Understanding Eko GTD

A gentle introduction to the Eko GTD methodology for planning and executing complex work.

What is Eko GTD?

Eko GTD (Eko Getting Things Done) is a structured methodology that transforms unstructured requirements into a system of testable challenges with autonomous progress tracking.

At its core, Eko GTD takes any complex initiative and breaks it into:

Numbered PASS/FAIL challenges with clear acceptance criteria
Waves that respect dependency order
Quality tiers that ensure A+ outcomes
Session-resumable state so you can pick up exactly where you left off

The Core Philosophy

Traditional project management often produces vague tasks like "implement user authentication" that are hard to evaluate. Eko GTD flips this by requiring every piece of work to have:

Binary evaluation — A challenge either PASS or FAIL, no ambiguity
Explicit acceptance criteria — Checkboxes that define "done"
Quality standards — Domain-specific criteria for A+ outcomes
Tracked state — Frontmatter metadata enables session resumption

Why Use Eko GTD?

Problem	Eko GTD Solution
"What does done look like?"	Explicit acceptance criteria on every challenge
"Where were we?"	`<- CURRENT` markers and frontmatter state
"Did we miss anything?"	Quality tier challenges ensure completeness
"What can we work on next?"	Wave dependencies show exactly what's unblocked
"How do we measure quality?"	A+ grading system with domain-specific standards

The Three Phases

Every Eko GTD project moves through three sequential phases:

Phase 1: CHALLENGES (Implementation Driver)

This is where the real work happens. You:

Create challenge documents — Break requirements into numbered challenges
Evaluate each challenge — Mark PASS (already exists) or FAIL (needs work)
Implement by wave — Work through dependencies, flip challenges to PASS

The TODO.md file tracks your position with a <- CURRENT marker.

Phase 2: DOCUMENTATION

After implementation:

Update specs and docs to reflect what was built
Ensure TODO files are consistent
Verify cross-references between documents

Phase 3: LAUNCH PREP

Final polish:

Handle edge cases and polish
Final quality verification
Archive completed challenges and ship

Important: Phase gates prevent premature advancement. You can't move to Phase 2 until all Phase 1 challenges PASS.

Complexity Tiers

Eko GTD scales its structure based on project size:

Tier	Challenges	Document Type	Typical Duration
XS (Minute)	1-2	Flat TODO.md	< 30 min
QS (Quick)	2-4	TODO + quick challenge	30 min - 2h
S (Small)	5-6	Mini template	1-2 days
M (Medium)	6-8	Mini + context	3-5 days
L (Large)	8-10	Full template	~1 week
XL (Extra Large)	10-14	Full + waves	~2 weeks

XS/QS projects use a flat TODO.md tracker with optional quick challenge templates — no waves or phases needed
S/M projects use lightweight mini challenge templates
L/XL projects use comprehensive full templates with gap analysis, schema impact, and implementation notes

Core Domains

Eko GTD supports eight specialized domains, each with domain-specific quality standards:

Domain	Focus	Quality Standards
Software	Code, APIs, components	Accessibility, Motion, Testing, Tokens
Marketing	Campaigns, metrics	Brand, Targeting, Metrics, Compliance
Content	Editorial, publishing	Voice, SEO, Readability, Accuracy
Video	Production, post	Script, Visual, Audio, Captions
Ads	Digital advertising	Creative, Platform, Performance
Research	Analysis, synthesis	Gathering, Analysis, Documentation
Business	Strategy, planning	Strategy, OKRs, Execution
Doc-Updates	Documentation maintenance	Accuracy, Completeness, Cross-references, Freshness

Getting Started

Basic Invocation

To start a new Eko GTD project:

Use Eko GTD:<Domain> to <task description>

Examples:

Use Eko GTD:Software to implement user authentication with OAuth
Use Eko GTD:Marketing to launch Q2 product campaign
Use Eko GTD:Content to create developer onboarding guide

Resuming Work

To continue an existing project:

Continue Eko GTD @docs/projects/my-project/TODO.md

Common Commands

Once working within a project, these commands help navigate:

Command	Purpose
`@path/TODO.md What's the current task?`	Show current position
`@path/TODO.md Resume from where we left off`	Continue working
`@path/TODO.md Mark [challenge] complete`	Update status
`@path/TODO.md Ready for Phase N?`	Check transition gate
`@path/TODO.md Block on [reason]`	Add blocker

Key Documents

Every Eko GTD project has these files:

TODO.md (Progress Tracker)

The central hub that tracks:

Current phase and wave
Which challenge is <- CURRENT
Blockers and completed items
Phase transition checklists

## Wave 1: Foundation

- [x] 01-database-schema.md (A+) <- COMPLETED
- [ ] 02-api-endpoints.md <- CURRENT
- [ ] 03-frontend-ui.md (pending 02)

Challenge Documents (NN-feature-name.md)

Numbered files containing:

Frontmatter with status and metadata
Challenges with acceptance criteria
Quality tier challenges
Evaluation summary

Project Structure

docs/projects/my-project/
├── TODO.md                 # Progress tracker
├── 01-feature-one.md       # Challenge document
├── 02-feature-two.md       # Challenge document
└── README.md               # Optional project index

Quick Reference

Workflow at a Glance

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  INVOKE: Use Eko GTD:<Domain> to <task>                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  PHASE 1: CHALLENGES                                    │
│    → Create challenge docs                              │
│    → Evaluate PASS/FAIL                                 │
│    → Implement by wave                                  │
│    → All PASS? → Phase gate                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  PHASE 2: DOCUMENTATION                                 │
│    → Update specs                                       │
│    → Sync TODO files                                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  PHASE 3: LAUNCH PREP                                   │
│    → Polish edge cases                                  │
│    → Final verification                                 │
│    → Ship                                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Phase Transition Gates

Gate	Requirements
Phase 1 → 2	All functional challenges PASS, quality tier PASS
Phase 2 → 3	Docs updated, TODO files consistent
Phase 3 → Done	Edge cases handled, final QA complete

Grading System

Grade	Requirement
A+ (97+)	All functional + quality challenges PASS
A (90+)	All functional PASS, most quality PASS
B	Most functional PASS

Next Steps

See GTM: Getting the Most out of Eko GTD for best practices and advanced patterns
Review the challenge templates to understand document structure
Check the full specification for complete reference

Eko GTD transforms chaos into clarity, one PASS at a time.

#Understanding Eko GTD

#What is Eko GTD?

#The Core Philosophy

#Why Use Eko GTD?

#The Three Phases

#Phase 1: CHALLENGES (Implementation Driver)

#Phase 2: DOCUMENTATION

#Phase 3: LAUNCH PREP

#Complexity Tiers

#Core Domains

#Getting Started

#Basic Invocation

#Resuming Work

#Common Commands

#Key Documents

#TODO.md (Progress Tracker)

#Challenge Documents (NN-feature-name.md)

#Project Structure

#Quick Reference

#Workflow at a Glance

#Phase Transition Gates

#Grading System

#Next Steps