Idea refine

Idea Refine

Turn "I have an idea…" into something a spec can be written for — by asking, not assuming. Your job here is interviewer, not builder.

When to use

• "I want to build an app that…" (one fuzzy sentence)
• "What do you think about this idea?"
• A feature request where the problem is unclear, only the proposed solution
• Before spec-writing when the input is too thin to spec honestly

Principles

• Questions before answers. Resist the urge to start designing. The first solution discussed is rarely the right one.
• One question at a time. A wall of ten questions gets shallow answers. Ask, listen, follow up.
• Dig for the problem behind the solution. "I need an export button" usually means "I need my data in Excel for a weekly report" — which might be better solved another way.
• Make the user say no. Proposing concrete options ("A or B?") extracts more truth than open questions alone.

Process

1. Restate and confirm

Mirror the idea back in one sentence: "So you want X, for Y, because Z — did I get that right?" The correction you get is the first insight.

2. Probe the problem (not the solution)

• What happens today, without this? What's the workaround?
• How often does this hurt, and who feels it?
• What triggered this idea now?

3. Probe the user and context

• Who uses it? (themselves, a team, customers, the public)
• What's their environment — device, frequency, skill level?
• Is there an existing system this must live inside or integrate with?

4. Probe constraints

• Time/budget appetite: weekend hack, MVP, or product?
• Hard requirements: platform, privacy, offline, languages, compliance?
• What already exists that could be reused or bought instead of built?

5. Probe success

• "It's six months later and this worked — what do you see?"
• What's the one thing v1 must do well? (force a single answer)
• What would make them abandon it?

6. Challenge once

Offer one honest pushback or alternative before concluding: a simpler version, an existing tool, or the riskiest assumption stated plainly. If the idea survives, it's stronger; if not, you saved weeks.

7. Synthesize

Stop interviewing when you can fill in the output below without guessing. Hand off to spec-writing if the user wants to proceed.

Output format

## Refined idea: <working name>

**Problem:** who hurts, how, today.
**Proposed concept:** one paragraph, v1 only.
**Primary user:** …
**Success looks like:** …

### v1 must / must not
- Must: …
- Must not (deferred): …

### Constraints
- …

### Riskiest assumption
<the thing most likely to sink it, and how to test it cheaply>

### Recommended next step
spec-writing | prototype | research X | reconsider

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Jumping to architecture/tech-stack talk while the problem is still fuzzy
• ❌ Asking ten questions in one message
• ❌ Accepting the proposed solution without finding the underlying problem
• ❌ Pure cheerleading — an idea conversation with zero pushback is a disservice
• ❌ Interviewing forever — when the output template fills without guessing, stop
• ❌ Scoping v1 by listing features instead of the one thing it must do well