Triage & Scoring
The 16-criterion scoring matrix, outcome bands, special flags, and the complete scoring formula.
What is Triage?
Triage is Foundry's evaluation system for ideas. It answers the most important question a builder faces: "Is this worth my limited attention right now?"
The triage system uses a 16-criterion scoring matrix across four weighted groups to produce a composite score from 0 to 100. The score maps to an outcome recommendation (BUILD_NOW, EXPLORE_ACTIVELY, PARK, etc.) that guides your next action.
Triage is not optional, it's the bridge between "I had an idea" and "I'm going to commit resources." Without triage, your vault becomes a graveyard of unprocessed thoughts. With triage, every idea gets a fair, consistent evaluation.
The Scoring Matrix
The triage matrix has 16 criteria organized into 4 groups. Each criterion is scored on a 1-10 scale. The groups have different weights reflecting their relative importance:
Criteria Reference
| Criterion | 1 (Low) | 10 (High) | What to Consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| ----------- | --------- | ----------- | ----------------- |
| Strategic Fit | Completely unrelated to your direction | Perfect alignment with strategy | Does this move you toward your stated goals? |
| Long-term Importance | Won't matter in 6 months | Critical for 3-5 year vision | Is this building something durable? |
| Compounding Value | One-time value only | Gets more valuable every day | Does usage/time make this better? |
| Defensibility | Anyone can copy in a weekend | Deep moat, hard to replicate | Can competitors easily steal this? |
Market Group (25% weight). Can this make money?
| Criterion | 1 (Low) | 10 (High) | What to Consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| ----------- | --------- | ----------- | ----------------- |
| Revenue Potential | No clear path to revenue | Strong, proven monetization | How will this generate income? |
| Marketing Ease | Takes 10 minutes to explain | One sentence pitch | Can you explain this to a stranger in 15 seconds? |
| Distribution Advantage | No existing audience or channel | Direct access to buyers | Do you already reach the people who'd want this? |
| Urgency | Can wait indefinitely | Timing-sensitive window | Is there a reason to act now vs. later? |
Feasibility Group (25% weight). Can you actually build this? (Higher = easier)
| Criterion | 1 (Low/Hard) | 10 (High/Easy) | What to Consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| ----------- | -------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- |
| Speed to MVP | 12+ months to anything usable | Days to a working version | How fast can you get something in front of users? |
| Speed to Revenue | Years before any income | Revenue from day one | How quickly does this turn into money? |
| Build Feasibility | Needs a team of 10 | Fully buildable with current team | Can you build and maintain this with your current resources? |
| Low Complexity | Dangerous number of moving parts | Simple and straightforward | How many things can go wrong? |
Alignment Group (20% weight). Does this fit your current situation?
| Criterion | 1 (Low) | 10 (High) | What to Consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| ----------- | --------- | ----------- | ----------------- |
| Synergy with Existing | Completely separate from everything else | Deep uses of existing work | Does this reuse what you've already built? |
| Low Maintenance | Constant ongoing upkeep required | Set it and forget it | Will this drain your time forever? |
| Asset Reusability | Creates nothing reusable | Generates significant reusable IP | Will this produce things you can use elsewhere? |
| Founder Excitement | You dread the thought of building this | You can't stop thinking about it | Honestly, do you want to work on this? |
Score Calculation Formula
Each group's score is the average of its 4 criteria (each on 1-10 scale). The total score is calculated as:
Score = (Strategic × 0.30 + Market × 0.25 + Feasibility × 0.25 + Alignment × 0.20) × 10
Worked example:
Strategic: (8 + 7 + 9 + 6) / 4 = 7.5
Market: (6 + 8 + 5 + 4) / 4 = 5.75
Feasibility: (9 + 7 + 8 + 7) / 4 = 7.75
Alignment: (8 + 6 + 7 + 9) / 4 = 7.5
Total = (7.5 × 0.30 + 5.75 × 0.25 + 7.75 × 0.25 + 7.5 × 0.20) × 10
= (2.25 + 1.4375 + 1.9375 + 1.5) × 10
= 7.125 × 10
= 71 → EXPLORE_ACTIVELY
All criteria default to 5 when a new triage is started, the midpoint of the scale.
Outcome Bands
The total score maps to an outcome recommendation:
Special Flags
Certain criterion combinations trigger special flags that override or supplement the score-based outcome. These catch patterns that a raw number might miss:
| Flag | Trigger Condition | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| ------ | ------------------- | --------------- |
| EXCITING_BUT_DISTRACTING | Founder Excitement ≥ 8 AND Strategic Fit ≤ 4 | You love this idea but it doesn't align with your strategy. The most common trap for founders. |
| COMPOUNDING_ASSET | Compounding Value ≥ 8 AND Asset Reusability ≥ 7 | This creates high-value reusable IP. Worth protecting even if the overall score is moderate. |
| MAINTENANCE_TRAP | Maintenance Burden ≥ 8 AND Compounding Value ≤ 3 | Ongoing cost with no compounding return. Will drain your energy indefinitely. |
| STRATEGICALLY_STRONG_RESOURCE_HEAVY | Strategic Fit ≥ 8 AND (Speed to MVP ≤ 3 OR Build Feasibility ≤ 3) | Perfectly aligned but very expensive to build. May need to be shelved until you have resources. |
These flags appear as badges on scored ideas in the Vault and Triage pages.
AI-Assisted Triage (Pro)
Pro plan users can use AI-assisted triage. When you start triaging an idea, an "AI Score" button pre-fills all 16 criteria based on analysis of:
- The idea's title and body text
- Your existing projects and their energy types
- Your workspace context (what you've built, what you're working on)
The AI produces reasonable starting scores that you can then adjust. This is especially useful for batch-triaging a backlog of RAW ideas, the AI handles the first pass, you make the final call.
AI triage uses Claude by Anthropic. Your data is not used to train any models. Each AI triage call is logged in your AI usage tracker (visible in Settings → Preferences).
Free plan users get 5 AI triage calls per month.
Example Scenario
You start triage and score it:
- Strategic Fit: 7. Useful but not core to your main product
- Long-term Importance: 4. Nice to have, not critical
- Compounding Value: 6. Gets slightly better with more users
- Defensibility: 2. Trivially copyable
- Revenue Potential: 3. Hard to charge for
- Marketing Ease: 8. Easy to explain
- Distribution: 5. Could list on Chrome Web Store
- Urgency: 2. No time pressure
- Speed to MVP: 8. Could build in a weekend
- Speed to Revenue: 2. Not monetizable
- Build Feasibility: 9. Easy for one person
- Low Complexity: 7. Straightforward
- Synergy: 6. Connects to existing product
- Low Maintenance: 5. Chrome API changes occasionally
- Asset Reusability: 3. Not much reusable
- Founder Excitement: 7. Fun project
Result: Strategic: 4.75, Market: 4.5, Feasibility: 6.5, Alignment: 5.25
Score = (4.75×0.3 + 4.5×0.25 + 6.5×0.25 + 5.25×0.2) × 10 = 52 → PARK
The system correctly identifies this as a "nice to have" that doesn't warrant active attention right now.
FAQ
Yes. You can re-open the triage view for any classified idea and adjust the scores. The outcome will recalculate automatically.
Do I have to triage every idea?
No. You can quick-park or quick-archive ideas without scoring them. Triage is most valuable for ideas you're seriously considering.
What's the difference between PARK and ARCHIVE?
PARK means "I might come back to this." ARCHIVE means "I'm done with this." The recommendation system will periodically suggest revisiting high-scoring parked ideas.
Can I override the outcome?
Yes. The score-based outcome is a recommendation. You can manually set any outcome regardless of the score, the system won't prevent you from building a low-scoring idea.
How often should I triage?
At minimum, weekly. The system generates STALE_CAPTURES recommendations when you have 3+ RAW ideas older than 30 days. Most operators find that triaging during their weekly review is the most natural cadence.