First Principles Analysis

Help me think about [TOPIC/PROBLEM] from first principles.

Current situation: [HOW THINGS ARE DONE NOW]
Conventional wisdom: [WHAT EVERYONE BELIEVES]

Break this down:
1. What are the fundamental requirements? (What must be true?)
2. What are we assuming that might not be true?
3. If we started from scratch, how would we approach this?
4. What would a complete beginner ask that we're not asking?
5. What constraints are real vs. self-imposed?
6. What would [INNOVATIVE THINKER] do differently?

I'm trying to find a better approach than the conventional one.