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ECommerce studio workflow builder

Generates a complete studio production workflow package for eCommerce content operations — covering sample intake, shoot planning, styling, capture, post-production, QC, and asset delivery — with role-based SOPs…

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Purpose

Produce a documented, stage-gated studio production workflow with role-specific SOPs, handoff checklists, and throughput targets — so a DTC studio can scale SKU output without dropping quality, losing samples, or bottlenecking on any single stage. Turns an undocumented "everyone knows how we do it" studio into a repeatable system a new hire can run from.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Document studio production SOPs or standard operating procedures
  • Build a workflow to scale studio output (more SKUs, more shots per SKU, more channels)
  • Fix a throughput bottleneck (samples piling up, post-production backlog, missed delivery dates)
  • Onboard new studio hires (photographers, stylists, retouchers, coordinators) with repeatable process docs
  • Configure Creative Force stages/tasks or a Notion production tracker to match their workflow
  • Standardize handoffs between sample management, capture, post, and merchandising

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Studio type & channels: On-model, still life, flat lay, video, 360/AR — and which channels the assets feed (PDP, marketplace, social, email)
  • Monthly volume: SKUs per month and average shots/deliverables per SKU
  • Team & roles: Who's on the team (coordinators, photographers, stylists, retouchers, editors) and headcount per role
  • Current tooling: What they use today for tracking, DAM, and retouching (Creative Force, Notion, spreadsheets, Frame.io, etc.)
  • Delivery SLA: Target turnaround from sample-in to asset-live, and any peak-season spikes
  • Known pain points: Where things break today (lost samples, retouch backlog, endless revisions, rush requests)
  • Naming & delivery specs: File naming convention, required output formats/dimensions, and destination systems

If volume or SLA is missing, assume a mid-size DTC studio (500–1,500 SKUs/month, 5-business-day sample-to-live SLA) and note the assumption.

Instructions

Step 1: Map the Production Pipeline into Stage Gates

Define the workflow as sequential stages, each with a clear entry condition, owner, and exit condition (the stage gate). Use this canonical 7-stage spine, adapted to the studio's channels:

  1. Sample Intake & Prep — receive, log, barcode, condition-check, and stage samples
  2. Shoot Planning & Scheduling — build shot lists, assign talent/sets, book the calendar
  3. Styling & Set — steam/style, prop, and set-build per shot list
  4. Capture — shoot to spec, tether-review on set, first-pass cull
  5. Post-Production — retouch, color, crop/resize, versioning per channel
  6. Quality Control — spec check, brand-guideline check, defect catch
  7. Asset Delivery & Archive — export to naming spec, push to DAM/PDP, sample return/return-to-inventory

For each stage, specify the stage gate: the explicit condition that must be true before work moves to the next stage (e.g., "Capture → Post gate: all shots on the list captured, tagged to SKU, and passed on-set review — no partial batches move forward").

Step 2: Write Role-Based SOPs Per Stage

For each stage, produce a concise SOP with this structure:

  • Owner role and backup role
  • Trigger: what starts this stage
  • Steps: numbered, action-oriented, written so a new hire can follow without asking questions
  • Definition of Done: the checkable exit condition
  • Handoff: who receives the work and what must accompany it (files, metadata, notes)
  • Common failure & recovery: the one thing that goes wrong most and how to fix it

Write SOP steps in imperative voice ("Scan the sample barcode into the intake queue"), never in vague summary form.

Step 3: Define Handoff Checklists Between Stages

Between each pair of adjacent stages, create a short handoff checklist (3–6 items) the sending role confirms before releasing work. Handoffs are where scaling studios leak time and quality — treat each as a mini contract. Include SKU/metadata completeness, file location, and any special-handling flags.

Step 4: Calculate Throughput & Staffing

Convert volume into concrete capacity math:

  • Shots/day per photographer and SKUs/day per stylist benchmarks for the studio type (still life runs higher throughput than on-model; video runs lower)
  • Retouch minutes per image by complexity tier, and daily retoucher capacity
  • Identify the bottleneck stage — the stage whose capacity caps total output — and state the throughput ceiling in SKUs/month
  • Recommend the staffing or batching change that raises the ceiling

Show the math plainly (e.g., "3 photographers × 40 shots/day × 20 days = 2,400 shots/month capacity at capture; retouch capacity = 1,600/month → retouch is the bottleneck").

Step 5: Configure the Tooling Layer

Map the workflow onto the studio's tools:

  • Creative Force: recommend a Stage/Task setup that mirrors the 7 stages, sample-tracking configuration, task assignment logic, and how to use its reporting to surface bottlenecks. If they don't use it, note where it would replace manual tracking.
  • Notion: provide a production-tracker structure — a master SKU/job database with status (linked to stages), views by stage/owner/due-date, an SOP wiki linking each stage to its SOP doc, and a sample log. Specify properties (SKU, status, owner, due date, shot count, priority) and the key views.
  • Note the source-of-truth rule: one system owns job status; the other links to it — never dual-entry.

Step 6: Build the Rush & Exception Path

Define how urgent/priority work moves through without breaking the standard flow: a priority flag, an expedited gate rule, a cap on concurrent rush jobs, and who approves rush requests. Scaling studios die by unmanaged rush requests — make the exception a documented lane, not chaos.

Step 7: Define Operating Metrics & Review Cadence

Specify the handful of numbers the manager reviews and when:

  • Daily: stage WIP, samples-in-queue, overdue jobs
  • Weekly: sample-to-live cycle time, throughput vs. target, revision rate, bottleneck-stage load
  • Monthly: cost-per-asset, on-time delivery %, capacity utilization by role State a target/benchmark for each so the numbers are actionable, not decorative.

Output Format

  • Structure: A production-ops document organized by the sections below, with SOPs as structured blocks and handoffs/checklists as scannable lists; throughput math shown explicitly; tooling configs as labeled setups
  • Length: 1,400–1,900 words
  • Format: Structured document — headed sections, numbered SOP steps, checkbox handoff lists, and a compact metrics table
  • Sections: Pipeline & Stage Gates → Role-Based SOPs (per stage) → Handoff Checklists → Throughput & Staffing Math → Tooling Configuration (Creative Force + Notion) → Rush & Exception Path → Operating Metrics & Review Cadence
  • Tone: Studio operations lead — practical, checklist-driven, throughput-focused; written for someone who has to run this Monday morning

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] All 7 stages are present, each with a named owner role and an explicit stage-gate exit condition
  • [ ] Every stage has an SOP with numbered imperative steps and a checkable Definition of Done
  • [ ] A handoff checklist exists between each adjacent stage pair (6 handoffs total)
  • [ ] Throughput math is shown numerically and names the specific bottleneck stage and monthly ceiling
  • [ ] Both Creative Force and Notion configurations are specified, with a stated single source-of-truth rule
  • [ ] Operating metrics are split into daily/weekly/monthly with a target or benchmark for each
  • [ ] No bracket placeholders remain — all SOPs use the studio's actual channels, volume, and tools

Notes

  • The bottleneck is almost always post-production or QC, not capture — teams over-invest in shoot days and under-invest in retouch capacity. Run the throughput math before recommending any staffing change.
  • Handoffs, not stages, are where scaling studios leak time. If forced to prioritize, tighten the handoff checklists first.
  • Keep SOPs short enough that people actually read them — one screen per stage is the ceiling. A 12-page SOP no one opens is worse than a one-page checklist taped to the wall.
  • If the studio is pre-tooling (spreadsheets only), sequence the recommendation: document the workflow first, adopt Notion for tracking second, layer Creative Force in once volume justifies it — don't tool-shop before the process is stable.

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills