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In this stage you will work to gain a deep understanding of one or more projects. At this stage you should be focused on producing a longer form document that describes the project in depth. In most cases, this will be the project you work on for the remainder of the program.
The project (or projects) that you choose to explore in this stage will typically be sourced from the things explored in stage-1. You may choose to evaluate more than one project, but in all likelihood your time is best spent focusing on the project you expect to spend your time on during the remaining stages of the program.
The deliverable at this stage should be one or more documents which provide a thorough explanation of the project. The format of this document probably depends on the project itself, but in general, a good document should have most of the following. This document should be linked to, or embedded in your ./notes/ document.
A concise summary of what you are proposing. Something high level but with enough detail that it captures what you are plannign to work on. Think of this as an "abstract".
The reasoning behind why this project should be done. What impact will it have? Why does it matter?
You should be getting down into the details. You should try to write everything down is as much detail as possible without actually executing on the project itself.
- Does the project naturally break down into smaller pieces.
- Are there trade-offs that need to be considered.
- Are there unknowns
There is such a thing as too much detail.