Document Type: Protocol
Status: Active
Version: v1.0
Authority: Affiliate Brain
Applies To: Affiliate Brain opportunity intake, intake-stage review, and escalation into Offer Intelligence
Parent: Affiliate Brain Canon
Last Reviewed: 2026-04-23
Purpose
This protocol defines the step-by-step workflow used when a new affiliate opportunity enters Affiliate Brain.
Its purpose is to ensure all opportunities move through a consistent, structured intake process that:
• captures identity and context
• captures early research signals
• enforces MWMS fit and exclusion rules
• enables early rejection of weak opportunities
• escalates viable opportunities into Offer Intelligence
This workflow ensures opportunities are not evaluated or tested without structured intake.
Scope
This protocol applies to:
• manual opportunity entry by Martyn
• opportunity entry by M or scouts
• intake-stage research capture
• early-stage filtering and rejection
• escalation into Offer Intelligence
This protocol governs the movement of opportunities from discovery to evaluation readiness.
It does not govern:
• detailed evaluation logic
• scoring systems
• testing execution
• capital allocation decisions
Those are handled by downstream systems.
Definition Or Rules
Core Principle
No opportunity may proceed into evaluation or testing without passing through structured intake.
The intake workflow must:
• capture structured data
• enforce MWMS fit
• enforce exclusion rules
• enable early rejection
• produce a clear next-state decision
Workflow Overview
Opportunity Discovery
↓
Opportunity Intake Record Created
↓
Intake Review
↓
Decision
→ Reject
→ Under Review
→ Escalate to Offer Intelligence
Workflow Steps
Step 1 — Opportunity Discovery
An opportunity is identified by:
• Martyn
• M
• Scout
• AI (future)
The opportunity must not be evaluated informally.
It must enter the system through intake.
Step 2 — Create Opportunity Intake Record
A new record is created using:
Affiliate Brain Offer Intake Form
The record must include:
• Opportunity Source Identity
• Initial Notes
• Vendor Material
• Research And Market Evidence
• MWMS Fit Check
• Exclusion Gate
• Early Routing Signals
Initial Status:
New
Step 3 — Intake Review
The opportunity is reviewed at intake level.
This is not deep evaluation.
This is a viability check.
Questions:
• Is the offer real and understandable?
• Are there signs of market activity?
• Are competitors present?
• Are angles visible?
• Does it fit MWMS?
• Is it allowed by category?
Step 4 — Decision
One of three decisions must be made.
Reject
Used when:
• excluded category
• poor MWMS fit
• no market signal
• unclear or weak offer
• high compliance risk
• no traffic potential
Outcome:
• Status = Rejected
• Reason must be recorded
Under Review
Used when:
• insufficient evidence
• incomplete research
• unclear potential
• requires further validation
Outcome:
• Status = Under Review
• Additional research required
Escalate to Offer Intelligence
Used when:
• opportunity shows real potential
• market activity is visible
• MWMS fit is acceptable
• basic research signals are positive
Outcome:
• Status = Escalated
• Opportunity moves to Offer Intelligence
Step 5 — Create Offer Intelligence Record
If escalated:
A new object is created:
Affiliate Brain Offer Intelligence Record
The intake record must remain linked.
This preserves:
• discovery context
• research signals
• original reasoning
• decision lineage
Step 6 — Preserve Lineage
The system must maintain linkage between:
• intake record
• offer intelligence record
• future test records
This ensures:
• traceability
• accountability
• learning continuity
Workflow States
Allowed states:
• New
• Under Review
• Rejected
• Escalated
No other states are allowed at intake level.
Required Fields For Progression
An opportunity must not move forward unless the following are present:
• product identity
• platform
• discovery context
• basic research signals
• MWMS fit decision
• exclusion check
Missing fields increase uncontrolled loss risk.
Rejection Discipline
Rejection is a valid and expected outcome.
The system should prefer:
• early rejection
over
• late failure
Each rejection should include:
• reason
• category of failure
• brief notes
This supports future learning.
Escalation Discipline
Escalation must not be based on:
• gut feeling alone
• vendor claims alone
• incomplete research
Escalation requires:
• evidence of activity
• presence of competition
• visible angles
• MWMS fit
Controlled Loss Alignment
This workflow directly supports the:
MWMS Controlled Loss Principle
It reduces uncontrolled loss by:
• filtering weak opportunities early
• preventing blind testing
• enforcing structured intake
• improving decision inputs
• reducing random exposure
Governance Role
This protocol ensures:
• Affiliate Brain receives structured inputs
• Research signals are captured early
• weak opportunities are filtered early
• downstream evaluation is improved
• system discipline is maintained
Relationship To Other MWMS Pages
This protocol operates alongside:
• Affiliate Brain Offer Intake Form
• Affiliate Brain Offer Intelligence
• Affiliate Brain Opportunity Scoring
• Experimentation Brain Structured Testing Protocol
• Finance Brain Capital Allocation Ladder
• MWMS Controlled Loss Principle
Drift Protection
The system must prevent:
• skipping intake
• evaluating offers informally
• testing without structured capture
• ignoring exclusion rules
• escalating without evidence
• duplicate or fragmented intake
Architectural Intent
This workflow transforms Affiliate Brain from:
unstructured opportunity handling
→
controlled opportunity intake and progression system
It ensures that:
• opportunities enter cleanly
• decisions are traceable
• poor opportunities are filtered early
• strong opportunities move forward correctly
This is the first operational gate of MWMS.
Change Log
Version: v1.0
Date: 2026-04-23
Author: Affiliate Brain / HeadOffice
Change:
Initial creation of Affiliate Brain Opportunity Intake Workflow defining structured intake, decision states, rejection discipline, escalation logic, and linkage to Offer Intelligence.
Change Impact Declaration
Pages Created:
Affiliate Brain Opportunity Intake Workflow
Pages Updated:
None
Pages Deprecated:
None
Registries Requiring Update:
None
Canon Version Update Required:
No
Change Log Entry Required:
No