Ideas Project

This repo is a lightweight idea pipeline for capturing, sorting, validating, and executing ideas across software, hardware, automation, and business work.

It is built around a simple Markdown first workflow:

1. Capture an idea fast.
2. Store it in the inbox.
3. Review and score it.
4. Move it through the working stages.
5. Keep the repo structure in GitHub without pushing private inbox content.

Goals

This project is meant to solve a few practical problems:

1. Stop good ideas from getting lost.
2. Keep idea capture fast enough that it actually gets used.
3. Standardize each idea in a repeatable format.
4. Make it easy to review ideas later and decide what to build.
5. Separate private raw capture from shareable repo structure.

Repository Structure

The repo uses folders to represent the lifecycle of an idea.

Folder	Purpose
inbox	Raw capture. New ideas land here first.
validated	Ideas that have been reviewed and look worth pursuing.
incubating	Ideas being shaped into real plans, prototypes, or experiments.
active	Ideas currently being built or executed.
archived	Ideas that are finished, dropped, or no longer relevant.
templates	Reusable templates for idea files.

Idea Format

Each idea uses the template in templates/idea-template.md.

The template includes:

1. Summary
2. Problem
3. Proposed solution
4. Type
5. Build path
6. Tech stack or tools
7. Automation potential
8. Monetization angle
9. Complexity
10. Priority
11. Status
12. Scoring fields
13. Notes
14. Next action

That keeps every idea consistent enough to review later without rebuilding context from scratch.

Quick Start

Create an Idea

Use the PowerShell helper script:

.\add-idea.ps1 -Title "AI powered welding jig generator" -Summary "Generate CAD from prompts"

That command creates a new file in the inbox using this naming pattern:

inbox\yyyy-MM-dd-title-slug.md

Example:

inbox\2026-04-20-ai-powered-welding-jig-generator.md

Fill in the Idea

Open the generated file and complete the missing sections.

At minimum, fill in:

1. Problem
2. Proposed solution
3. Type
4. Priority
5. Next action

Move the Idea Forward

When the idea matures, move the Markdown file into the next folder that matches its current state.

Example flow:

inbox -> validated -> incubating -> active -> archived

Use the movement helper to move an idea and update its status at the same time:

.\move-idea.ps1 -Path .\validated\2026-04-20-ai-powered-welding-jig-generator.md -Destination incubating

Promotion Rules

Use these rules to decide when an idea should move.

Move	When to move it
inbox -> validated	The idea is clear, useful, and worth keeping for future action.
validated -> incubating	You are doing real research, design, feasibility work, or scoping.
incubating -> active	There is a build decision, an owner, and a next execution step.
active -> archived	The work is complete, dropped, superseded, or no longer worth attention.
validated -> archived	The idea is decent but no longer relevant, duplicated, or not worth building.
incubating -> archived	Research showed low value, poor fit, or too much complexity for now.

Quick checks by stage:

Stage	What should be true
inbox	Fast capture with minimal editing.
validated	The idea is understandable and has enough value to keep.
incubating	The shape of the solution is being worked out.
active	Work is happening now.
archived	Keep the record, stop the effort.

Script Behavior

The helper script lives in add-idea.ps1.

It currently does the following:

1. Accepts a title.
2. Accepts an optional summary.
3. Builds a date based filename.
4. Builds a slug by lowercasing the title and replacing spaces with -.
5. Writes a new Markdown file into the inbox.

Current parameters:

Parameter	Required	Description
Title	Yes	Name of the idea
Summary	No	Short one line description

The script also:

1. Trims leading and trailing whitespace from the title and summary.
2. Converts special characters and repeated separators into a clean filename slug.
3. Rejects titles that do not contain usable letters or numbers.
4. Creates the inbox folder if it does not exist.
5. Avoids overwriting an existing file by appending a numeric suffix when needed.

Review Ideas

Use review-ideas.ps1 to review scored idea files and recommend where they should go.

Preview recommendations:

.\review-ideas.ps1

Apply recommendations and move files:

.\review-ideas.ps1 -Apply

Optional thresholds:

.\review-ideas.ps1 -PromoteThreshold 38 -ArchiveThreshold 18

Current behavior:

1. Reviews Markdown files in inbox by default.
2. Reads the five scoring fields under ## Scoring (0–10).
3. Recommends validated when the total score is at or above the promote threshold.
4. Recommends archived when the total score is at or below the archive threshold.
5. Leaves mid range ideas in place.
6. Skips automatic movement when score fields are missing.
7. Updates the Status section when run with -Apply.

Example Ideas

Software Example

Title: AI powered welding jig generator

Summary: Generate weld fixture concepts and exportable CAD starting from a text prompt.

Type: Software / Automation / Hardware support

Next action: Define the first output format and the minimum user prompt structure.

Hardware Example

Title: Modular solar battery service cart

Summary: Rolling maintenance cart for off grid battery banks with integrated diagnostics and tool storage.

Type: Hardware

Next action: Sketch the frame layout and list required tools, weight, and battery access needs.

Business Example

Title: Managed endpoint audit service for small business

Summary: Fixed scope service that reviews Intune, Entra, and patching posture for small IT teams.

Type: Business / Automation

Next action: Define the service deliverable, target client profile, and pricing model.

Recommended Workflow

Daily Capture

1. Add ideas as soon as they come up.
2. Do not over edit during capture.
3. Use the summary field to preserve context fast.

Weekly Review

1. Review new inbox items.
2. Score each idea.
3. Move strong ideas to validated.
4. Archive weak ideas or duplicates.

Execution Review

1. Promote validated ideas into incubating when they need research or design.
2. Move an idea to active once there is a real build commitment.
3. Archive it when done, abandoned, or replaced.

Git Behavior

This repo intentionally keeps the inbox folder in Git while ignoring the actual inbox contents.

Current ignore behavior is defined in .gitignore:

1. future-upgrade.md stays local.
2. Everything inside inbox is ignored.
3. inbox/.gitkeep is tracked so the folder exists in the repo.

That gives you this split:

1. Repo structure and workflow stay documented in GitHub.
2. Raw captured ideas in inbox stay local unless you intentionally move them into a tracked folder.

Files Worth Knowing

File	Purpose
README.md	Main documentation
add-idea.ps1	Idea creation helper
review-ideas.ps1	Score based review and movement helper
move-idea.ps1	Lifecycle movement helper
templates/idea-template.md	Base idea template
.gitignore	Local only file rules

Notes

This repo is intentionally simple. The value comes from consistent capture and movement of ideas, not from heavy tooling.

Future automation can be layered on later without changing the core workflow.