**Bottom-up analysis** is in effect to create a project from a list of items that you previously recorded. And **top-down** is to take an overall objective and break it down into components and into a work breakdown structure, which then forms tasks.
## Purpose Is Top-Down
Purpose can be expressed as a top-level goal and broken down into stages. It can provide focus, and is not only a higher objective; it can also be the reason why you wake up in the morning. However, to paraphrase[[Getting Things Done management framework|]], there’s little point if you can’t actually get things done.
![[breakdown-and-build-up.png]]
## The Funnel – A Source of Ideas
The intention of the Funnel concept is to convert past and present experience into action. It recognizes that there are many incoming data and influences on any business decision maker, which need to be sorted and prioritized.
![[The-Funnel.png]]
The approach is to record ideas as atomic notes, and then, when looking to engage, compile them into coherent and coordinated projects. The Funnel is this process of sorting and linking many things into action.
## The Ayoa My Planner as the Funnel
One way to do this is to prioritize them using the [[Ayoa project planner and mind mapping]], juggle tasks around, focus on the important and urgent, and determine what you should be doing Now, Next and Soon.
## Record Your Ideas
Place your thoughts, concepts, options, and possibilities into [[The Trusted System in Getting Things Done|the trusted system]]. If a subject needs analysis: create a reminder to deepen your understanding. For an actionable item, add it to the task manager at an appropriate priority.
There are current activities and others in waiting. It may not be immediately obvious how to include a new idea.
![[a-new-idea.png]]
## Evaluate New Ideas
If you have a great new idea, don’t immediately knock it down or analyse it away by thinking it’s impossible, whether for reasons of available time, money, or difficulty. Note it down and be positive: imagine how it could be implemented, and the steps you could take to get it done.
Some of what you record may overlap or you may need to put aside. This sorting and linking is where you evaluate each item to see if it relates to others.
![[linking-ideas-together.png]]
## Linking Ideas Together
Linking may demonstrate that you can implement several items as a group, pulling them into a coherent real-life action plan.
You need to find the (financial, material and human) resources and then sequence them into a logical, sensible, doable order in which to get things done.
![[evaluating-new-ideas.png]]
Because you will always think up new things; however, you will evaluate the plan more than once in a continuous looping process to make sure that it’s still the best approach.
![[making-things-happen.png]]
## Turning new ideas into action
It’s essential to capture ideas faithfully as you think of them to be evaluated for feasibility later when you link them into the existing environment.
The objective is to maintain a coherent current plan and evolve your business or system, but also to give new concepts a chance of being implemented.
Some items may remain unused because the timing was wrong, the resources were unavailable, a solution was not forthcoming, or the issue required more analysis. But no matter, these unused items will be in your library for later.
![[turning-new-ideas-into-action-pdca.png]]
## Top-down and Bottom Up Analysis
Top-down analysis is to break an idea into parts, or an objective into steps or actions.
![[top-down-bottom-up-analysis.png]]
Bottom-up analysis here is to construct single concepts, projects, or goals from individual items by linking them together. See how you can do this using [[Kanbanote to filter Evernotes in a kanban]] or push [[Ayoa project planner and mind mapping#Push tasks from Evernote to Ayoa|Evernotes to an Ayoa task board.]]