Foundation Sprint Approach Options

Quick facts

Classification: tool | Version: 0.1.0 | Category: ideation | License: Apache-2.0

Try it: /tool-foundation-sprint-approach-options "Your context here"

Day 2 morning of a Foundation Sprint. The team forces itself to generate multiple plausible approaches before committing to one. The skill enforces a minimum of 3 approaches; anchoring on a single approach is the most common Day 2 failure mode.

Family contract: docs/reference/skill-families/foundation-sprint-skills-contract.md. This skill is a member of foundation-sprint-skills.

When to Use

Day 2 morning of a Foundation Sprint.
Day 1 is signed; the Mini Manifesto, decision principles, and differentiation chart are committed.
The team is ready to generate candidate approaches before evaluating them through Magic Lenses in the afternoon.

When NOT to Use

Day 1 is unresolved. Approach Options without differentiation context produces approaches that miss the strategic position.
The team has only one approach in mind and is unwilling to generate alternatives. The skill forces minimum 3; if the team refuses, the issue is sprint discipline, not tooling.
More than 7 approaches are emerging organically. The skill caps generation at 7; beyond that the team is generating features, not strategic approaches.

How to Use

Use the /tool-foundation-sprint-approach-options slash command:

/tool-foundation-sprint-approach-options "Your context here"

Or reference the skill file directly: skills/tool-foundation-sprint-approach-options/SKILL.md

Output Template

Foundation Sprint Approach Options: [Initiative name] (Day 2 Morning)

Approach [N]: [Approach name]

Label: [Color / letter / ID, e.g., Yellow / A / “Camera-First”]

What it is: [One sentence the customer would understand.]

Why it’s a good idea:

[One short paragraph naming customer value and team capability. Cite specific evidence from Basics (customer pain) and Differentiation (team advantage).]

Sketch:

[Simple ASCII or textual description of what the customer sees or does. Doesn't need to be polished; needs to be concrete enough that someone reading the page can imagine using it.]

How it serves the differentiators:

[Differentiator 1]: [How this approach delivers on it.]
[Differentiator 2]: [How this approach delivers on it.]

Approach Set Summary

Label	Approach	Primary capture / interaction	Primary value	Top trade-off
[Label 1]	[Name 1]	[How the customer interacts]	[Differentiator served strongest]	[What it sacrifices]
[Label 2]	[Name 2]	[…]	[…]	[…]
[Label 3]	[Name 3]	[…]	[…]	[…]

[Add rows for each approach in the set.]

Decider Checkpoint

Decider sign-off required before Day 2 afternoon (Magic Lenses) begins.

Decider confirms the set of [3-7] approaches advancing to Magic Lenses.
Decider confirms all approaches honor the [2] decision principles from Day 1.
Decider confirms each approach serves both committed differentiators (not just one).
Decider acknowledges that Magic Lenses will narrow to 1 top bet plus 1 backup; not all approaches will survive.
Decider has not pre-committed to any specific approach; entering Magic Lenses with genuine uncertainty.

Signed: [Decider name, role], [ISO date and local time]

Example Output

Foundation Sprint Approach Options: Brainshelf (Day 2 Morning)

Five candidate approaches generated by the Brainshelf team, advancing to Magic Lenses in the afternoon. The team generated 9 candidates in silent ideation, clustered them, and the Decider narrowed to 5 for one-page evaluation. (Per the ratified spec decision: minimum 3, warn at 4-7, reject at 8 or more.)

Approach A: Camera-First Capture

Label: Yellow / Camera

What it is: The home screen is a camera. Point it at a book spine, dust jacket, or shelf and the app captures it via OCR plus cover-recognition into a private library.

Why it’s a good idea:

Eliminates typing entirely. Sub-3-second capture is achievable. Naturally private (no feed). Matches how people physically encounter books they want to remember. The 22 customer interviews repeatedly named typing-friction as the #1 reason for abandoning Goodreads; this approach attacks that pain directly.

Sketch:

+----------------+
|                |
|   [CAMERA]     |
|     viewfinder |
|                |
|   "Snap a book"|
|                |
|  [recents]     |
+----------------+

How it serves the differentiators:

Capture speed: maximum (single action, no typing).
Personal recall: requires complementary recall view (separate screen reachable from library badge).

Approach B: Library Browser

Label: Blue / Library

What it is: The home screen is the user’s personal library (visual grid of book covers). A persistent capture button floats above. Recall is by browsing.

Why it’s a good idea:

Beautiful default state. Matches mental model of a physical shelf. Recall is one tap. Customers who use Apple Books or Kindle’s library view recognize the pattern immediately.

Sketch:

+----------------+
| [+] My Library |
|  [b][b][b][b]  |
|  [b][b][b][b]  |
|  [b][b][b][b]  |
|                |
+----------------+

How it serves the differentiators:

Capture speed: high but requires extra tap (Floating Action Button).
Personal recall: very high (the home screen IS recall).

Approach C: Voice-First Capture

Label: Green / Voice

What it is: User speaks: “Just finished Project Hail Mary, loved the alien biology.” App resolves the book, captures the note, files it. Recall is also voice (“did I read anything by Andy Weir?”).

Why it’s a good idea:

Hands-free. Captures opinions, not just titles. Especially fast from physical contexts (walking out of bookstore, finishing on a treadmill).

Sketch:

+----------------+
|                |
|  "Speak"  [mic]|
|                |
|  Listening...  |
|                |
|  Just heard:   |
|  "Project Hail |
|   Mary"        |
+----------------+

How it serves the differentiators:

Capture speed: very high (no UI manipulation).
Personal recall: medium (voice recall is less reliable for “did I read X?”).

Approach D: Bookstore Mode

Label: Red / Store

What it is: A specialized mode triggered by geofence at bookstores and libraries that switches the app into “have I read this?” lookup. Browse with phone in hand; titles flash up read/unread status.

Why it’s a good idea:

Surfaces personal recall at the highest-friction moment. Solves the “did I already read this?” pain directly. Differentiated against every competitor (none does this today).

Sketch:

+----------------+
|  Powell's      |
|  Books         |
|                |
|  Project Hail  |
|  Mary  [READ]  |
|                |
|  Tomorrow      |
|  [NEW]         |
+----------------+

How it serves the differentiators:

Capture speed: lower than A/B/C (mode-specific entry).
Personal recall: extremely high (context-aware recall).

Approach E: Read-Later Capture Triage

Label: Purple / Triage

What it is: Brainshelf is a strict capture-and-recall tool for “want to read” intent. Recommendations from any source (article, friend text, podcast) flow into a single triage queue; user processes weekly.

Why it’s a good idea:

Solves the “I get recommendations and lose them” pain directly. Models the product on Pocket / Instapaper, which is a familiar mental model.

Sketch:

+----------------+
| Inbox (8 new)  |
|                |
| Snow Crash     |
|   from Sarah   |
|   [archive]    |
|                |
| Pachinko       |
|   from Vox     |
|   [archive]    |
+----------------+

How it serves the differentiators:

Capture speed: high via share extension.
Personal recall: medium (recall is about queue, not memory).

Approach Set Summary

Label	Approach	Primary capture / interaction	Primary value	Top trade-off
Yellow	Camera-First	Visual scan + OCR	Maximum capture speed	Recall is secondary screen
Blue	Library Browser	Tap-add (FAB)	Recall-as-home-screen	Capture takes extra tap
Green	Voice-First	Voice	Hands-free	Voice recall less reliable
Red	Bookstore Mode	Geofenced lookup	Context-aware recall	Niche; requires location data
Purple	Triage Inbox	Share extension	Captures recommendations from anywhere	No personal recall mechanism

Decider Checkpoint

Decider sign-off required before Day 2 afternoon (Magic Lenses) begins.

Jamie confirms 5 approaches advance to Magic Lenses evaluation.
Jamie confirms all 5 honor the 5 decision principles from yesterday.
Jamie confirms each approach serves both committed differentiators (Yellow and Red strongest on opposite poles; Blue, Green, Purple balanced).
Jamie acknowledges that Magic Lenses will narrow to 1 top bet plus 1 backup; not all 5 will survive.
Jamie has not pre-committed to any approach; entering Magic Lenses with genuine uncertainty.

Signed: Jamie (founder, PM), 2026-05-14 11:50 PT