Deck Structure Check
Paste your deck outline — one slide title per line — pick the deck type, and see whether the narrative arc the room expects is actually there: which sections are present, which are missing and why they matter, whether they're in the conventional order, and which slide titles run long. Choose from ten deck types. Deterministic, no account, nothing stored, and no AI model call.
The Deck Structure Check scores a pasted outline out of 100 against the expected narrative arc for one of 10 deck types, covering 70 expected sections in total (65 required and 5 optional). Required-section coverage is worth up to 80 points, appearing in the conventional order adds 10, and expected optional sections add up to 10 more, producing four bands: Not Ready (0–39), Emerging (40–59), Close (60–79), and Ready (80–100). It also flags any slide title longer than 8 words and lists lines that don't map to a standard section. The rules are fixed arithmetic, so the same outline always returns the same score — there is no AI model call, no account, and no file upload; you paste up to 50,000 characters or 2,000 lines of text.
Types of presentation deck: what each one is checked for, from pitch deck to board update
| Deck type | Audience | Required sections | Optional sections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch deck (fundraising) | VCs, angels, demo day | 7 — Problem, Solution, Market, Traction, Team, The Ask, Use of Funds | Competition, Business Model |
| Board / executive update | Board, ExCo, existing investors | 6 — Strategy, KPIs vs Plan, Risks & Mitigations, Financial Summary, Decisions Requested, Next Quarter | None |
| Sales deck (customer-facing) | A named external buyer | 7 — Discovery / Their World, Pain, Solution, Differentiation, Proof, Pricing, Next Steps | None |
| Conference talk / keynote | Conference or event audience | 6 — Opening Hook, Context, Core Insight, Evidence / Examples, Application, Closing Takeaway | None |
| Training / workshop | Learners and workshop participants | 6 — Learning Objectives, Baseline / Prerequisites, Core Concepts, Demonstration, Practice / Exercise, Check for Understanding | Resources / Next Steps |
| Project proposal | Sponsor, steering group, or client | 8 — Need / Opportunity, Objectives, Scope, Approach, Timeline / Milestones, Budget / Resources, Risks, Decision Requested | None |
| Marketing plan | Marketing leadership and channel owners | 7 — Business Objective, Audience / Insight, Positioning / Message, Strategy, Channels / Tactics, Calendar / Budget, Measurement | None |
| Product roadmap | Product, engineering, and business stakeholders | 6 — Vision / Outcome, Customer / Market Evidence, Priorities, Roadmap, Dependencies / Risks, Success Measures | Decisions / Asks |
| Case study | Prospective customers or internal stakeholders | 6 — Customer Context, Challenge, Approach, Results, Customer Proof, Takeaway / Applicability | None |
| Webinar / thought leadership | Registered live or on-demand audience | 6 — Session Promise, Problem / Trend, Framework / Point of View, Examples / Demonstration, Key Takeaways, Call to Action | Q&A |
Frequently asked questions
What does the deck structure check actually check?
Three things, all structural. First, coverage: each expected section for the chosen deck type is matched case-insensitively against your outline lines, and the first unclaimed line containing one of that section's keywords is treated as the match. Second, order: it compares the line numbers of the required sections you do have against the conventional sequence. Third, title hygiene: any slide title longer than 8 words is flagged, and lines that map to no standard section are listed separately. It does not read slide bodies, images, or a deck file.
Which deck types can I check?
The checker covers 10 deck types: Pitch deck (fundraising), Board / executive update, Sales deck (customer-facing), Conference talk / keynote, Training / workshop, Project proposal, Marketing plan, Product roadmap, Case study, and Webinar / thought leadership. Each one is graded against its own arc — a pitch deck is checked for problem, solution, market, traction, team, the ask, and use of funds, while a board update is checked for strategy, KPIs versus plan, risks, financial summary, decisions requested, and next quarter. Across all 10 types the catalogue defines 70 sections, 65 required and 5 optional.
How is the score out of 100 calculated?
Required-section coverage contributes up to 80 points, pro rata: cover six of eight required sections and that component is 60. Ten points are added when the required sections you have appear in the conventional order (this bonus needs at least two matched sections). Up to 10 more come from expected optional sections, again pro rata, and deck types with no optional sections receive the full 10. The total is rounded and clamped to 0–100.
What do the four bands mean?
Not Ready (0–39) means most of the expected arc is missing. Emerging (40–59) means the skeleton is forming but several load-bearing sections are absent. Close (60–79) means most of the arc is there and the listed gaps are worth closing before you build slides. Ready (80–100) means the outline covers what the room expects. From Emerging upward, the summary also warns when sections appear out of the conventional order.
How long can the outline be?
Up to 50,000 characters or 2,000 lines, whichever comes first. One slide title per line. Numbering and bullet characters are stripped before matching, so "Slide 4: Traction", "4. Traction", "• Traction" and "Traction" are all read the same way, and blank lines are ignored rather than counted as slides.
Why are my slide titles being flagged?
Any title over 8 words is flagged with its word count. The rule comes from Lumen's layout constraints: longer titles wrap on a slide and stop working as the one line a room reads at a glance. The flag is advisory — it does not change your score.
Does the checker use AI, and is my outline stored?
No AI model is called. The check is pure string matching and arithmetic, which is why the same outline always returns the same score. The outline is posted to the check endpoint, scored, and returned — it is not written to a document, attached to an account, or used to generate anything. No account and no sign-in are required.
Will it tell me whether my content is good?
No. It checks structure, not substance. "Traction: Present" means a traction slide exists, not that the numbers on it are persuasive, and a score of 100 says the arc is complete, not that the story is convincing. Judgement of the content stays with you and your reviewers.
What is the next step after the check?
Close the gaps in the outline and re-run — because the scoring is deterministic, the change in score is a reliable progress meter. When the arc is complete, Gixo Lumen builds the full deck from a brief with these sections sequenced for you. Lumen is a paid product with a 14-day no-card trial; there is no free tier.
Why check the outline instead of the finished slide deck?
Because structure is cheap to fix as a list and expensive to fix as slides. Moving the ask three slides earlier is one line in an outline and half an afternoon in a designed deck. Checking at the outline stage also removes the thing that makes structural problems hard to see: a presentation deck that is well designed reads as finished, and a missing section is much easier to notice in a plain list of titles than behind a good theme.
What is the most common structural miss?
The decision. Across deck types, the section most often absent is the one that names what the presenter wants from the room — the ask in a pitch deck, the decisions requested in a board update, the next step in a sales deck. Second most common is the honest downside: risks, misses, or objections. Both omissions make a slide deck feel smooth and leave the meeting with nothing settled.
Does a score of 100 mean the deck is ready?
It means the arc is complete, which is a floor rather than a finish line. A deck can cover every expected section and still fail on the things this check deliberately does not read: whether each title states a conclusion instead of a topic, whether the numbers are current, and whether the evidence supports the claim. Treat Ready as permission to start building slides, not as a verdict on the argument.