# Your first run

A first run in MAIA is the same four steps as every run, once you have chosen a county: define the objective, dispatch it, review the result, and compound what worked. This page follows one run through all four.

Updated: 2026-09-30. Source: https://maia-analytics.com/docs/quickstart/first-run

## What you end with

The example on this page is the solar run that plays on the [home page](https://maia-analytics.com/#interactive-demo). A commercial solar team wants target accounts in Maricopa County, Arizona. This is where the run ends.

> **MAIA answers:** 10 sites qualify, representing 1.60 million square feet of roof and 5.59 MW of estimated solar capacity. All have verified ESG obligations and federal incentive eligibility; eight also sit in designated incentive areas.

![A finished MAIA project. The chat on the left holds the written answer and the skill that ran. The map shows Maricopa County with the satellite basemap, and the table below lists the ten sites with their owners, roof areas, and companies.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/project-finished@2x.png)

A finished run: the answer in the chat, the layer on the map, and the same rows in the table.

> **Note:** The figures on this page are real output from one run. They are not every qualifying building in the county, and your county, your conditions, and your results will differ.

## Before you start: choose a county

1. Sign in at [app.maia-analytics.com](https://app.maia-analytics.com).
2. Start a new project. MAIA asks one thing first: where.
3. Pick a county from the map or from the list. The counties your plan opens are marked **In your plan**.

A project covers one county and cannot move to another. For a second county, start a second project.

> **Note:** On the Free plan, five counties are included and the sixth is a county of your choice. That choice is permanent. See [Plans](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/billing/plans).

![The new project screen. A map of the United States with every county shaded as in your plan, a legend reading In your plan and Not in your plan, and a list of counties to the right with a search box.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/county-picker@2x.png)

MAIA asks where first. Counties in your plan are shaded on the map and listed on the right.

## 1. Define the objective

Write what you want the way you would brief a colleague. Name the thing, the place, and the conditions that make it a fit.

> **You ask:** Find large, single-tenant commercial buildings in Maricopa County with solar-ready roofs, verified ESG obligations, and available incentives

This objective leaves "large" to MAIA, which picks a threshold and tells you which. When you have a number, give it. More on writing a good objective: [Define](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/define).

## 2. Dispatch it

Press **Find**. MAIA names each action as it takes it. This run also followed a saved skill, so it showed the skill's plan and marked each phase as it finished. A first run has no skill yet, so you see the actions without the plan.

| Phase | What it found | What it read |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Find large commercial roofs | 10 shortlisted | Properties and building footprints |
| Verify a single operating tenant | 10 verified | Property records and company research |
| Read roof quality and estimate capacity | 5.59 MW total | Imagery and roof geometry |
| Verify ESG obligations and incentives | 8 in designated areas | Company disclosures and incentive programs |

MAIA stops and asks when a choice would change the result, or when the next step would spend credits you have not agreed to. When a choice would not change the result, MAIA picks a sensible default and tells you which one. You can stop a run at any point.

> **Note:** The first phase is a query of records. The other three are research, one row at a time, and each row spends credits. A run above your row limit stops on an approval card before it starts. See [What uses credits](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/billing/usage).

![The skill's plan in the chat: a checklist headed Ten-site ESG solar shortlist 5/5 with five phases, each crossed out with a check mark, and View activity (29) below it.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/chat-plan@2x.png)

A skill's plan in the chat. Each phase is checked off as it finishes.

More on questions and approvals: [Dispatch](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/dispatch).

## 3. Review the result

The answer arrives as a layer: ten sites on the map, and the same ten rows in the table. Beside it sits a second layer of the 12,081 buildings MAIA screened from the records, each marked with the signal it was missing.

Four of the ten rows:

| Site | Roof area | Est. capacity | Why now |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sonora Quest Laboratories | 257,875 sq ft | 902.6 kW | ESG, federal incentive, designated area |
| Honeywell Aerospace Global Headquarters | 255,771 sq ft | 895.2 kW | ESG, federal incentive, designated area |
| Phoenix Manufacturing | 145,099 sq ft | 507.8 kW | Good roof, ESG, federal incentive |
| Dircks Moving & Logistics | 107,548 sq ft | 376.4 kW | Excellent roof, ESG, federal incentive |

Why now is an enrichment: a column MAIA fills by research, one row at a time. Open any researched cell and choose **View reasoning** to see what stands behind that one value.

**Reasoning: Why now, for Dircks Moving & Logistics**

- Roof read: flat, unshaded membrane. Rated Excellent for solar.
- Estimated 376.4 kW from 107,548 sq ft of usable roof.
- ESG target and federal ITC eligibility verified in disclosures.

Sources: Maricopa County Assessor, NAIP imagery, Utility programs, Company disclosures.

![A table cell reading Excellent under the column Roof Solar Readiness, with its reasoning panel open below it. The panel reads Roof Solar Readiness = Excellent, then Reasoning: the building shows a very large, predominantly flat and contiguous white roof with broad unobstructed sections, only limited rooftop equipment and small vents, and no obvious solar panels, heavy shading, unusual geometry, or severe deterioration.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/reasoning-satellite@2x.png)

A researched cell from this project, opened with View reasoning.

Then ask the next question. The project keeps its state, so each question builds on the last.

> **You ask:** Is there a portfolio play?

> **MAIA answers:** Honeywell Aerospace US LLC owns two shortlisted sites with 1.31 MW of combined estimated capacity. Phoenix Children's Hospital also has two sites totaling 1.21 MW.

More on checking a result: [Review](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/review).

## 4. Compound what worked

A run that worked is worth keeping.

- **Save the method as a skill.** A skill is not tied to a place, so the objective you wrote for Maricopa County runs in the next county.
- **Teach MAIA your context.** What you tell it about your business is saved as knowledge and used on every turn.
- **Take the table out.** Download it, or send a link. See [Export, share, or save the result](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/review#export).

More on making work repeatable: [Compound](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/compound).