ceos-ids
Run the IDS (Identify, Discuss, Solve) process — the EOS method for resolving issues systematically. Every issue gets a root cause, a focused discussion, and at least one To-Do with an owner and due date.
When to Use
- •"We have an issue" or "add to the issues list"
- •"IDS this" or "let's identify discuss solve"
- •"What are our open issues?" or "show the issues list"
- •"Solve [issue]" or "discuss [issue]"
- •"Close this issue" or "mark [issue] as solved"
- •During L10 meetings when the IDS section begins
- •Any time the team needs structured problem-solving
Context
Finding the CEOS Repository
Search upward from the current directory for the .ceos marker file. This file marks the root of the CEOS repository.
If .ceos is not found, stop and tell the user: "Not in a CEOS repository. Clone your CEOS repo and run setup.sh first."
Key Files
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
data/issues/open/ | Open issues awaiting resolution |
data/issues/solved/ | Resolved issues (archive) |
templates/issue.md | Template for new issue files |
Issue File Format
Each issue is a markdown file with YAML frontmatter:
id: issue-001 title: "Slow customer onboarding" priority: 1 # 1 (highest) - 3 (lowest) category: process # people | process | data | vision | traction ids_stage: identified # identified | discussed | solved created: "2026-02-06"
Priority levels:
- •
1— Critical, solve first - •
2— Important, solve soon - •
3— Minor, solve when time allows
Categories (the 5 EOS issue types):
- •
people— right person, right seat issues - •
process— systems, workflows, efficiency - •
data— metrics, reporting, information gaps - •
vision— alignment with V/TO, Core Focus - •
traction— execution, accountability, follow-through
IDS stages:
- •
identified— root cause found, not yet discussed - •
discussed— perspectives captured, not yet solved - •
solved— To-Dos created, file moved todata/issues/solved/
File naming: issue-NNN-slug.md where NNN is a zero-padded ID and slug is the title slugified.
Process
Mode: List Issues
When the user asks to see the issues list.
- •Read all files in
data/issues/open/. - •Parse frontmatter for priority, category, and IDS stage.
- •Display sorted by priority (1 first):
Open Issues (5 total): ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ P1 issue-003 Slow customer onboarding [process] identified P1 issue-007 Key account churning [people] discussed P2 issue-001 Reporting gaps in dashboard [data] identified P2 issue-005 Misaligned marketing spend [vision] identified P3 issue-002 Office Wi-Fi unreliable [process] identified
If no open issues exist: "No open issues. Nice work! Use 'ceos-ids' to create one when a new issue surfaces."
Mode: Create Issue (Identify)
Use when a new issue surfaces.
Step 1: Name the Issue
Ask: "What's the issue? Give it a short title."
Step 2: Dig for Root Cause (5 Whys)
Don't accept the first answer at face value. The stated problem is usually a symptom.
Walk through the 5 Whys:
- •"Why is this happening?" → [answer]
- •"And why is that?" → [answer]
- •"What's causing that?" → [answer]
- •Continue until you reach a root cause (usually 3-5 rounds)
Record both the stated problem and the root cause.
Step 3: Classify
- •Priority — How urgent? (1/2/3)
- •Category — Which EOS type? (people/process/data/vision/traction)
If the user isn't sure about category, help with examples:
- •"Is this about having the right people?" → people
- •"Is this about how work gets done?" → process
- •"Is this about missing information?" → data
- •"Is this about our direction?" → vision
- •"Is this about executing the plan?" → traction
Step 4: Generate the ID
Read existing issue files in data/issues/open/ and data/issues/solved/. Find the highest issue-NNN ID across both directories and increment. If no files exist, start at issue-001.
Step 5: Write the File
Use templates/issue.md as the template. Fill in:
- •Frontmatter: id, title, priority, category, ids_stage=identified, created=today
- •Identify section: stated problem and root cause from 5 Whys
Write to data/issues/open/issue-NNN-slug.md.
Show the file before writing. Ask: "Create this issue?"
Mode: Discuss
Use when an identified issue needs discussion (often during L10).
Step 1: Open the Issue
Read the issue file. Show the current Identify section.
Step 2: Capture Perspectives
For each participant:
- •"What's your perspective on this?"
- •Record each person's view in the Discuss section
Rules for discussion:
- •Everyone speaks. No one dominates.
- •Stay focused on this issue — no tangents.
- •No solving yet — just understanding.
Step 3: Update the File
- •Update
ids_stagetodiscussedin frontmatter - •Fill in the Discuss section with perspectives
- •Show the diff, ask for approval, write
Mode: Solve
Use when a discussed issue is ready for resolution.
Step 1: Open the Issue
Read the issue file. Show the Identify and Discuss sections for context.
Step 2: Determine the Solution
Ask: "What's the solve? What specific actions will resolve this?"
For each action:
- •Action — what needs to be done (specific and verifiable)
- •Owner — one person (not "the team")
- •Due date — when will this be done
Step 3: Validate
- •At least one To-Do is required. An issue can't be "solved" without a concrete action.
- •Each To-Do has an owner and due date.
- •Due dates should be realistic (usually within 1-2 weeks).
Step 4: Update the File
- •Fill in the Solve section with the To-Do table
- •Update
ids_stagetosolvedin frontmatter - •Show the diff, ask for approval, write
Step 5: Move to Solved
After writing the solved issue:
- •Move the file from
data/issues/open/todata/issues/solved/ - •Confirm: "Issue [title] moved to solved. To-Dos are now the owners' responsibility."
If the user wants to keep it in open until To-Dos are done, that's fine — the ids_stage: solved status still indicates the IDS process is complete.
Mode: Full IDS (Inline)
Use during L10 meetings or when running all three stages back-to-back.
- •Identify — Run 5 Whys, classify
- •Discuss — Capture perspectives
- •Solve — Create To-Dos
- •Close — Move to solved
This is the same as the three modes above, just run sequentially on a single issue.
Output Format
List: Priority-sorted table of open issues. Create: Complete issue file with Identify section. Discuss: Updated issue file with perspectives added. Solve: Completed issue file with To-Do table, moved to solved directory.
Guardrails
- •Always show diff before writing. Never modify an issue file without showing the change and getting approval.
- •At least one To-Do to solve. An issue without an action item isn't solved — it's just discussed. Push for a concrete next step.
- •One owner per To-Do. Not "the team" or "everyone." One person is accountable.
- •Don't skip Identify. The 5 Whys matter. The most common failure is solving the symptom instead of the root cause. Push past the first answer.
- •Respect the stages. Don't jump to Solve without first Identifying and Discussing. The stages exist to prevent premature solutions.
- •ID uniqueness. Check both
open/andsolved/directories when generating a new ID to avoid collisions. - •File lifecycle. Issues start in
data/issues/open/, move todata/issues/solved/when the IDS process is complete. Don't delete issue files — solved issues are the audit trail. - •Integrate with L10. During L10 meetings, IDS is Section 6. The
ceos-l10skill will surface the issues list — this skill handles the actual IDS work on individual issues.