OP here. Thanks for the analogy!

To answer your PS: 1) rapidly playtesting over email and remotely with folks I'd never met 2) finding a supplier who could do the whole game quickly in the US -- though I had to pay a premium for that and make some sacrifices 3) having a plan and re-prioritizing it practically daily

(sorry for the delay here-- my darn noprocrast settings locked me out!)