Intent Map
Why each piece of work exists: objectives on the left, then the requirements that refine them, the stories and tasks that build them, and the tests that check them.
For: Founder, Product owner, Project lead, Solo builder
How to read it
| Column | What is there | Linked by |
|---|---|---|
| Objectives, Business, Stakeholder | Why: the outcome and the needs | A requirement refines the one above it |
| Solution, Technical | What is built: functional, non-functional, project and technical requirements | Refines; a technical requirement realizes a solution requirement |
| Work | Stories and tasks | They implement a requirement or cover one of its criteria |
| Tests | Test cases with their last result | They verify a criterion; shown under the work that covers the same criterion |
Click a box to bring its branch forward — everything above and below it. Hide the rest leaves only that branch. Open goes to the record, work item or test.
Filters
- Find: a code or words from a title; each match stays with its whole branch.
- Objective: only the branch of one objective.
- Authority / Approved / Draft: which records to show; work and tests follow their records.
- Columns: turn a column off, for example Stakeholder or Tests, to make the map narrower.
- Hide done work: leave out stories and tasks that are done.
The gap counts follow the filters. Clear filters brings everything back.
Gaps
| Gap | Meaning |
|---|---|
| No parent | Nothing above says why it exists: it refines no objective or requirement. |
| Not broken down | An objective or business requirement with nothing below it. |
| No work | A requirement to build that no story or task implements or covers. |
| No test | A requirement with acceptance criteria that no test case verifies. |
Choose a gap at the top to light every box with it and the branch it hangs from. Retired records and cancelled work are left out.