Kickoff Document from Transcript
Turn a kickoff call transcript into a builder-facing reference document for a shaped project.
Before You Start
Ask the user:
- Who is the primary audience? (Usually the builder who will implement the work.)
- What other inputs are there? (Visuals, screenshots, mockups, breadboards from the session.)
The transcript is your source material. The document is NOT a summary of the call — it's a map of the territory that was shaped.
Organizing Principle: Territory, Not Timeline
A kickoff transcript is sequential — people talk through things in the order they come up, circle back, go on tangents, get sidetracked by browser issues. Your job is to reconstruct the territory they were describing, not replay the conversation.
Organize by the thing being built. Each section should describe one area of the system fully — so the builder can look up "how does the Criteria tab work?" and find everything in one place.
Do NOT organize by build sequence. If the team identified slices (a sequence of vertical slices to build in order), those are managed separately — not in this document.
Structure
The document has two top-level sections: Frame and Shape. Both are ## headings. Their subsections are ###.
1. Frame (## Frame)
The strategic context and boundary conditions. This is NOT fluff — the builder needs this to make judgment calls when they hit ambiguity.
### Problem— Why this project, why now. What's broken or missing.### Outcome— The specific outcomes expected. What success looks like.
2. Shape (## Shape)
One ### section per area of the system. For each area, describe:
- What it is and what's on the screen (affordances, components, data displayed)
- How it relates to other areas
- Design decisions that belong to THIS area — inline, not in a separate section
- Edge cases or flags that were called out
- What's temporary/placeholder vs. what's a real commitment
Do NOT include a Build Sequence section. Slices are tracked separately from this document.
Voice: Use Their Words
The document is a record of shared understanding from the kickoff call.
Do
- Use the actual words and phrases people used on the call
- Synthesize scattered discussion into clearer form (taking something said across several turns and stating it cleanly)
- Capture the reasoning people gave for decisions ("we're doing X because Y")
Don't
- Put new ideas or conclusions in people's mouths
- Add motivational framing they didn't express ("each piece is a foundation, not a throwaway")
- Editorialize about importance or quality beyond what was said
The Test
For every sentence, you should be able to point to a moment in the transcript where someone said it or clearly meant it. If you can't, either cut it or flag it as your own synthesis.
Exception: Editorializing that clarifies or synthesizes what was said IS fine. "The criteria screen is how filtering is expressed in the new world" — nobody said that exact sentence, but it accurately captures a point made across several turns. That's the job: make scattered discussion legible without adding your own conclusions.
Design Decisions: Vertical, Not Horizontal
Do NOT create a grab-bag "Design Decisions" section. Instead, put each decision inline in the section where it matters.
- "Matches stored in DB not Redis" → goes in the section about matching
- "Candidates must be materialized before attachment" → goes in the section about attaching
- "Per-ICP match data as value objects" → goes in the section about match results
If a decision only matters when building one specific area, it belongs in that area's section. The builder shouldn't have to cross-reference a separate decisions list while working on a specific screen.
Process
- Read the full transcript. Don't start writing after reading part of it.
- Identify the areas of the system that were discussed — these become your
###sections under## Shape. - Draft the Frame (
## Framewith### Problemand### Outcome) from the framing/outcomes discussion (usually near the start of the call). - Write each Shape section (
###...), pulling from wherever in the transcript that area was discussed. A single section may draw from moments scattered across the whole call. - Place design decisions inline in the section they belong to.
- Review against the transcript — can you point to where each claim was said?