Project Documentation

Project Documentation Skill

This skill enables skills-compatible agents to create and manage structured project documentation following validation-first methodologies, including business strategy canvases, lifecycle tracking, and numbered folder organization.

Overview

This documentation system combines:

• Zettelkasten principles for connected knowledge
• Lean startup methodology for validation-first development
• Numbered folder structure for lifecycle navigation
• Business canvases for strategic planning

Project Structure

Each project uses numbered folders aligned with the product lifecycle:

Projects/
  {{Project-Name}}/
    {{Project-Name}} MOC.md           # Central hub (Map of Content)
    
    00_Status & Roadmap/              # Dashboards, roadmaps, decisions
    01_Market Analysis/               # TAM/SAM/SOM, competitors, SWOT
    02_User Research/                 # Personas, empathy maps, interviews
    03_Product/                       # PRD, canvases, MVP spec
    04_Design/                        # UX flows, wireframes, copy
    05_Technical/                     # Tech stack, architecture, deploy
    06_Engineering/                   # Backlog, sprints, validation
    07_Analytics & Growth/            # KPIs, experiments, channels
    08_Legal & Privacy/               # GDPR, privacy policy
    09_Assets/                        # Images, diagrams, files
    Archive/                          # Completed/deprecated notes

Stage Purpose Guide

Template Catalog

Templates are numbered by their primary stage.

00 — Status & Roadmap

01 — Market Analysis

02 — User Research

03 — Product

04 — Design

05 — Technical

06 — Engineering

07 — Analytics & Growth

XX — General

Business Strategy Canvases

Lean Canvas (Ash Maurya)

When to use: Early-stage validation, problem-solution fit Components: Problem, Solution, UVP, Unfair Advantage, Customer Segments, Key Metrics, Channels, Cost Structure, Revenue Streams

┌──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┐
│ PROBLEM  │ SOLUTION │ UVP      │ UNFAIR   │ SEGMENTS │
│          │          │          │ ADVANTAGE│          │
├──────────┴──────────┼──────────┼──────────┴──────────┤
│ KEY METRICS         │          │ CHANNELS            │
├─────────────────────┴──────────┴─────────────────────┤
│ COST STRUCTURE             │ REVENUE STREAMS        │
└────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┘

Business Model Canvas (Strategyzer)

When to use: Established product, strategic planning Components: Customer Segments, Value Propositions, Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partnerships, Cost Structure

Value Proposition Canvas (Strategyzer)

When to use: Deep customer-product fit analysis Components:

• Customer Profile: Jobs, Pains, Gains
• Value Map: Products, Pain Relievers, Gain Creators

SWOT Analysis

When to use: Strategic assessment, competitive positioning Components: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Empathy Map

When to use: Deep user understanding Components: See, Hear, Think & Feel, Say, Do, Pains, Gains

Validation Workflow

Projects progress through decision gates:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PHASE 1: DISCOVER & VALIDATE (2-4 weeks)                     │
│ Deliverables: Market Overview, Personas, Landing Page        │
│ GATE: 200 signups OR ≥5% conversion + ≥20% WTP              │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PHASE 2: PROTOTYPE (4-8 weeks)                               │
│ Deliverables: Demo, A/B tested landing, email sequence       │
│ GATE: Engagement metrics sufficient                          │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PHASE 3: MVP (2-4 months)                                    │
│ Deliverables: Accounts, core features, payments              │
│ GATE: Paying users + positive unit economics                 │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PHASE 4: GROWTH (ongoing)                                    │
│ Deliverables: Mobile, integrations, growth loops             │
│ GATE: Sustainable growth                                     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Decision Framework

IF targets_met:
    → PROCEED to next phase
ELIF partial_success:
    → ITERATE: refine and re-test
ELSE:
    → PIVOT messaging/audience OR STOP

Experiment Hypothesis Format

> [!experiment] Hypothesis
> **IF** we [action],  
> **THEN** we expect [measurable outcome],  
> **BECAUSE** [reasoning/insight].

Creating a New Project

Step 1: Create Folder Structure

Projects/
  New-Project/
    New-Project MOC.md
    00_Status & Roadmap/
    01_Market Analysis/
    02_User Research/
    03_Product/
    04_Design/
    05_Technical/
    06_Engineering/
    07_Analytics & Growth/
    08_Legal & Privacy/
    09_Assets/
    Archive/

Step 2: Create Project MOC

Use 00_Project MOC.md template with:

• Business value hypothesis in lead field
• Quick navigation table to all stages
• Dataview queries for recent activity
• Key metrics table

Step 3: Initialize Key Documents

Minimum viable documentation:

1. 00_Status & Roadmap/Status_Dashboard.md
2. 01_Market Analysis/Market_Overview.md
3. 02_User Research/Persona_Primary.md
4. 03_Product/Lean_Canvas.md

Step 4: Create Supporting Canvases

Visual .canvas files for key workflows:

• 03_Product/Lean_Canvas.canvas
• 04_Design/UX_Flow.canvas
• 05_Technical/Architecture.canvas
• 00_Status & Roadmap/Roadmap.canvas

Tag Taxonomy

Type Tags

type/moc, type/dashboard, type/roadmap, type/decision, type/adr
type/analysis, type/market, type/competitive, type/swot
type/persona, type/empathy-map, type/interview, type/research
type/prd, type/product, type/canvas
type/lean-canvas, type/business-model, type/value-proposition
type/design, type/ux
type/technical, type/architecture
type/backlog, type/sprint, type/engineering
type/experiment, type/validation, type/metrics, type/kpi
type/meeting

Stage Tags

stage/00-status, stage/01-market, stage/02-research
stage/03-product, stage/04-design, stage/05-technical
stage/06-engineering, stage/07-analytics, stage/08-legal

Project Tags

project/{{project-name}}   # Lowercase, hyphenated

Status Values

status: active | paused | completed | archived

Phase Values

phase: discovery | validation | build | growth | scale

Frontmatter Standard

---
# ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
# TEMPLATE: [Template Name]
# STAGE: [00-08] - [Stage Name]
# PURPOSE: [One-line description]
# ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
tags:
  - type/[type]
  - project/[project-name]
  - stage/[00-08]-[stage]
aliases: []
cssclass: [class]
lead: "One-line summary for callouts"
banner: "![[banner.jpg]]"
icon: "🚀"
created: "YYYY-MM-DD"
modified: "YYYY-MM-DD"
template:
  name: "[Template Name]"
  version: "2.0"
  stage: "[00-08]"
project: "[Project Name]"
status: active
phase: discovery
priority: 3
---

Back Matter Standard

---
## Back Matter

**Source**:: [[Origin Note]]
**References**:: [[Related Note]]
**Used By**:: [[Consumer Note]]

---
**Open Questions**
- ❓ Question

**Action Items**
- [ ] Task

Dataview Queries

Recent Project Activity

```dataview
TABLE type AS "Type", modified AS "Updated"
FROM "Projects/{{Project}}"
WHERE file.name != this.file.name
SORT modified DESC
LIMIT 10
```

Open Tasks

```dataview
TASK FROM "Projects/{{Project}}"
WHERE !completed
SORT priority ASC
LIMIT 10
```

Experiments by Status

```dataview
TABLE experiment_status AS "Status", result AS "Result"
FROM "Projects/{{Project}}"
WHERE contains(tags, "type/experiment")
SORT created DESC
```

Decisions

```dataview
TABLE adr_status AS "Status", decision_date AS "Date"
FROM "Projects/{{Project}}"
WHERE contains(tags, "type/decision")
SORT decision_date DESC
```

Canvas Patterns

Use .canvas files for visual documentation:

See obsidian-json-canvas skill for canvas structure details.

References

• Zettelkasten Starter Kit
• Lean Canvas
• Business Model Canvas
• Value Proposition Canvas
• JSON Canvas Spec