A well-written proposal can still be the wrong thing to build next. It might serve a customer outside your target audience or displace a more valuable change. Review that fit before the team commits to implementation.

The input

A draft proposal, the workspace strategy, the product’s vision and manifest, and any applicable constitution rules. Strategy describes direction and trade-offs; the constitution records workspace-wide rules with explicit enforcement.

The flow

1. Compare the objective with the strategy. Name the product goal this change advances. If the connection is weak, explain what is missing instead of relying on a general “strategic fit” score.

2. Inspect who the evidence represents. Trace the supporting signals to the users and situations they describe. Decide whether those are the customers this product intends to serve.

3. Name the opportunity cost. Record what this work displaces and why that trade is worthwhile. A well-supported problem can still be lower priority than another one.

4. Check the rules at the right level. Intent-specific boundaries belong in the proposal. Reusable product boundaries belong in the product manifest. Workspace-wide rules belong in the constitution, with their scope, reason, and enforcement level.

5. Record the decision before implementation. Ask for changes, postpone the work, or approve the reviewed revision. A connected agent can retrieve constitution rules with get_constitution; retrieving them does not guarantee compliance. Review implementation checks as well.

The output

The strategic reason to proceed, postpone, or change the proposal.
The affected customers and supporting evidence made explicit.
Opportunity cost recorded for future review.
Rules captured at the level where they apply.

Try it with the next proposal

Finish two sentences: “This advances our goal of…” and “We are choosing it ahead of… because…”. If either answer is unclear, resolve that decision before approving the build.

The flow

2. Inspect who the evidence represents. Trace the supporting signals to the users and situations they describe. Decide whether those are the customers this product intends to serve.

3. Name the opportunity cost. Record what this work displaces and why that trade is worthwhile. A well-supported problem can still be lower priority than another one.

Pressure-test a spec against your strategy before the team commits

The input

The flow

The output

Try it with the next proposal

Bring this workflow to your team.

Pressure-test a spec against your strategy before the team commits

The input

The flow

The output

Try it with the next proposal

Bring this workflow to your team.

Pressure-test a spec against your strategy before the team commits

The input

The flow

The output

Try it with the next proposal

Related

Bring this workflow to your team.

Pressure-test a spec against your strategy before the team commits

The input

The flow

The output

Try it with the next proposal

Related

Bring this workflow to your team.