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How to use this repo

For humans​

Use Product Compass when deciding:

  • whether a product idea already exists;
  • which project owns a capability;
  • whether a pattern is ready to extract;
  • which integrations and providers are duplicated;
  • which future SaaS/public-good/internal accelerator ideas are worth pursuing.

Start with docs/projects/portfolio-overview.md, then follow the relevant dossier and capability map.

For AI assistants​

  1. Read the boundary docs first.
  2. Read the source inventory to understand what evidence was actually inspected.
  3. Use dossiers for product context.
  4. Use capability/reuse maps for cross-project reasoning.
  5. Verify product facts in the owning repository before editing product code.
  6. Keep Product Compass edits inside meridian-product-compass/.

Adding new knowledge​

Prefer this flow:

  1. Update factual metadata or docs in the owning product repository.
  2. Regenerate that product's project dossier or metadata.
  3. Update data/sources.meridian.jsonc if Product Compass should fetch it.
  4. Run pnpm compass:generate from Product Compass.
  5. Add or update authored synthesis under docs/ only when cross-project analysis changed.

Generated versus authored​

Generated files:

  • data/generated/
  • docs/generated/
  • ai/projects-index.md
  • ai/capabilities-index.md
  • ai/context-pack.json

Authored synthesis:

  • docs/projects/
  • docs/capabilities/
  • docs/reusable-components/
  • docs/opportunities/
  • docs/integrations/
  • docs/tracing-boards/
  • docs/ai-context/
  • docs/sources/

Do not manually edit generated outputs unless you are changing the generator flow.

How to evaluate future ideas​

For each idea, ask:

  • Which existing product capabilities support it?
  • Which source facts prove those capabilities exist?
  • What is missing?
  • Is it a SaaS, free tool, public-good tool, internal accelerator, data product, API, or widget?
  • What is the cheapest first useful version?
  • What risk would make the idea irresponsible or expensive?

Sources consulted​

  • meridian-product-compass/README.md
  • meridian-product-compass/docs/compass/operating-model.md
  • meridian-product-compass/docs/sources/local-source-inventory.md