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Three Documents

Not code. Just organized thinking.

01
Spec
The What
02
Blueprint
The How
03
To-Dos
The Roadmap
01
Spec
The What

The Seed

Everything else grows from this.

The Interview Method

AI
Asks one question
You
Answer shapes the next question
AI
Drafts complete spec

The Interview Prompt

Ask me one question at a time so we can develop a thorough, step-by-step spec for this idea. Each question should build on my previous answers, and our end goal is to have a detailed specification I can hand off to a developer. Let's do this iteratively and dig into every relevant detail. Remember, only one question at a time.

Here's the idea: [describe your idea]

Keep the Scope Tight

The AI will get excited. Don't let it.

Feature-packed enterprise app
Robust multi-feature product
V1 — Simple & Focused

For the Interview

ChatGPT Auto Mode

Quick answers when simple. Deep thinking when outputting the spec.

ChatGPT Auto Mode Selection

Optional

Double-Check with a Smarter Model

Opus 4.5
Gemini 3 Pro
02
Blueprint
The How

Where the Magic Happens

Copy-paste prompts that do the coding for you.

The Blueprint Prompt

Draft a detailed, step-by-step blueprint for building this project. Then, once you have a solid plan, break it down into small, iterative chunks that build on each other. Look at these chunks and then go another round to break it into small steps.

Review the results and make sure that the steps are small enough to be implemented safely with strong testing, but big enough to move the project forward. Iterate until you feel that the steps are right sized for this project.

From here you should have the foundation to provide a series of prompts for a code-generation LLM that will implement each step in a test-driven manner. Make sure we're not using mock data, but real data when testing and real calls to APIs when relevant.

Prioritize best practices, incremental progress, and early testing, ensuring no big jumps in complexity at any stage. Make sure that each prompt builds on the previous prompts, and ends with wiring things together. There should be no hanging or orphaned code that isn't integrated into a previous step.

Make sure and separate each prompt section. Use markdown. Each prompt should be tagged as text using code tags. The goal is to output prompts, but context is important as well.

[Paste your spec here]

Phases with Ready-Made Prompts

Phase 01
Setup
Phase 02
Core Logic
Phase 03
Integration
Phase 04
Polish

Testing is Baked In

The AI validates its own work.

Write
Code
Run
Tests
Self
Correct
03
To-Dos
The Roadmap

Keeps Everything on Track

That's it.

"Can you make a todo.md that I can use as a checklist? Be thorough."

AI Memory Fades

The longer the session, the more it forgets.

The To-Do List Solves This

Setup project structure
Implement authentication
Build core API endpoints
Add data validation

AI always knows where it is in the project.

The Process > The Tool

But here are my recommendations anyway.

Deep Dive

I Made a Video on This

Best for Beginners

Replit Agent
Friendly for non-developers.
Google AI Studio
Built-in build tool. Approachable.

The Model Matters

Different strengths for different tasks.

Codex GPT 5.2
One-shots problems. Gets it right first try.
Daily Driver
Opus 4.5
Front-end, design, UI. Better "taste."
Gemini 3 Pro
Big bugs. Visual testing through UI.

Errors Will Happen

Persistence wins. Then embed the lesson.

Knowledge Cutoff Problem

AI defaults to old versions of new APIs.

AI Training
CUTOFF
New API
Today

The Fix

Embed lessons into your project files.

📄 Error discovered
Using deprecated
Gemini 2.5 Flash
API calls...
agents.md
# Lessons

→ Use Gemini 3 Flash
→ New endpoint format
→ Updated auth method

Future sessions auto-correct. Same mistake, never again.

The Embed Lesson Prompt

We figured out how to fix this. Now I need you to update the claude.md file (or .cursor/rules or agents.md depending on the tool) with this lesson.

Write it briefly and information-dense. I want future AIs to see this and never make this mistake again.

Bigger Chunks Now

New models can handle entire phases at once.

Before
One prompt at a time
Now
Entire phase • 25-40 min

The System

01
Spec
02
Blueprint
03
To-Dos