design-first

# Design-First (Progressive Design Facilitation) ## The 5 Levels ### Level 1: Capabilities (The "What") **Purpose**: Confirm scope. Surface the user-facing outcomes the system must deliver. Shared vocabulary check — ensure the human and the AI are talking about the same feature with the same boundaries. **Output format**: Numbered list of user-facing capabilities, max 5. Each capability is a plain-language outcome, not an implementation detail. **Boundary**: No components, no architecture, no technical detail. If a capability mentions a specific technology, class, or data structure, it belongs at a later level. This level answers only "what does the user get?" **Checkpoint**: "Does this Level 1 (Capabilities) look correct? Should I proceed to Level 2 (Components)?" ### Level 2: Components (The "Who") **Purpose**: Identify the building blocks. What major pieces does the system have, and what is each one responsible for? **Output format**: 3-5 components, each with a single responsibility and a one-line description. Include an ASCII or Mermaid diagram showing how they relate. Note integration points with existing infrastructure. **Boundary**: No data flow, no sequence of operations, no interaction detail. Describe each component by what it *is* and what it *owns* — not how it communicates with others. If you find yourself writing "A sends X to B", that belongs at Level 3. **Checkpoint**: "Does this Level 2 (Components) look correct? Should I proceed to Level 3 (Inter...