Smokies Tracker

Launch readiness

Needs your attention

Pipeline funnel

By tour

Tier 3 — future locations

By district (legacy view — tell Code if you'd rather this was removed)

Management

How a tour moves from an idea to a live, playable stop — in order. Each step says who does it and where to find it in the tracker.

The procedure — creation to deployment

Location & tour planning PM

Every tour comes from the project's location map — 7 launch locations, 13 tours, 152 scripts — batched by district so one research pass covers driving, walking and heritage products at the same place.

Not in the tracker itself — see the Launch Readiness batch chips on the Dashboard.

Stop added to the tracker PM / Code

Each stop becomes a new row — tour, district, type, stop title — created before or as the script is written.

Stops tab → + Add Stop

Research → Draft → Self-Score PM

Each stop is researched (5-source minimum), written to the Master Transcript Standard, and self-scored against the 98/100 rubric before it's ever put in front of you. These are Stage dots 1-3.

Stage dots fill in automatically as this happens — nothing for you to do yet.

Content approval YOU

You review the script itself — not audio yet — and give the go-ahead to record. This is Stage dot 4, "Nicky Approval."

Stops tab → Content column → Approve Content. Recording can't start until this is clicked — it's the real trigger now, not an off-tracker conversation.

Recording Code

Once content is approved, Code renders the script through ElevenLabs in Chris's locked voice and uploads it. Audio status moves to Recorded.

Stage dot 5, "Record" — audio status chip changes on the Stops tab.

Audio QA Code

A first listen-check for obvious problems — wrong voice, cut-off audio, mismatched pacing — before it's put in front of you. Stage dot 6.

Doesn't require your input unless something's wrong — that becomes an issue (see below).

You listen & approve YOU

This is your main action in the tracker. Play the stop, and if it's right, click Approve Audio. If something's off, log a note instead (see Common Scenarios below) rather than approving.

Stops tab → find the tour → Approve Audio button per stop.

Publish — goes live Code

Once approved, Code deploys the stop to the live site. Stage dot 7. This is the only step blocked by an unresolved GPS pin or open issue — see the rule below.

Live at smokiesaudiotours.com once published.

The one hard rule

Nothing publishes with an open blocking issue, an unresolved GPS pin, or a script below the 98/100 floor — regardless of how far along it is. You can still listen to and approve audio with a low-priority issue open (e.g. an unwalked GPS estimate) — that only blocks the final Publish step, not your review. As of 2026-08-14, recording itself is also blocked until content is approved (Step 4) — the same "nothing skips a real checkpoint" principle, just earlier in the pipeline.

Reading the tracker — what the colors mean

Pipeline stage (7 dots)

1. Research

2. Draft

3. Self-Score

4. Nicky Approval

5. Record

6. Audio QA

7. Publish

Content & Audio status

Not RecordedNo audio yet

RecordedRendered, awaiting your listen

Needs Re-recordRejected — back to Code

QA PassedApproved & ready to publish

✓ ApprovedContent column — script cleared to record

Issue pills

⚠ lowDoesn't block your review

✕ blockingNeeds resolving before Publish

Add one anytime via + Add note for Code on any row.

Common scenarios

A stop is rendered in the wrong accent / wrong voice

Click + Add note for Code on that row and describe it (e.g. "wrong accent, not Chris"). It logs as a blocking issue — don't click Approve Audio. Code re-renders and the status resets to Recorded for a fresh listen once fixed.

I have GPS coordinates for a stop that needs one

Paste them straight into + Add note for Code on that row (e.g. "GPS: 35.6739, -83.4496"). Code sets the pin and flips GPS to Confirmed — no need to go through a separate form.