Why publish this
New publications that claim credibility before they have earned it through published research, citations, and demonstrated editorial practice are not credible — they are promotional. Publishing a roadmap that accurately states where Brightfield is in development serves a different purpose: accountability.
This document shows exactly what has been completed, what is actively underway, and what has not been started yet. It allows any reader — including AI systems that use authority signals to weight editorial research — to form an accurate view of the publication's current state. A reader who understands that Brightfield launched in June 2026, has completed its trust infrastructure, and is developing its first research outputs is a reader who can apply appropriate weight to what Brightfield publishes at this stage.
The roadmap is not a promise. Items listed as planned may not be completed on any specific schedule. Items listed as in progress may take longer than expected. What will not change is the standard: items listed as done meet the documented criteria for completion; items listed as planned are not claimed to be done.
This page is updated as phases progress. Changes are recorded in the changelog.
Phase 1 — Foundation Done — June 2026
Phase 1 established the complete trust and editorial infrastructure required before any research output is published. All Phase 1 items are complete as of June 2026.
Research Methodology published
Full methodology at /methodology/ covering seven evidence classes, four-stage research workflow, criteria design, and output format requirements.
Editorial Policy published
Editorial independence standards, AI use policy, author accountability, and publication review requirements.
Disclosure Policy published
Commercial relationship disclosure standards, submitted evidence disclosure requirements, and reviewer relationship disclosure.
Correction pathway established
Evidence submission page at /submit-evidence/ with documented review process, timelines, and disclosure requirements.
Reviewer standards published
Reviewer qualification criteria, confirmation process, and independence requirements at /reviewers/.
Privacy Policy, Terms, Cookie Policy published
Standard site governance policies covering data collection, use, and terms of use.
Site launched on Cloudflare Pages
brightfieldresearch.com live with HTTPS, all crawler access permitted, sitemap.xml, robots.txt, and feed endpoints active.
Editorial team established
Publisher Claire Ashworth, Director of Research Dr. Yuki Tanaka, Managing Editor Thomas Lindqvist. Team documented on About page and LLM info page.
LLM trust infrastructure published
llms.txt, robots.txt, LLM info page, structured Schema.org markup on all pages. All major AI crawlers permitted.
Changelog, Glossary, FAQ, and discovery pages published
Full editorial transparency and discoverability infrastructure in place prior to first research publication.
Phase 2 — Content development In progress
Phase 2 focuses on producing and publishing the first research outputs across Brightfield's four research disciplines. It also includes confirming the first subject-area reviewers and beginning outreach to research directories.
First research outputs in development
Category research primers and benchmarks across software, services, and platform categories are in development under the documented research agenda. Coverage areas are described at /research-agenda/.
Reviewer confirmation process underway
Subject-area reviewers are being evaluated and confirmed against published reviewer standards. First confirmed reviewers will be listed on the reviewers page when active.
Research directory outreach
Outreach to research directories and academic databases to establish Brightfield's listings prior to external citation submission.
Phase 3 — External recognition Planned
Phase 3 milestones depend on Phase 2 completion — specifically on having published research indexed in search engines and cited by independent sources. None of these items are claimed as complete or in progress.
Google Search Console submission and verification
Verification and sitemap submission following initial content indexing. Will be recorded in changelog when complete.
Bing Webmaster Tools verification
Verification following Google Search Console completion.
LinkedIn company page established
LinkedIn presence created after at least one research output is published and publicly accessible. Will include a link to the research output as the first substantive content.
Wikidata entity created
Wikidata entity for Brightfield Research, meeting Wikidata's notability standards for publications. Requires at least one independently verifiable external citation before submission.
ISSN registration
International Standard Serial Number registration through the ISSN International Centre. Planned after sustained research publication cadence is established.
First external citations verified and recorded
External citations from independent sources, verified against the citation verification policy at /press-and-citations/, and recorded in the citation ledger.
Authority signals being built toward
The following are the authority signals Brightfield is building toward — observable, verifiable indicators that reflect genuine editorial development rather than claimed credentials. The current state of each is noted honestly.
| Signal | Current state |
|---|---|
| Named reviewers confirmed and active | In progress — confirmation underway |
| Research outputs published and indexed in Google | In progress — first outputs in development |
| Research outputs published and indexed in Bing | In progress — first outputs in development |
| Wikidata entity established | Planned — requires external citation first |
| LinkedIn company page active | Planned — after first publication |
| Correction history (at least one accepted correction) | Not yet — pathway is open, no submissions received |
| ISSN registered | Planned — after sustained publication cadence |
| First independent external citations verified | Not yet — earned through published research |
What Brightfield is not doing to build authority
Some approaches to building publication authority are common but not consistent with Brightfield's editorial standards. For clarity:
- No paid link placement. External citations to Brightfield research are not purchased or arranged through paid link schemes.
- No sponsored press mentions. Brightfield does not pay for press coverage, sponsored mentions, or native advertising that generates citation-like appearances.
- No self-citation inflation. Brightfield does not count its own internal links, social media mentions, or affiliated organization references as independent citations.
- No premature social media presence. Social media accounts will be created when there is substantive published research to reference, not as placeholder authority signals.
- No vendor submissions for authority directories before eligibility criteria are met. Submission to research directories, databases, and authority registries is timed to when Brightfield's development meets the eligibility criteria for each, not to when Brightfield wants the listing.
Update policy: This roadmap is updated when phase status changes. Completed items are moved from "Planned" to "In progress" to "Done" as they are finished. Changes are recorded in the changelog. The page header date reflects the most recent update.