KDBM Lite · 03 / 10

You Are the Architect

Learn how to direct AI by deciding the goal, scope, checks, and next move instead of prompting passively.

Goal

Step into the architect role before asking AI to build.

Do now

Lock the user, problem, scope, and proof before the work expands.

Output

A small project direction you can defend.

Stop when

You can say what the build must do and what it must not do.

Your controls

What the architect decides

Four decisions stay yours no matter how fast the AI moves: who it is for, how big, what proves it works, and what comes next.

Who it is for

Name one real user.

How big

One main action today.

What proves it

The check you will run.

Next move

The smallest useful step.

You Are the Architect

What this is

Using AI does not remove your responsibility. It changes your role from typing every line to directing the build.

Passive prompting	Architect behaviour
Ask for “something cool”	Define one useful outcome
Accept every suggestion	Control the scope
Keep adding features	Choose the next smallest move
Trust the answer	Check the real result
Blame the tool	Own the final decision

Why it matters

AI can move faster than your understanding. Without direction, it may add unnecessary features, invent content, or solve a different problem.

Your judgment keeps the build small enough to finish and clear enough to explain.

What to do

Do this now

Four decisions are yours before AI writes anything:

User. Who is this for?
Problem. What do they need?
Scope. What is in today, and what is not?
Proof. What will you show at the end?

AI can propose answers. You approve or correct them.

Write your architect sentence. Say it out loud or type it into a note. You will reuse it when the coach asks for your brief.

Copy

My build is for ____________________.

They need ____________________.

The first useful result is ____________________.

Keep every blank concrete. “For everyone” and “a better experience” are not answers you can test.

Scope lock for today

Today's build has one main action. Avoid login, payments, a database, live third-party APIs, and large dashboards unless the trainer approves it for your project.

A small finished build beats a large unfinished one.

Check yourself

My sentence names a real person or group, not “everyone”.
My first useful result is something I could test before the session ends.
I have not added a second main action.

You are ready when

You can say what the build must do and what it must not do today, without reading from a screen.

Common mistakes

Asking AI to choose the whole product for you.
Expanding the scope every time AI suggests an idea.
Approving work you cannot explain.

Next step

Turn that role into a repeatable loop in Spec → Build → Check → Ship.