Name the outcome, then split the effort
Build-along · ~20 min at your own keyboard
Before you build anything, write the outcome in one sentence. Not the tool. The thing that exists when you are done, who uses it, and how you will know it worked. Then split the effort. Sixty percent goes to your data and your questions. What do you have, and what do you still need to find out? Thirty percent goes to rules and structure. How is the work laid out, and what must always be true? Ten percent goes to the AI. Most people spend the ten percent first. That is why the result feels thin.
Ladder · Level 2The long version: Context ↗
Do this
0/6Checkpoints
- ▸You should now see one outcome sentence with a who, a what and a check.
- ▸You should now see three lists, with the AI list the shortest.
- ▸You should now see at least one question you cannot answer yet.
The three ways this goes wrong
- Your outcome names a tool, such as build a chatbot. — Say what exists and who uses it. Customers get an answer to the three questions they ask most, within a minute.
- The AI list is the longest. — Move work to the first two lists. Most of the job is knowing what you have and setting the rules.
- The data list says my files and nothing else. — Name the files. List what is in them and what is missing.
Share what happened
Paste your outcome sentence, then the three lists labeled data and questions, rules and structure, and AI.
Strip API keys, passwords, and tokens before you paste. Swap them for [KEY].
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