Pirate Code

Origin. Ambiguous. Either the AARRR pirate metrics funnel (Dave McClure) or the 'guidelines, not rules' framing of negotiable constraint.

Mechanism. Under the metrics reading: decomposes a business into five sequential conversion stages, so that a growth problem is localized to one stage rather than attacked globally. Under the constraint reading: distinguishes rules that bind from rules that merely have not been tested.

Procedure. Metrics: Acquisition · Activation · Retention · Referral · Revenue. Measure each; fix the worst. Constraint: enumerate the rules governing the design; for each, ask what enforces it.

Applies to. The two readings share nothing but a name.

Limitations. The name alone does not disambiguate. Treat the entry as unspecified rather than as one method with two aspects.