This page is the whole onboarding, in order. Scott and Dallas walk it together on day one; anything marked DALLAS can be done as homework beforehand. Tags show who does each step.
Three pieces, and how they relate. If this clicks, everything else is detail.
Ten terms cover 95% of everything. Claude will gloss any word the first time it uses it — and you can always ask "explain that like I've never coded." Skim these once — don't memorize. They'll click when you touch them; come back whenever a word bugs you.
An AI agent: you describe an outcome in plain English, it does the work — reads and writes files, runs tools, builds dashboards, makes spreadsheets. The Desktop app is the friendly window around it. No terminal needed.
A text file at the top of your project that Claude reads first, every session — who you are, how the company works, the rules. There are levels (a personal one in your home folder, a project one in the repo) — focus on the project one; it's shared through GitHub. Anything you re-explain twice, say: "add that to the CLAUDE.md."
Claude keeps notes between sessions (plain markdown files + an index it loads every time). Yours arrives pre-seeded with SGA knowledge — the vernacular, data rules, metric traps — so day one, Claude already knows how SGA works.
Reusable workflows Claude already knows: the SGA dashboard look, Excel exports, the "?" metric explainer, guided tours. Kit ships 8. You just ask — "build me a dashboard" — and Claude picks the right ones.
An agent is just saved instructions plus permission to use tools. Do a task once conversationally (a monthly reconciliation, an Excel pull-and-report), then say "save this so I can rerun it monthly." The conversation IS the recording — no screen capture, no programming. Next month: "run the September one."
Secure doors from Claude to company data. You get two: the Crosswalk API (the live practice roster — a simple key-protected lookup) and the sga-data connector (an MCP door to governed Power BI / Dental Intel numbers — permission-checked and audited).
Claude proposes a plan and waits for your OK before touching anything. Start non-trivial tasks here — pick Plan in the mode selector next to the send button. The other modes just change how much it asks per step.
Repo = the project folder with full history. Fork = your own copy on GitHub linked to the original. Commit = save a named snapshot. Push = upload it. Claude runs all of this for you — you just say "commit this."
"Deploy" = put a dashboard on a live URL you can send to anyone. Claude does it; the deliverable is always the link, not a file path.
You're on SGA's Claude Enterprise account — you just sign in with your work login; there's no bill to watch. Seats do have weekly usage limits, so Claude works lean and warns before heavy multi-agent runs. Settings → account shows what you're signed into.
All free. Defaults are fine everywhere. Do these as homework before day one DALLAS. After each install, run the verify command in PowerShell (press Win, type "powershell", Enter). Installers may pop a Windows admin (UAC) prompt — if it asks for an admin password you don't have, stop and ping Scott/IT. You'll never operate most of these yourself — you're stocking Claude's garage. It drives; you talk.
'git' is not recognized (or node/python) right after an install → close PowerShell and open a fresh one — already-open windows don't see new installs..msi, defaults.python opens the Microsoft Store, the PATH box was missed — rerun the installer and check it. And pip install printing a wall of text with yellow warnings is normal; success = Successfully installed … at the end.npx playwright install chrome — it can overwrite your existing Chrome).Four wirings: Claude (your company account — no key needed), GitHub, Cloudflare, and the crosswalk. Two involve secrets — the crosswalk key arrives from Scott; the Cloudflare token gets created together. Secrets move by password-manager share or in person, never email or chat, and never go into git.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY on your machine. A key silently overrides your company seat and bills per-usage instead. If the account screen ever shows "API key" auth, tell Scott.<placeholder>, angle brackets and all:.env file Claude sets up — and if a token is ever lost, no problem: delete it and make a new one. Never email or Slack a token to yourself in the meantime.C:\Users\<you>\sga-secrets\). Claude reads it from there whenever it needs a practice lookup.Your starter repo is ready: github.com/scott4885/dallas-sga — it contains your CLAUDE.md, 8 SGA skills, the docs, and the pre-seeded memory. You don't work in Scott's copy — you fork it, so Scott can keep improving the kit and you can pull updates cleanly.
git remote -v should list both origin and upstream (the --clone wires both automatically). If git says the repository can't be found, you haven't accepted Scott's email invite yet (previous step). And you can skip the typing entirely: once Claude is signed in, paste this box to Claude and say "run this for me."…\Projects\dallas-sga itself, not a parent. The folder name shows at the top; that's how you know Claude is "in" it. First prompt: "What does this project do? Read the CLAUDE.md and the docs and summarize."/clear): "what do you know about how SGA data works?" If it answers with PBI/DI/crosswalk specifics, the seed took. If it shrugs, the copy silently failed — redo it now, not later./clear wipes the conversation; old sessions live in the left sidebar — click one to continue it. Closing the window loses nothing that was saved to files.One diagram of the whole machine. You speak (or type) on the left; live dashboards and Excel files come out the right.
Two doors, ~10 minutes total. The finance door is deliberately permission-scoped — you'll see both an allowed pull and a denial, on purpose.
.mcp.json, so a fresh "pull kit updates" usually fixes it.)| Ask Claude | Expect |
|---|---|
| "Use sga-data: whoami" | Your email, role vp, scope all |
| "List the metrics I can query" | Your entitled set — finance metrics don't even appear |
| "New patients, last 3 months, network-wide" | ✅ Real Dental Intel rows — your wheelhouse |
| "Total production by month, last 6 months" | ✅ Headline production (the basic tier) |
| "EBITDA / P&L by practice last quarter" | 🚫 Denied — on purpose. Finance isn't in your grant yet; the denial (and its audit entry) is the credential system working. Access widens as needs are proven. |
Two files carry your identity: CLAUDE.md (standing rules, loads every session) and memory-seed/user_profile.md (who you are). Fill the placeholder brackets on day one — then make them smarter by mining your own AI history.
You've been using ChatGPT (and some Claude) for a while — those conversations are a goldmine of "context you keep re-explaining." Harvest it once, keep it forever:
One focus per day. Rules to drill all week: start in plan mode · commit when things work · /clear between unrelated tasks · no PHI, ever.
For the blinking-cursor moment. Any of these is a great opening move:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wire everything on this page through Step 6, together. First prompt: "explain this project to me." Stay in plan mode. Run one of your three brought problems — the quick win. |
| 2 | Explore: @filename to point Claude at a file; reopen yesterday's session from the left sidebar. Re-run the crosswalk + data queries solo. Do the personalization mining (Step 7). |
| 3 | Make a small change → review Claude's proposed diff → approve → "commit this." The full loop: describe → review → accept → save. This loop is why it's safe to move fast — every change is reviewable and undoable. |
| 4 | Branch → change → "open a PR" — the full GitHub flow once, reviewed by Scott. Plus: turn one repetitive task into your first agent ("save these steps so I can rerun them monthly"). |
| 5 | Build a small dashboard from sample data (the skills do the heavy lifting), add the "?" explainer, and deploy it live — first deploy together with Scott. Send someone the URL. 🎉 |
| Wk 2 | A real task on real (Phase-A) data through the sga-data door. Tackle the meaty problem you brought. Review week-one usage with Scott and tune the working rhythm. |
Don't start with "let's build an agent." Start by doing the task once, live, in plain conversation: walk the Excel file in, have Claude pull the data and report out. When it's right, say the magic sentence — "save this as something I can rerun every month." That's it: the conversation was the recording. No screen capture, no programming — Claude bottles the steps into a reusable routine. Next month: "run the September one." Need a tweak? Say what changed, in words. This is the pattern for finance agents, monthly reconciliations, Excel extract-and-report jobs — any repetitive task in the company.
Ten habits that separate "meh" results from great ones.
Full sentences, context, the why, and the problem you're solving — not step-by-step instructions. Let Claude figure out the how; you judge the result: did it solve it, yes or no?
That's normal texture, not a sign you broke it. Your job was never to trust it; it's to check it. The magic isn't that it's always right — it's that a redo costs one sentence.
"That's not what I meant — I actually wanted X." It course-corrects instantly. No need to start over.
"Ask me anything you need before you start." It surfaces the things you forgot to mention — huge for avoiding wrong turns.
Small clear chunks beat one giant tangled request. And when a conversation gets muddled, /clear and start fresh — faster than untangling.
"This goes to leadership" vs "just for me" changes the polish, the caution, and the checking it applies.
"Walk me through what you just did." It teaches as it goes — the fastest way to build your own confidence.
"Here's my problem — what are my options?" before committing to anything. It's a genuinely good brainstorming partner.
You don't need the perfect prompt. Talk messy (hold the Handy key and think out loud), then: "help me tighten this up."
When a prompt works really well — "add that to the CLAUDE.md." Your setup gets smarter every week you use it.
Every term you'll hear in week one, in plain English. Type to filter. (And remember: Claude will gloss any term on the spot — just ask.)
| Term | Plain English | World |
|---|---|---|
| Agent | AI that does multi-step work for you — reads files, runs tools, builds things. Your own saved routines are agents too: saved instructions + permission to use tools. | Claude |
| CLAUDE.md | The standing-instructions file Claude reads at the start of every session. Project-level one (in the repo) is the one that matters. | Claude |
| Memory | Notes Claude keeps between sessions (markdown files + an index). Yours comes pre-seeded with SGA knowledge. | Claude |
| Skill | A packaged workflow Claude already knows (the SGA dashboard look, Excel exports, the "?" explainer…). You ask; it picks. | Claude |
| MCP / connector | A secure door from Claude to an outside system — sga-data is one. (The Crosswalk is a plain key-protected web API — same idea, simpler plumbing.) | Claude |
| Plan mode | Pick Plan in the mode selector next to the send button — Claude proposes a plan and waits for your OK before doing anything. | Claude |
| Session / context | One conversation. Claude's short-term attention span lives inside it — /clear starts fresh; yesterday's sessions live in the left sidebar. | Claude |
| Token | The unit AI usage is measured in (≈ ¾ of a word). Why long, rambling sessions "cost" more of your seat's weekly limit. | Claude |
| Diff | The before/after view of a proposed change — what you review before approving. | Claude |
| Terminal / PowerShell | The type-commands-directly window in Windows. You use it only during setup — after that, Claude runs the commands for you. | Claude |
| Slash command | Anything starting with / controls the app itself instead of asking Claude a question — e.g. /clear. (Some terminal-only ones don't exist in the app; the app's buttons cover them.) | Claude |
| Permission prompt | The Allow/Deny box Claude shows before running a command or editing a file. The safety system working — not an error. | Claude |
| .md (markdown) | A plain text file with light formatting (CLAUDE.md, MEMORY.md). Opens in Notepad; nothing special. | Claude |
| Repo | A project folder with a saved history of every version. | GitHub |
| Fork | Your own copy of someone's repo on GitHub, linked back to the original. | GitHub |
| Clone | Downloading a repo to your laptop — the working copy Claude actually reads. | GitHub |
| Commit | A saved snapshot with a short message. "Commit this" = save my work. | GitHub |
| Branch | A side copy for experimental work, so main stays safe until it's ready. | GitHub |
| Push / pull | Upload your commits to GitHub / download changes from it. | GitHub |
| PR (pull request) | "Please review and merge my branch" — how changes get a second set of eyes. | GitHub |
| main | The main branch — the "real" current version of the repo that branches eventually merge back into. | GitHub |
| Merge conflict | You and Scott changed the same lines; git asks a human to pick. Tell Claude "resolve the merge conflict" — routine, not broken. | GitHub |
| origin / upstream | In your fork setup: origin = your fork (daily pushes), upstream = Scott's kit (updates come from there). | GitHub |
| Deploy | Publish a page to a live URL (Cloudflare Pages). The deliverable is the link. | Claude |
| .env | A local file holding secret keys. Never committed, never pasted into chat. | Claude |
| SGA | By itself = all three business units, the full ~260-practice network (NOT just East). | SGA |
| Gen4 | SGA West. | SGA |
| Modis | SGA Specialty. | SGA |
| "SGA" (legacy use) | In older docs/data, "SGA" alone can mean SGA East specifically. Ambiguous? Ask. | SGA |
| Business Unit | The division field to cohort practices by (NOT "Region" — that field misleads). | SGA |
| ROD | Regional Operations Director — the field leader a group of practices reports to. | SGA |
| OM | Office Manager — runs a single practice's front office. | SGA |
| DSO | Dental Support Organization — what SGA is: the parent supporting 260+ individually-branded practices. | SGA |
| Crosswalk | The live master list of practices (names, locations, regions, RODs, IDs). Always the API, never an old spreadsheet. | SGA |
| PBI (Power BI) | The source of truth for money — production, collections, budget. Reached through the governed sga-data door. | SGA |
| DI (Dental Intelligence) | The source for engagement — call funnel, follow-ups, reappointment. Not for finance. | SGA |
| Production / collections | Dentistry billed for vs cash actually collected. Related, never identical. Watch gross vs net production — net (after adjustments) is the standard for comparisons. | SGA |
| Provider | Any clinician who produces: dentists and hygienists. (The "provider" in visits-per-provider-per-day.) | SGA |
| Hygiene | The cleanings/recare side of the practice, vs doctor (restorative) work. Production usually splits doctor vs hygiene. | SGA |
| Recare / reappointment | Getting hygiene patients rebooked before they leave. Recent months always look low (future visits haven't happened yet) — judge with a maturation window. | SGA |
| NP | New patients. | SGA |
| Visits per provider per day | Our default way to compare practices fairly — normalizes for office size before comparing totals. | SGA |
| PHI / Phase A | PHI = protected health information (patient-identifiable data) — never enters this environment. Phase A = the safe zone: practice-level info and aggregated numbers. | SGA |
| Appointments feed | The data feed from practice management systems. (Always call it this — not by any vendor name.) | SGA |
Run these in order in one session. All green = onboarding complete.
git remote -v shows origin (your fork) + upstream (the kit)git log shows your commits (passes after your first commit — Day 3); no secrets anywhere in the repo| What | Link |
|---|---|
| Git for Windows | git-scm.com/download/win |
| GitHub CLI | cli.github.com |
| GitHub — create account | github.com/join |
| Node.js LTS | nodejs.org |
| Python | python.org/downloads |
| Claude Code Desktop | claude.com/download |
| Handy (voice) | handy.computer |
| Cloudflare — create account | dash.cloudflare.com/sign-up |
| Your starter repo | github.com/scott4885/dallas-sga |