Purpose
Turn "can we build a thing that…" into a scoped piece of work with a clear yes/no.
The standard
Every tool request gets an intake issue in
[TEAM: intake repo/board]using the template below. No intake issue, no work.Scoping answers five questions: who uses it, what they do today, what changes, what "done" looks like, and what it must integrate with.
Requests are triaged weekly. Outcomes: build, prototype first, existing tool covers it, or no.
Anything estimated over
[TEAM: e.g. 2 weeks]gets a written ADR (01.06) before code.
Procedure
Requester opens an intake issue: problem, current workaround, users, deadline, related tools.
Owner assigns a scoper within 2 working days.
Scoper writes a one-page scope: goal, non-goals, users, inputs/outputs, dependencies, rough size (S/M/L), risks.
Triage meeting decides the outcome and priority; decision recorded on the issue.
If build: create the repo from a template (02.02), link it back to the intake issue.
Anti-patterns
Building a tool for one person's one-time task; scoping by feature list instead of by user outcome.
Owner: [TEAM] · Last reviewed: 2026-09