How to refine ideas — checklist

[zeevdr]

Idea Refinement Checklist

Before an idea graduates from a discussion to an issue, run it through these questions. Not every question applies to every idea — use judgment.

Sources of ideas

Ideas can come from anywhere:

• Our own wishlist — features and improvements we're considering
• User use cases — real-world scenarios brought up by users that reveal gaps, validate assumptions, or suggest new directions
• Integrations & ecosystem — patterns we see in how people use decree with other tools

User-reported use cases are especially valuable — they ground design decisions in real needs rather than speculation. When a user describes a use case, capture it as a discussion even if the solution isn't clear yet.

Scope & fit

• Is this in scope? Does it belong in the core decree solution, or is it tangential?
• Core, contrib, or integration? Should this live in the main repo, in a contrib/ package, or as an integration with an external tool?
• Does this already exist elsewhere? Is there a well-established tool that solves this? Would integrating with it be better than building our own?
• Is it already in the system? Does decree already solve this in another form? Could an existing feature be extended instead?

Value & audience

• What's the value? Can you state the benefit in one sentence?
• Who needs this? Is it broadly useful, or only for a very specific case most users won't hit?
• Is it sugar-coating? Is this convenience worth the added API surface and maintenance, or is the manual approach good enough?
• Is there a real use case? Has an actual user asked for this, or is it hypothetical?

Roadmap fit

• Already on the roadmap? Check open issues and milestones — could this be folded into existing planned work?
• Does it depend on other work? Are there prerequisites that need to land first?
• Where does it fall in priority? Core functionality > hardening > ecosystem > nice-to-have

Decomposition

• Can it be split? Break large ideas into sub-features that can ship independently
• What's the smallest useful version? Define an MVP that delivers value without over-building
• What can be deferred? Identify parts that sound nice but aren't needed for v1

Design signals

• Does it follow the vanilla principle? Standard tools, minimal deps, no magic
• Does it compose well? Does it work with the existing API surface, or does it create a parallel path?
• What are the edge cases? List them — if the edge cases dominate, the idea may need rethinking

Outcome

After refinement, an idea should land in one of these buckets:

Outcome	Action
Ship it	Create a sized issue, assign to a milestone
Contrib	Create an issue in the contrib scope, lower priority
Integrate	Document the integration approach, link to external tool
Defer	Leave the discussion open, label as "deferred"
Drop	Close the discussion with a rationale