Template preview · Starter
Side Project Before Winter
Ship a small thing before winter turns it into a thought experiment.
A constrained project brief for choosing a useful scope, testing it, and finishing.
- Structure
- 4 sections
- Criteria
- 12
- Sources
- 8
- Watches
- 5
- Default approach
- Review first
Set the purpose first. Then change every section, criterion, and agent setting before anything runs.
Fictional sample
Structure and criteria
Sample content shows the shape of a useful document. Copying it is optional.
01 Review firstProject bet
Name the audience, problem, and smallest credible outcome.
Criteria
- Names a specific audience and the problem they have today, in their words
- States the deliverable and an observable definition of done
- Gives a hypothesis with the behaviour that would prove it worth continuing
Sources
- Hacker News search API hn.algolia.comSearch public discussion for the audience's problem.
- Product Hunt producthunt.comSimilar shipped projects and how they were received.
Watches
- Searches “audience problem frustrated OR workaround” monthly
- Follows Scope and risks
02 Review firstScope and risks
Protect the finish line by making trade-offs visible.
Criteria
- Lists at least three exclusions with a reason each
- Names the highest-impact risk and a test to run before a fifth of the work is done
- Writes each risk test with a pass condition, such as importing 1,000 rows in under two minutes by a date
Sources
- GitHub search API docs docs.github.comFind similar projects and the issues they hit.
- Hacker News Show HN news.ycombinator.comWhat similar projects cut from version one.
03 Review firstShipping plan
Move from first task to public release in visible steps.
Criteria
- Has four to six dated milestones from now to ship date
- Ends with a real release to a named audience, not "polish"
- Puts a go or no-go checkpoint 70 to 80 percent through, driven by user feedback and risk tests
Sources
- Indie Hackers indiehackers.comHow other makers timed building, testing and launch.
- Timeline estimator (fictional) api.timeline-estimator.example.comFictional comparison of a milestone plan with typical side-project timelines.
Watches
- Follows Scope and risks
- Follows User signals
04 Review firstUser signals
Gather evidence that the project is useful enough to continue.
Criteria
- Logs at least two signals, each with a source and date
- Keeps observation ("three users asked for CSV export") apart from interpretation
- Sets a stop or pivot trigger, such as zero completions in the first week
Sources
- Plausible stats API plausible.ioLightweight usage numbers once the project is live.
- Feedback aggregator (fictional) api.feedback-aggregator.example.comFictional roll-up of feedback from email, forums and social posts.
Watches
- Searches “project name feedback OR "feature request"” weekly