Project Tenets Creation
Define a small set of durable project tenets: principles that guide tradeoffs, scope, and quality bars.
Prompt
Help me write project tenets (not a feature list) for a product or initiative.
Context:
- Project / initiative name: [name]
- Problem we're solving: [1–3 sentences]
- Primary users: [who]
- Stage: [explore / build / scale / sunset]
- Known constraints: [time, platform, compliance, team size]
- Things we will NOT optimize for (optional): [e.g. lowest cost, every edge case]
Output:
1. **North star** - One sentence on the outcome we optimize for.
2. **5–7 tenets** - Each tenet has:
- Short name (2–4 words)
- One-sentence statement in active voice
- **Implication**: what we do and don't do because of this tenet
- **Example tradeoff**: "When X vs Y, we choose ___ because ___"
3. **Anti-goals** - 3–5 things this project explicitly is not trying to be.
4. **Review questions** - 5 questions the team should ask in critiques or planning.
Rules:
- Tenets should be memorable and slightly uncomfortable (real tradeoffs).
- Avoid buzzwords unless we define them.
- If context is thin, propose two versions: "ambitious" vs "pragmatic".How to use
- 1Complete the context block honestly - weak tenets usually mean unclear tradeoffs.
- 2Workshop: vote on tenets, then rerun with "Merge overlapping tenets" or "Add a tenet for [risk]."
Pro Tips
- • Link tenets to your existing company values only where they truly apply.
