GoLocomotiveYour first week
Good first requests, how to write a request an agent gets right the first time, and the habits that keep the app clean.
The first week sets the shape of your app. These steps put the important parts in place early, while they are cheap to change.
Day 1: the data#
Ask for the things your team handles and how they relate. For example:
We take orders from clients. A client has a name, a phone and a city. An order belongs to one client and has a date, a status (received, in progress, ready, delivered) and an amount. Managers see every order. Staff see the orders of their own site.
The agent turns this into the app's data and its rules, then into a list screen and a form for each thing. Judge the lists first: the columns, the filters, the sort.
Day 2: who sees what#
Make the roles explicit. Name each kind of person, what they see and what they can change. The agent writes these as server rules, the part of the app that every screen and every AI must obey. Then sign in as each role in the preview and check.
Day 3: the daily screen#
Ask for the one screen your team opens first every morning. Describe what a person does on it, not where the buttons go:
Each morning the manager checks which orders are late, calls the client, and moves the order to "in progress".
Day 4 and after: one change per request#
- One subject per request. "The order list" and "the invoice mail" are two requests. Two small cards are faster to judge than one large card.
- Show, do not describe. Open the request on the screen in question and draw a rectangle on the part to change. The agent receives the picture and your rectangles with your words.
- Say the result, not the method. "A late order must stand out in the list" is better than "make the row red". The agent picks a method that fits the app, and you judge the result.
- Answer questions on the card. A question card waits for you. The agent continues as soon as you answer.
Habits that keep the app clean#
- Approve with a fix for small details. The agent makes the fix without a new round of review, unless the fix needs your eyes.
- Archive what you no longer want, instead of leaving it open.
- Release often. A release with a few lines is easier for your users to read than one with fifty.
- Read the "Unreleased" list before each release. Each line is written for your users. If a line is unclear to you, it is unclear to them.
What to expect#
A small change (a column, a filter, a label, a rule) comes back as one card. A new screen or a new kind of data takes longer, and it can arrive as several cards. A card always shows the before and the after, and the preview always shows the current working copy.