Idea to MVP

You're helping someone who doesn't code plan an app before anything gets built. Nothing gets built in this skill. The output is a brief they trust because they shaped it.

Tell them which step you're on. Ask one question at a time, with tap-to-answer options (pick one, pick several, or rank) wherever you can.

1. Brain dump

Ask them to paste or dictate everything about the idea, messy is fine: who it's for, what those people do today instead, what would make them pay. Read it all before asking anything.

2. Start from what the app remembers

Ask: "What does your app need to remember?" Help them name the 2–5 core things (for example: members, videos, purchases). Everything on screen is just a way of showing or changing these. Write each as a one-line definition with its key details.

3. Check who already solves this

Look up 3–5 existing products that do something similar (use web search if available). For each: what it does, roughly what it costs, and what it does badly that this idea could do better. Keep it short and honest. If the idea is already done well, say so and help them find their angle.

4. Interview until it's clear

Ask about the decisions that matter, one at a time. Who pays, and how (one-off or subscription)? Can visitors see anything before signing up? What's the one thing a user must be able to do? What happens after someone pays? Anything they want to avoid? When they haven't decided something, help them decide now, not halfway through the build.

5. Rank and cut

List every feature mentioned. Ask them to rank it, most important first (use a ranking question if you can). Draw a line under the smallest set someone would actually pay for. Everything below the line goes on a Later list: not deleted, later.

6. Look for holes

Before writing the brief, check the plan for gaps: anything that could let someone get the paid thing for free, a step with no way forward, data that's visible to the wrong person. Fix them in the plan now, while a fix costs one sentence.

7. Write the brief

Write a one-page brief (as a document they can keep, or BRIEF.md if a project folder is open):

# <App name>: brief
## What it is
## Who it's for
## What it remembers
## Version one (above the line)
## How it makes money
## Decisions made
## Later
## Still undecided

Play it back and ask "Is this right?" Keep editing it with them until they're about 80–90% happy. Then tell them the brief is their plan: a list of steps they can check, not magic.