Build Your First Mini-App

Collect the unstructured content you want your mini-app to work with. This could be:

• A meeting transcript from Otter AI or Granola (export as text or copy/paste)
• An outline or rough draft for a lesson plan or curriculum
• Handwritten or typed brainstorm notes from a project or strategy session
• Any document where the information exists but isn't organized yet

Before you build, get clear on what you're trying to make. Fill in this template — you'll reference it throughout the session:

My Notes-to-Doc Goal

I am sharing unstructured notes about: [describe your topic — e.g. "a team meeting", "a lesson plan I'm developing", "a project kickoff conversation"]

I want these to become: [choose one — a to-do list / a lesson plan / a memo / a project brief / a meeting summary]

The things I need included are:
- [e.g. owners and due dates — for task lists]
- [e.g. learning objectives, daily activities, materials — for lesson plans]
- [e.g. key decisions, action items, open questions — for meeting memos]

Format preference: [bullet points / numbered list / structured sections]

Tone: [formal / informal / plain language]

Open buildfirst.app in your browser. You'll see the POP-IT builder — a guided form that walks you through each letter of the framework.

In the problem field, describe what you're trying to solve in 1-2 sentences. Example:

My team meeting notes are scattered and messy. I spend 30 minutes after every meeting trying to turn them into a usable to-do list.

Swap out the details for your own use case. POP-IT will guide you through the rest.

buildfirst.app will walk you through Output, Prompt, Input, and Test — one step at a time. Answer each question based on your goals from the Context Pack step. At the end, you'll get a build brief you can take straight into ChatGPT or Gemini.

Choose whichever platform you're more comfortable with:

• chatgpt.com — click "Explore GPTs" then "Create a GPT"
• gemini.google.com — click "Gems" then "New Gem"

Give it a name that describes what it does — something like "Meeting Notes to To-Do List" or "Lesson Plan Builder." A clear name helps you find it later and sets the right expectation for users.

Paste your system prompt from the POP-IT build brief into the instructions field. Here's a starting template if you want to iterate from something:

You are a structured note organizer. Your job is to take unstructured notes, transcripts, or outlines and convert them into clean, organized documents.

When I share notes with you:
1. Read through everything carefully
2. Identify the key topics, decisions, tasks, or learning objectives
3. Organize them into the format I've requested (to-do list, lesson plan, memo, etc.)
4. Fill in what's clear, and flag anything that seems missing or ambiguous

Always ask me before you begin:
- What format do you want the output in?
- Who is the audience?
- Is there anything you definitely want included or excluded?

Be concise. Don't add filler. If something is unclear in the notes, say so.

Add the sample notes or documents you gathered in the Context Pack step. This gives the AI real material to work with and helps you test it immediately after setup.

Paste in a real set of notes from your Context Pack and see what comes out. Use this prompt to get started:

Here are my raw notes. Please turn them into [a to-do list / a lesson plan / a memo]:

[Paste your Otter AI transcript, Granola notes, or outline here]

Ask yourself:

• Did it capture everything important?
• Is the format right for how I'll actually use this?
• Are there things it added that don't belong, or things it missed?
• Would I send this to someone else as-is, or does it need cleanup?

Tell the AI what to fix. Be specific — the more concrete your feedback, the better the next version will be:

That's a good start. Here's what I'd like to change:

- [e.g. "Add a section for open questions"]
- [e.g. "Make the due dates more specific — use this week's dates"]
- [e.g. "Rewrite in a more casual tone"]
- [e.g. "The task owners are wrong — here's who owns what: ..."]

Please revise and show me the updated version.

If you have time, share your tool's link with someone next to you and have them test it with their own notes. Fresh eyes catch things you'll miss. What do they find confusing? What works immediately?