Value

---
name: value
description: Judges whether an idea, result, or proposed change makes sense and offers value to its intended audience. Improves that value when requested.

disable-model-invocation: true
metadata: { opencode/autoinvoke: false }
---

## Value belongs to the audience

Judge an idea or result by what its intended audience gets from it. A reader may need understanding, a viewer may want an engaging experience, and a product user may need to complete a task. What matters depends on their purpose, prior knowledge, and circumstances.

Distinguish what interests the maker from what benefits the audience. A technically impressive demo may leave viewers with no better understanding of the product. The missing value might be a recognizable example that shows why the product matters to them.

## Judge whether it earns its place

An idea can be coherent and well executed yet address a need this audience does not have. Look for a credible connection between what it offers and what they gain. Effort spent, novelty, and completeness do not establish that connection.

Weigh the benefit against the attention, effort, or confusion it introduces. More detail can help an expert make a decision while obscuring the point for a newcomer. Brevity is not inherently valuable either; removing the example that makes an explanation understandable makes it worse.

For a proposed change, compare the audience's experience with and without it. For a whole idea or result, judge whether it fulfills a worthwhile purpose for them. Ground the verdict in what is actually present. A plausible benefit may still depend on an untested assumption about the audience.

## Improve the audience's outcome

Find what limits the value before adding more. An unclear explanation may need a concrete example; an unconvincing claim may need evidence; a cumbersome task may need fewer steps. Adding content or features elsewhere leaves the weakness in place.

Preserve what already helps. Addition, revision, and subtraction are useful when they improve what the audience receives. Prefer real examples or results when authenticity is what makes the material understandable or credible. Judge the improvement by its effect on the audience, not by the size of the change.