TL;DR
Thorsten Meyer AI has published Outcome-First Decisions, an open-source framework for reviewing portfolios by current outcomes and ongoing cost. The framework returns three verdicts: keep, change, or kill.
Thorsten Meyer AI has published Outcome-First Decisions, an AGPL-3.0 open-source framework that helps operators decide whether to keep, change, or kill initiatives based on current outcomes rather than past effort.
The framework centers on what the source calls the Worth Filter: whether an initiative’s current and expected outcome is worth its ongoing cost. The source says the filter ignores sunk cost, effort already spent, and identity-based attachment.
Outcome-First Decisions produces three verdicts. “Keep” applies when the outcome justifies continued support. “Change” applies when the underlying opportunity may still be useful but the current version is not working. “Kill” applies when the outcome no longer justifies the cost.
The project is described as local-first, provider-agnostic, and open source under AGPL-3.0. The source also says the tool is meant as decision support, not as an automated final authority.
Outcome-First Decisions — keep, change, or kill
The hardest decision isn’t what to start — it’s what to stop. Judge every initiative by the outcome it produces now, not the effort already spent.
Independent commentary, produced with AI assistance under human editorial oversight. The views are the author’s own and may change. Outcome-First Decisions is open source under AGPL-3.0, provided “as is” without warranty; see the repository LICENSE. The framework’s verdicts are reasoning aids based on the inputs given and may be wrong — decision support, not decisions; verify independently before acting. Product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners; mention does not imply endorsement.
A Stop Rule for Portfolios
The release matters for founders, operators, and teams managing many projects because it targets a common portfolio problem: initiatives that continue consuming time, money, and attention after they stop producing enough value.
By making “kill” one of the normal verdicts, the framework attempts to reduce the social and emotional friction around ending work. That framing could be useful for teams that add projects more readily than they retire them.
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Part of the Decision Layer
Outcome-First Decisions was published as Day 8 of Thorsten Meyer AI’s 19-day Built in Public series. The source places it inside “the Decision layer,” following earlier tools or concepts described as validate, plan, and review.
The material lists Outcome-First among a wider operator portfolio of 18 products. It describes the framework as the review step that closes a loop across that portfolio.
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Open Questions on Adoption
The source does not provide user numbers, GitHub activity, independent testing, or examples of outside organizations using the framework. It is also not clear from the provided material how the Worth Filter is implemented in practice or what inputs it requires.
The framework’s business impact is a claim that would depend on how teams apply it, the quality of their inputs, and whether leaders act on the verdicts.
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Repository Review Comes Next
The next milestone is likely scrutiny of the public GitHub repository, including its license, documentation, examples, and any issues or pull requests from early users. Readers evaluating the framework should review the repository and test it against real portfolio decisions before relying on its output.
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Key Questions
What is Outcome-First Decisions?
It is an open-source framework from Thorsten Meyer AI for reviewing initiatives and assigning one of three verdicts: keep, change, or kill.
What does the Worth Filter do?
The Worth Filter asks whether an initiative’s outcome is worth its ongoing cost. According to the source material, it does not count sunk cost, past effort, or identity-based attachment as reasons to continue.
Is the framework making final decisions automatically?
No. The source describes it as decision support. It says users should verify independently before acting.
What license applies to the project?
The source says Outcome-First Decisions is open source under AGPL-3.0 and provided without warranty.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
