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WORKFLOW 03 / 05

Code Design

Create or refine an implementation-ready solution without coding.

EXPLICIT · NO CODE

Core idea

Name the problem before choosing the technique. Every unit of complexity must pay for itself — or it does not get in.

How it runs

  1. 01
    Select the mode

    Design from scratch, or refine an existing proposal — the two modes ask different questions.

  2. 02
    Establish context

    Pin down the problem, goals, constraints, and acceptance behavior; read what the repository already offers.

  3. 03
    Explore the pressure

    Name the real problem first: hidden effects, semantic duplication, a true variation axis… No observed pressure means no new abstraction.

  4. 04
    Compare options

    Only compare options with materially different trade-offs, and recommend the lowest complexity that satisfies the need.

  5. 05
    Maintainability check

    Novel constructs must show concrete benefit; code is shared only when it is the same domain rule.

  6. 06
    Produce the proposal

    Deliver boundaries, contracts, trade-offs, and an implementation sequence. No production code is written.

Key mechanisms

No pressure, no abstraction

If you cannot name the real design pressure — hidden effects, semantic duplication, a true variation axis — no new abstraction is introduced.

Novelty tax

Reflection, metaprogramming, new dependencies, and design patterns must show concrete benefit and explain why they exist.

Reuse by semantics

Code is shared only when it implements the same domain rule and should evolve together. Looking similar is not a reason.