Projects
Where ideas graduate to when they are ready to ship.
What Projects Are
Projects are active work with strategy, build logs, and status tracking. Ideas graduate here via activation. Unlike ideas, multiple projects can be active simultaneously. A project has a clear scope, defined tasks, and a destination. It is not a dumping ground for vague plans.
Each project gets its own folder inside projects/ with all related documents. Strategy docs, specs, build logs, and scope definitions live inside the project folder. This keeps everything self-contained and easy to navigate.
Project Structure
Every project folder follows the same layout. Some files are created at activation. Others accumulate as work progresses.
| File / Folder | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Project.md | Main project file with type: project frontmatter. Status, description, links to related vault nodes. |
| strategy/ | Strategy documents. Positioning, go-to-market, competitive analysis. Lives inside the project, not in a separate folder. |
| build-log.md | Running log of what was built, when, and what changed. Chronological entries with timestamps. |
| v1-scope.md | What is in v1 and what is explicitly out. The line between shipping and scope creep. |
| specs/ | Technical specifications, architecture docs, implementation plans for complex features. |
Task Linkage
Every task in the vault MUST have a parent_project: or parent_idea: field in its frontmatter. This links the task back to the work it serves. Orphaned tasks with no parent are a red flag. They mean something was created without context, and context is what makes a task actionable.
When a project is created, its first tasks are generated from the v1 scope. As work progresses, new tasks get proposed through the daily system and linked back to the project. The task board shows all tasks across all projects, but every task traces back to its source.
Lifecycle
Projects follow a predictable path from idea to shipped product.
- Idea activated. The idea passes scoring and the challenge gate. It earns project status.
- Create project folder. New folder in projects/ with the standard structure. Project.md created with status: active.
- Define v1 scope. What ships first. What is explicitly deferred. Written in v1-scope.md.
- Create tasks. Break the scope into executable tasks. Each task goes to tasks/backlog/ with parent_project: linked.
- Log decisions. Every direction change, trade-off, or pivot gets a decision log entry in decisions/.
- Ship or park. The project either ships and moves to maintenance, or gets parked with a reason and timeline for revisiting.
Stalled Project Detection
Cortex monitors project health. Two signals trigger intervention:
- 14+ days with no activity. No task movement, no build log entries, no commits. The project gets flagged as stalled and surfaces in the next standup.
- Scope creep without a decision log. New tasks keep appearing but there is no corresponding decision entry explaining why the scope changed. This triggers an escalation to review whether the project is drifting.
Stalled projects are not failures. They are signals that something needs attention. Maybe the project needs to be parked. Maybe it needs a scope reset. Maybe it just needs a push. The detection system makes sure nothing silently rots in the vault.