ced4568andClaude Sonnet 5
de6c5b3286
root-12-real-ops gains a Detect -> Triage -> Diagnose -> Mitigate ->
Recover -> Verify -> Learn incident-response framing lesson at the
front of the existing 4-incident module, and a post-incident reflection
at the end — the incidents themselves are unchanged, still deliberately
un-guided ('you are responsible for this environment,' not 'complete
this exercise'). No fixes revealed; instructor notes carry the deeper
solution guidance the student-facing lesson intentionally withholds.
root-capstone-m02-capstone-readiness — a new READY orientation module:
what the Capstone measures, how the timed/randomized draw works, time
management and troubleshooting strategy under a clock, and a genuine
self-assessment checklist. Never publishes the current draw or answers.
See docs/ROOT_CAPSTONE_READINESS.md for why this module's completion is
deliberately independent of the real capstone's server-side unlock gate.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <[email protected]>
3.8 KiB
What the Capstone Measures & How the Draw Works
What the RootNode Capstone is actually testing
The Capstone is not a test of memorized kubectl syntax. It's a 90-minute operational
assessment weighted heavily toward RootNode's own Real Ops incident scenarios — it's checking
whether you can DO the thing ROOT_ has been building toward: diagnose and repair real,
under-specified problems using the frameworks and skills from every course before it, under a
clock, without step-by-step guidance.
If you've completed ROOT 05 through ROOT 12 honestly (not just clicked through), the Capstone is testing exactly what you've already practiced — just without a lesson telling you which concept is about to be tested.
How the scenario draw works
The Capstone draws a mix of:
- Required scenarios — every attempt includes RootNode's own Real Ops incidents (the same scenarios from ROOT 12, though a fresh attempt against them, not literally the same completed attempt carried over).
- Randomly drawn scenarios — a smaller number of additional scenarios, randomly selected from broader pools spanning workloads, configuration, and troubleshooting.
This means two students taking the Capstone will very likely see a different exact mix of random scenarios, while both always face the same core Real Ops incidents. The exact scenario IDs and the random draw itself are never published in advance — see the next lesson for why that's intentional, not withheld information.
What "unlocked" actually means
The Capstone doesn't unlock just because you decided you're ready — it unlocks when the platform confirms, server-side, that you've genuinely completed every prerequisite stage (Foundation, Workloads, Networking, Configuration, Troubleshooting, and Real Ops). This isn't a UI suggestion you can bypass; it's enforced the same way everywhere you'd try to start it. If you see a "locked" message, the platform is telling you something true about your actual progress, not gatekeeping arbitrarily.
What completion means
Passing the Capstone requires resolving every scenario in your specific draw — this is recorded
as a real, permanent achievement (capstone_completed) tied to your account, the same
achievement mechanism that recorded every stage completion before it. It's the platform's own
confirmation that you can operate a Kubernetes environment under exam conditions, not just that
you clicked through a curriculum.
Instructor Notes
Lesson goal: Set accurate expectations before a student attempts the real assessment — reduce anxiety from not knowing "what kind of thing" the Capstone tests, without revealing any specific content.
Approximate timing: 10 minutes read; 8-10 minutes live.
Preparation: None beyond having completed ROOT 12 yourself if teaching this live, so you can speak concretely about the Real Ops incidents' style without naming specifics from the current draw pool.
Likely misconceptions to watch for:
- Students sometimes think "random draw" means the Capstone is inconsistent/unfair between attempts. Clarify: the REQUIRED Real Ops scenarios are constant across every attempt; only a smaller supplementary set is randomized.
- "It's locked, so something's broken" — reinforce that a locked Capstone is the platform correctly reporting incomplete prerequisites, not a bug.
Questions to ask students: "Which ROOT_ course do you feel least confident about right now? What would you do about that before attempting the Capstone?" — a good self-assessment prompt that ties directly into the next lesson's time-management content.
Expected takeaway: The Capstone measures real operational capability built across the whole ROOT_ sequence — approaching it as "one more scenario to guess your way through" misses the point of everything that led up to it.