Prototype

Build a throwaway prototype that answers named unknowns, operate it, and hand it to the user for judgment.

Step 1: Name What the Prototype Must Settle

Take the open unknowns from what was passed in. When nothing was passed in, derive them from the current work: the questions whose answers in prose would still leave the user guessing, such as what a surface looks like or whether an interaction pattern makes sense in the hand.

State each unknown as a question the user answers by using the prototype rather than by reading a description. When the work that prompted the prototype already named competing alternatives, state the unknown as a comparison between them. Output that list as text before building, and keep anything outside it out of the prototype.

Step 2: Resolve the Prototype Path

Reuse the slug of the plan that governs the work when there is one. Honor an explicit slug or output path the user passed in. Otherwise generate a slug from the task title:

• Lowercase
• Replace non-alphanumeric characters with hyphens
• Collapse consecutive hyphens
• Trim leading and trailing hyphens
• Truncate to 40 characters at a word boundary