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