name	product-thinking-playbook
description	A decision-making playbook for solo product builders. 20 principles across 5 dimensions — Intent, Boundary, Execution, Quality, Closed Loop — extracted from 6 shipped products. Use when starting a new product, stuck on a product decision, reviewing your own work, or collaborating with an AI coder who can write anything but doesn't know what to build.

Product Thinking Playbook

A judgment framework for indie developers and product people.
Not a "product manager handbook" — a record of what's actually going through your head in the moment you make a call.
一套给独立开发者 / 产品人的判断框架。不是"产品经理手册"，是把"做决策的那一刻在想什么"写下来。

Each principle file below is bilingual (English first, then 中文).

When to use this skill

Open the corresponding principle before making the call:

Starting a new product → principles/01-scenario-first.md → principles/02-spec-before-code.md
Feature creep, can't stop adding → principles/05-subtraction-over-addition.md
Working with AI, product feels off → principles/11-commander-posture.md
Have a batch of bugs, don't know where to start → principles/13-end-to-end-fixes.md + 14-design-vs-execution-error.md
Product "works" — what's next? → principles/17-real-engagement-metrics.md + 20-distribution-is-product.md
Quick lookup → quick-reference.md

新产品立项 / 功能蔓延 / 收不住手 / bug 收不住 —— 打开对应的原则文件再做决定。

Five dimensions

Dimension	Answers	Principles
I. Intent 立意	Why does it exist? For whom?	01–04
II. Boundary 边界	What NOT to do?	05–08
III. Execution 执行	How to ship the judgment?	09–12
IV. Quality 品质	How to make it stick?	13–16
V. Closed Loop 闭环	When is it "done"?	17–20

20 principles · index

I. Intent 立意

II. Boundary 边界

III. Execution 执行

IV. Quality 品质

V. Closed Loop 闭环

Case studies

Every principle above is grounded in a real project. The full development conversations:

Contra Code · VS Code Contra overlay
AudioLib · Audio library API service
Gospel Hub · Gospel music aggregator
Spybook · Interactive detective fiction
Tarot · AI tarot consultation
Xianxia · AI xianxia novel generation

How to invoke

In Claude Code:
> Using product-thinking-playbook, help me decide: should this feature go in now?

In your own head:
> Read through quick-reference.md, find the line that hurts most.

Three core postures · 三个核心姿态

English:

Intent stands firm: scenario, aesthetic, vision — each clearly articulated, you'd push back on a one-character change.

Execution holds up: decisive direction × meticulous detail; you're the commander, not the contractor.

Loop closes: it works → it stands up to scrutiny → users can actually reach it.

中文：

立意定得住：场景、气质、愿景都能说清楚，别人改一字都不舒服。

执行扛得住：果断拍板 × 细节不放过，自己是指挥者不是乙方。

闭环做得到：能跑起来 → 经得起推敲 → 用户真的能用到。

Distilled from the full-process conversations of 6 shipped products · 2026-04
基于 6 个已上线产品的全过程对话提炼
Author @yangyue1974 · 43.group

name	product-thinking-playbook
description	A decision-making playbook for solo product builders. 20 principles across 5 dimensions — Intent, Boundary, Execution, Quality, Closed Loop — extracted from 6 shipped products. Use when starting a new product, stuck on a product decision, reviewing your own work, or collaborating with an AI coder who can write anything but doesn't know what to build.