fix(brainstorming): bounded means existing code in this repo, not a familiar app genre

Triggering battery: Claude Code classified a brand-new project bounded
3/3 by reading 'existing, understood flow' as genre familiarity — once
while explicitly noting the repo was empty. Gemini routed the same
prompt architectural 3/3.
This commit is contained in:
Jesse Vincent
2026-07-31 09:00:22 -07:00
parent b68eaf96bb
commit 4dc71b10b3

View File

@@ -32,8 +32,11 @@ override it:
a nod, then find out as cheaply as correctness allows. No design
doc, no spec file. Report findings as a recommendation; anything you
built stays labeled throwaway.
- **Bounded** — a well-scoped change to an existing, understood flow: a
new flag, a small endpoint, a one-file fix. Ask the clarifying
- **Bounded** — a well-scoped change to code that already exists in
this repo: a new flag, a small endpoint, a one-file fix.
Understanding the kind of app is not enough — bounded means the flow
you are changing is already here to read. If there is no existing
flow to change, the task is not bounded. Ask the clarifying
questions that matter, present a short design IN CHAT (a few
sentences to a few short paragraphs), and STOP. Implementation
starts only after your human partner says yes to that design — a
@@ -64,6 +67,7 @@ artifact, never the approval.
| "This is too simple to need a design" | Simple means a short design, not no design. Two sentences in chat, then approval. |
| "I'll call it bounded and skip the spec" | Reaching for a label to skip work IS the doubt — take the heavier path. |
| "It's bounded and the design is obvious — I'll start while they read it" | The gate is the approval, not the design's length. Present, then stop until you hear yes. |
| "I understand this kind of app, so it's bounded" | Bounded measures the repo, not your familiarity. A new project has no existing flow — it is architectural. |
| "The spike works, so I'll keep the code" | A spike's output is an answer. Keeping the code is a new request — classify it. |
| "It grew, but I'm almost done — no need to re-classify" | Hidden complexity upgrades the path mid-task. Stop and say so. |
| "They approved the spike, so the follow-up change is approved too" | Each task gets its own classification and its own approval. |