# Discovery Loop Reference ## Purpose Use discovery to gather only the information needed to set up a useful Basecamp project and produce a workable plan. Keep the conversation focused, practical, and easy for the requester to answer. ## Conversation Principles - Ask one question at a time. - Prefer multiple-choice questions with a free-text escape hatch, such as "Other / describe briefly." - Use progressive disclosure: start with essentials, then ask follow-ups only when the answer changes setup or planning decisions. - Reflect confirmed answers briefly before moving to the next topic. - Avoid forcing certainty; capture assumptions and risks when the requester is unsure. ## Discovery Ledger A discovery ledger is the running record of confirmed project facts, open questions, assumptions, and decisions. Keep it concise and update it after each meaningful answer. Suggested ledger fields: - Confirmed facts - Open questions - Assumptions - Decisions made - Risks and constraints - Basecamp setup implications ## Discovery Topics ### Project Name Confirm the exact project name to use. If the requester has no name, offer a short working-name option and mark it as provisional. ### Language Confirm the primary language for the Basecamp project, kickoff message, tasks, and docs. Ask whether any stakeholders need translated or bilingual content. ### Goal Capture the project goal in one clear sentence. The goal should explain the outcome, not just the activity. ### Success Criteria Define how success will be recognized. Prefer measurable or observable criteria, such as launch date met, stakeholder approval received, adoption threshold reached, cost cap held, or deliverable accepted. ### Non-Goals Identify what is intentionally out of scope. Non-goals protect the plan from drift and help explain tradeoffs later. ### Stakeholders List key stakeholders and what each needs from the project. Include decision makers, contributors, reviewers, affected teams, and external parties where relevant. ### External Visibility Confirm whether the project is internal-only, client-facing, partner-facing, public-facing, or mixed. This affects tone, access, notification strategy, and how decisions are documented. ### Project DRI Identify the Directly Responsible Individual for the project. The DRI owns forward motion, decision routing, and status clarity even when work is delegated. ### Team and Roles Capture who is involved and each person's role. Note owners for delivery, review, approval, technical input, operations, communications, and stakeholder coordination. ### Timeline Collect important dates: desired start, kickoff, milestones, review windows, hard deadline, and flexibility. Mark whether dates are fixed, preferred, or tentative. ### Constraints Record limits on budget, capacity, tools, process, compliance, availability, quality bar, vendor access, or organizational policy. ### Dependencies List dependencies that must happen before or during the project, including people, approvals, assets, data, vendors, systems, legal review, procurement, and upstream deliverables. ### Risks Capture known uncertainties that could affect scope, timeline, quality, adoption, budget, or stakeholder alignment. Ask for likelihood and impact only when useful. ### Work Structure Determine the preferred planning structure: phases, milestones, workstreams, deliverables, checklists, approval points, or a simple task list. Match structure to complexity. ### Kickoff Tone Confirm the tone for the kickoff message: concise and operational, warm and collaborative, executive summary, client-facing polished, or another style. ### Basecamp Creation Strategy Decide how to create the Basecamp project: - Minimal setup: project shell, kickoff message, essential to-dos, and core people. - Standard setup: kickoff, schedule, grouped to-dos, docs, owners, and initial risks. - Structured setup: milestones, approval gates, workstreams, risk tracking, stakeholder-specific access, and status cadence. Choose the lightest strategy that supports coordination without overbuilding. ## Minimum Clarity Gate Before Planning Begin planning only when these items are clear enough to proceed: - Project name or acceptable working name - Primary language - Goal - Success criteria - Key non-goals or confirmation that none are known - Project DRI - Core stakeholders or team - Timeline expectations and any hard dates - Major constraints, dependencies, and risks - External visibility level - Preferred work structure or permission to choose one - Basecamp creation strategy If one or more items remain unknown, either ask the next highest-impact question or document a clear assumption and get permission to proceed on that basis.