3.2Shape
Draft. Written, but not yet complete or polished.
Shaping is where you work out what to build and how, before you commit to building it. You need it for anything new, from a feature to a whole system. You can usually skip it for bug fixes and maintenance.
This is similar to shaping in Ryan Singer's Shape Up, with one difference. Singer shapes on paper because code used to be expensive. With agents, a working prototype costs about what a sketch did, so you can shape with real software.
Each shaping stage produces something:
| Stage | Produces |
|---|---|
| Explore | A prototype, and a clear vision of what to build |
| Design | A tech stack and a high-level architecture |
| Slice | A sequence of small slices |
| Document | A written record of what shaping decided |
In this phase
- PlannedHas an outline, but is not yet written out.
- DraftWritten, but not yet complete or polished.
- WrittenFinished, at least for now!
- 3.2.1Explore (Planned)
- 3.2.2Design (Draft)
- 3.2.3Slice (Planned)
- 3.2.4Document (Planned)