From need to project sheet

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

turn a vague wish into a clear project, with a goal and success criteria;
define a minimum version and break the project down into 3 to 6 steps;
keep a one-page project sheet that you and the AI can reread at every session;
use the AI to challenge your project before you launch into it.

Why it matters to you

Projects with AI rarely fail because of the AI: they are too big, too vague, or they have no end. A one-page sheet solves all three problems. It also works as a memory: at every session, the AI rereads it, and so do you.

Before you start


You need	Your assistant, with a free account. If you use Claude Code (module 4), you can do the lesson in it
Cost	€0 with a free account; Claude Code, if you use it, requires a subscription
Duration	40 minutes
A project idea	Something you would like to have finished in 2 to 4 weeks: organizing an event, sorting your paperwork, preparing a presentation, starting a routine

Understand it in 3 minutes

A project is a need that takes several sessions. To succeed, it needs 4 things, which the project sheet brings together (the sheet template adds the context for the AI and a table of decisions):

Part of the sheet	The question	Example
Goal	What do I want to get, and what for?	A clear file for my move, so I forget nothing
It worked if	How will I see that it’s finished?	All the tasks listed with a date, and a planned budget
Minimum version	What is the smallest version that is already useful?	The list of tasks, even without a budget
Steps and next action	Where do I start?	List the organizations to notify

The minimum version is the move that saves projects: you finish it first, you use it, then you improve it. Scaling a project down is not a failure, it is a decision, which you write in the sheet.

Do it together

1Step 1: Say what you need, in any order

Write to your assistant, with your own idea (the example is made up):

I have a project: preparing for my move in 6 weeks. Before you help me, ask me the 4 questions you're missing to understand what I really want. One question at a time.

2Step 2: Have the project challenged

Once you’ve answered its questions:

Now challenge my project: can it be done in 4 weeks (I want to finish 2 weeks before the move), with 2 sessions per week? Suggest a useful minimum version, then break it down into 3 to 6 steps.

Discuss its suggestions: keep, delete, change the order. You are the one who decides.

3Step 3: Fill in the sheet

Fill in this project sheet with what we decided, without making anything up. Write "to be specified" when a piece of information is missing.

then paste the sheet template (in the resources). Reread the filled-in sheet and correct it. With Claude Code, ask it instead to create the file projets/<nom-court>/projet.md in your folder, based on this template (it has a “Minimum version” part), after you say yes.

Your turn

Your own project. Redo the three steps with a real project from your life, then:

check that the sheet fits on one page;
do the first step this week;
write one decision in the sheet, with its reason, and the next action.

Resources to download

Project sheet template: one page, to fill in with the AI.

Check your work

It worked if:

your sheet contains a goal, at least two checkable criteria, a minimum version and 3 to 6 steps;
the first step is done;
the sheet lists one single, concrete next action.

Common mistakes:

a project that is too big (“redo my whole life admin”): scale it down to a minimum version;
vague criteria (“that it be well organized”): prefer “every task has a date”;
letting the AI decide everything: it suggests, you choose, and you write down why;
a five-page sheet: one page is enough, the detail goes in other files.

Keep it and pick it up later

Keep your sheet where you can find it: a project folder, or a note. At every session, give it to the AI first: it knows right away where you stand.
With Claude Code, the sheet joins your journal (module 5): “Read the sheet for the current project, then suggest the next action.”

Going further

optional

Module 5 shows how to ask Claude Code to reread your sheet and your journal at the start of every session, thanks to your CLAUDE.md. It follows these instructions without an absolute guarantee: you check its summary.

New words

4 words explained

Word	What it means
Project sheet	A page that brings together the goal, the criteria, the minimum version, the steps and the next action
Minimum version	The smallest version of a project that is already useful
Challenge	Ask the AI to criticize your idea to make it doable
Next action	The one concrete thing to do when you pick the project back up