquad.ai
  2. Navigate to any tab (Dashboard, Console, etc.)
  3. Press Shift+P → View switches to empty state
  4. Press Shift+P again → Populated with data

Use Case: Great for showing before/after states or capturing specific screenshots.


The 6 Views Explained

1. Dashboard (Overview)

What it shows:

  • Suggested Work: 3 high-priority tasks AI identified from your GitHub PRs, Slack threads, Jira tickets
  • Things in Flight: Active PRs, conversations, tasks (PR #342, Auth flow, RCP-2847)
  • Today's Activity: 4 active agents, 12 tasks completed, 3 PRs opened
  • Active Squads: Authentication (2 agents), API (1 agent), Frontend (0 agents)
  • Observability: Token usage (35.3%), Cost ($2.47), Requests (127), Avg response (1.8s)

Empty state: Helpful messages like "Connect integrations to see AI-powered task recommendations"


2. Console (Director Chat)

What it shows:

  • Chat interface: Talk to the Director agent (Engineering Lead)
  • Conversation: Example security analysis with receipt creation
  • Product Surface Map: Shows active surfaces (Security/Auth, API/User, Frontend/Dashboard)
  • Recent Receipts: RCP-2848 (CSRF protection), RCP-2847 (Rate limiting)
  • Context Shelf: Connected repositories (3), Slack channels (5), Jira boards (2), Drive folders (4)

Empty state: Single system message explaining what the Director does


3. Editor (Code Viewer)

What it shows:

  • File tree: Browse codebase structure (src/auth/, src/api/, tests/)
  • Code viewer: Syntax-highlighted TypeScript with github-dark theme
    • Shows rate limiting implementation for token refresh
    • Keywords in pink/red, strings in orange, comments in gray
  • Active Task: RCP-2847 (Rate limiting for token refresh)
  • Related Files: Click to switch between token.ts, rate-limiter.ts, token.test.ts
  • Git Changes: Shows +12 -3 lines in token.ts, +45 new lines in rate-limiter.ts
  • Terminal: Test results (3/3 passing)

Empty state: "No repositories connected" + "Connect GitHub to browse your codebase"


4. Squad Ops V1 (Agent Observability)

What it shows:

  • Runs list: 4 completed agent runs
    • HMAC Webhook Security Implementation
    • GPT-5 Scoring Fix + Auto-Finalization
    • E2E Interview Tool Calls (15/15 success)
    • Import Wizard Autonomous Fix
  • Receipt stream: Test receipts, work receipts, HAR receipts, contract checks
  • Agent swimlanes: Shows which agents worked on what (TDD phases)
  • Engagement timeline: Active → Quiet → Disengaged states

Empty state: "No agent runs yet"


5. Maps (Product Observability)

What it shows:

  • PSM Tree: Product Surface Map hierarchy
    • Voice AI (in-progress)
      • ElevenLabs
      • Twilio
      • Voice Webhook
    • Campaign Management (complete)
    • Interview Management (complete)
    • Slack Operations (complete)
  • State machines: Click any surface to see state transitions
  • Receipt tracking: Evidence-based development

Empty state: "No Product Surface Map defined"


6. Bridge (Inter-Squad Communication)

What it shows:

  • Threads: Organized by state (In Progress, Awaiting Receipts, Resolved)
  • Request types:
    • RCX: Quick questions
    • RFA: Request help
    • RFD: Request decisions
    • RFC: Propose changes
    • FYI: Broadcast updates
  • Active thread: Example request for HAR + FIRE receipts from Security Squad
  • Squad overview: Telephony Squad info, responsibilities, recent receipts

Empty state: "No cross-squad threads yet"


Interactive Features (What Works)

Fully Interactive:

  • Step 3 integrations: Click any tool → "Connecting..." animation → Connected checkmark
  • Related Files in Editor: Click to instantly switch files
  • Shift+P toggle: Works in all views for demo purposes
  • Tab navigation: Click any of the 6 tabs

Static/Mock (Not Interactive):

  • Can't send actual messages in Console
  • Can't edit code in Editor
  • Can't create new squads/workspaces
  • Suggested Work items don't drill down
  • Pending Actions always shows 3 items (not conditional on empty state)

Demo Script Suggestions

For 5-6 Min Video

1. Hook (30 sec) "This is what happens when a new engineering team connects Squad for the first time..."

Show empty Dashboard → emphasize "blank slate"

2. The Journey (1 min)

  • Complete onboarding quickly (can speed up in edit)
  • Pause on Step 3: "Watch what happens when we connect to GitHub"
  • Click GitHub → show 2s connection animation
  • Moment of delight: Everything populates instantly

3. Value Prop (1 min)

  • Show populated Dashboard: "Squad analyzed our codebase and surfaced 3 high-priority tasks"
  • Point out: Agents are already active, observability metrics showing

4. Feature Tour (2.5 min)

  • Console: "Chat with the Director to review work"
  • Editor: "See exactly what code changed, with full context" (show syntax highlighting)
  • Squad Ops: "Monitor agent activity in real-time"
  • Maps/Bridge: Quick mentions

5. Close (30 sec)

  • Show Shift+P toggle: "And for demos, we can toggle states instantly"
  • CTA

Alternative: Skip Onboarding

Start directly at Dashboard

  • Use Shift+P to show empty→populated
  • Narrate: "When teams first connect, Squad starts clean and learns their workspace"
  • Then show populated state and tour features
  • Faster (3-4 min total)

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • ⌘T: Workspace launcher (Quick Switch)
  • ⌘0: Dashboard
  • ⌘1: Console
  • ⌘2: Editor
  • ⌘3: Squad Ops V1
  • Shift+P: Toggle empty/populated (dev mode)
  • ESC: Close modals

Common Questions

Q: Why do empty states matter? A: They create a storytelling journey. Instead of showing a pre-populated app, we show the transformation when someone connects their tools. More engaging for demos.

Q: Can I test locally? A: Yes, but production (https://trysquad.ai) is easiest. Changes are live as of Nov 12.

Q: What if something breaks? A: All 6 views Chrome DevTools verified with 0 runtime errors. If Shift+P doesn't work, just reload the page.

Q: Can I customize what data shows? A: No, it's hardcoded mock data. But you can toggle empty/populated with Shift+P.

Q: What's the best flow to show investors? A: Full journey (Option A). The empty→populated transformation is the "wow" moment.


What's New (Phase 3 - Nov 12)

Before Phase 3: App always showed populated data (looked pre-built)

After Phase 3:

  • All 6 views have empty states with helpful messages
  • Onboarding Step 3 triggers data population
  • Shift+P dev toggle for instant testing
  • Creates "first-time user" storytelling experience

Why this matters: Makes demos more believable and engaging. Shows the product "learning" the workspace in real-time.


Summary

Production: https://trysquad.ai Best Flow: Full journey (start empty → connect GitHub → populate) Dev Tool: Shift+P toggle Views: 6 tabs, all functional, 0 errors Purpose: Interactive demo prototype for stakeholder presentations

Ready to record! 🎬

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