modul 1 — the first production project
the anatomy of a good request
Goal, constraints, definition of done – a request the agent can't misunderstand has three parts, and none of them is 'please'.
~2 min read · ~9 min with the exercise · v1.2 · verified: 2026-07-15
the request is a spec in miniature
The PRD (lesson 1) defines the project; the request defines the next 20 minutes. The same three layers apply, shrunk to a paragraph (Addy Osmani's spec guide breaks it down the same way: goal, boundaries, verifiable criteria):
- the goal – what should be true when the work is done
- the constraints – what must not change, what's out of scope
- the verification – how you'll both know it worked
If any of the three is missing, the agent fills it in from its own defaults – exactly like a PRD with no EXCLUDED list.