Starting at Step 0 · Open Source AI Builder's Club

Starting at Step 0

OK - Yesterday I just looked around. Today I actually went to the classroom. I have a bit of an idea of what I want to do. Obviously thanks to AI - I have a bit of a plan. Here it is folks as I am here to make myself more accountable This is my theory/plan of what I might attempt. It is what I am aiming for right now. Thanks to the LETS BEING ETC I have used that to sort out what I am going to work on

Let’s begin Phase 0 + Phase 1 together so you move from “plan” to “action.”

Phase 0 was first

🧭 Step 1 – Confirm Your Focus Arena

Problem Zero → “Tax Depreciation Workflow Assistant”

whose aim is to cut time lost chasing property-manager and owner details before a job is ready to inspect.

✅ Later I can then focus with another focus (admin cleanup, photo management, etc.).

🗂 Step 2 – Build Your AI Builder Cockpit

You can set this up today in less than 30 minutes:

1️⃣ Innovation Log/Wish List (Google Sheet / Notion / Excel)

Date

Problem Observed

Who It Affects

Pain (1-5)

Current Workaround

AI Hypothesis

Next Test

Result / Learning

2️⃣ AI Asset Folder (on Drive or PC)

/AI_Projects

/01_Problems

/02_Experiments

/03_Outputs

3️⃣ Time Blocks

1 × 90 min “Deep Build” session each week

1 × 15 min “Review & Reflect” slot (e.g., Friday afternoon)

🔍 Step 3 – Start the Observation Pass

Take one live or recent job (e.g., M5464 or M5467).

Write down the full path from Job Open → Paid Invoice and note friction points.

Typical examples:

Stage

Friction

Why it Hurts

Collect Info Missing PM details / build date / tenant access notes Adds 2-3 emails per job

Photos → Summary Manual naming & sorting photos 20 min/job

Draft TDS → Invoice Re-entering data manually into template Risk of typos + slow

🧠 Step 4 – Apply the 5 Whys to One Pain Point

Pick the worst one (“missing info from PMs”) and ask “why?” five times.

We’ll capture that text in your log.

✍️ Step 5 – Draft the Problem Statement

“Property managers and owners experience delays in Tax Depreciation Schedules when onboarding new jobs because key property information is collected manually via emails and calls, causing 2-5 day delays and preventing same-week report turnaround and cash flow.”

Refine it after you run one real interview or observation.

🎯 Step 6 – Checkpoint for Phase 1

So these are my next Steps also

✅ Innovation Log created

✅ AI Asset Folder created

✅ 1 problem statement written

✅ 3 friction points listed

✅ One 5 Whys exercise done

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