synaptiai/initializing-ledger

Ledger Initialization

This skill creates a complete Context Ledger workspace from a project brief.

Prerequisites

• User must provide a project brief (text description of what they're building)
• Optionally: custom path for ledger workspace (default: ./ledger/)

Workflow

Use TodoWrite to track these mandatory steps:

<required> 1. Parse the brief into structured components 2. Validate brief completeness (goals, constraints identifiable) 3. Create directory structure 4. Generate BRIEF.md 5. Generate PILLARS.md with default configuration 6. Confirm initialization complete </required>

Step 1: Parse the Brief

<good-example> **Brief:** "Build a task management app for remote teams that integrates with Slack" - Clear problem domain (task management) - Specific target audience (remote teams) - Key constraint (Slack integration) - Can generate pillar questions immediately </good-example> <bad-example> **Brief:** "Make an app" - No problem domain specified - No target audience - No constraints or goals - Cannot generate meaningful pillar questions </bad-example>

Extract from the user's input:

| Component | Description | Required | |-----------|-------------|----------| | Core idea | What is being built (1-2 sentences) | Yes | | Target users | Who will use this | Yes | | Key goals | What success looks like | Yes | | Constraints | What's explicitly out of scope | Recommended | | Context | Any domain-specific information | Optional |

If the brief is too vague, use AskUserQuestion to clarify:

Question: "Your brief mentions [X] but I need more clarity on [Y]. Can you specify?"
Options:
- "[Interpretation A]"
- "[Interpretation B]"
- "Let me provide more detail"

Step 2: Validate Brief Completeness

Check that the brief supports downstream work:

| Check | Pass Criteria | |-------|---------------| | Scope clarity | Can identify what's in/out | | User clarity | Can describe target users | | Goal measurability | At least one goal is falsifiable | | Constraint presence | At least one constraint stated |

If validation fails, prompt for missing information before proceeding.

Step 3: Create Directory Structure

Create the full ledger workspace. See references/pillar-definitions.md for pillar details.

mkdir -p ledger/{00-brief,01-pillars}
mkdir -p ledger/02-evidence/{market,users,tech,competitors,design,legal,ops,economics}
mkdir -p ledger/{03-synthesis,04-decisions,05-risks,06-prd,07-architecture,08-plan,09-brand,10-gtm-ops}

Step 4: Generate BRIEF.md

Write the parsed brief to 00-brief/BRIEF.md using the template in references/brief-template.md.

Critical constraints:

• Maximum 5 sentences for core description
• Goals must be specific and measurable where possible
• Constraints must be explicit exclusions, not vague limitations

Step 5: Generate PILLARS.md

Create 01-pillars/PILLARS.md with:

1. List of all 8 pillars (see references/pillar-definitions.md)
2. Priority ranking based on brief analysis
3. Any pillar-specific scope notes

Priority assignment logic:

• If brief mentions market/pricing → Market pillar = high
• If brief mentions specific users → Users pillar = high
• If brief mentions technical constraints → Tech pillar = high
• If brief mentions competitors → Competitors pillar = high
• Default: all pillars medium priority

Step 6: Confirm Initialization

Output summary:

• Workspace path
• Brief summary (2-3 sentences)
• Pillar priorities
• Next command to run (/ledger-research)

User Interaction

Use the AskUserQuestion tool when:

Brief is ambiguous

Question: "Your brief could be interpreted multiple ways. Which is closest?"
Options:
- "[Interpretation A focused on X]"
- "[Interpretation B focused on Y]"
- "Neither - let me clarify"

Missing critical information

Question: "I couldn't identify [goals/constraints/users] from your brief. Can you specify?"
Options:
- "[Suggest likely answer based on context]"
- "[Alternative suggestion]"
- "Let me provide this information"

Pillar prioritization unclear

Question: "Based on your brief, which areas are most critical to research first?"
Options:
- "Market + Users (demand validation focus)"
- "Tech + Competitors (feasibility focus)"
- "All equally important"
- "Let me specify priorities"

Custom workspace path needed

Question: "Where should I create the ledger workspace?"
Options:
- "./ledger/ (current directory)" (Recommended)
- "~/projects/[project-name]/ledger/"
- "Let me specify a path"

Output

After successful initialization:

## Ledger Initialized

**Path:** ./ledger/
**Brief:** [2-3 sentence summary]

**Pillar Priorities:**
1. [High priority pillars]
2. [Medium priority pillars]
3. [Lower priority pillars]

**Next step:** Run `/ledger-research` to begin evidence collection.

References

• references/brief-template.md - BRIEF.md template
• references/pillar-definitions.md - Pillar definitions and scope