The Big Idea — the 7 rules
Before any buttons, understand how AI thinks. These seven rules are the heart of a 2-hour masterclass, boiled down so a beginner can hold them all in their head. Everything else in this course is just these rules in action.
The smart zone and the dumb zone
Rule 1 in a picture: quality stays high while the conversation is small — the smart zone — then falls as it fills up — the dumb zone — usually past ~100,000 words. Keep each task small, and start a fresh session often.
| Zone | What you'll notice | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Smart zone — conversation still small (under ~100,000 words) | Answers are sharp, focused, on task | Keep each task small; one task per session |
| Dumb zone — conversation stuffed past ~100,000 words | Answers get sloppy, forgetful, repetitive | Stop piling on — start a fresh session |
The 7 rules
Keep it in the “smart zone”
The more you pile into one conversation, the dumber the AI gets — usually past ~100,000 words. Keep each task small. When answers get sloppy, start fresh.
Claude is like the man from Memento
Every new session it forgets everything. That's fine — even good. The trick is to write important things down in your project so a fresh session can read them back.
Align before you build
Don't jump to code. First reach a shared picture. The grill-me skill interviews you with tough questions until you and Claude truly agree. This one habit prevents most disasters.
Plan → slice → build
The flow: Idea → Grill → PRD → Issues → Build → QA. Slice work vertically (a thin feature that touches everything and is visible), not layer-by-layer — so you see it working early.
Feedback loops are the ceiling
Tests + type-checks after every change let AI see if it's right. The quality of your tests sets the quality of the AI. Use tdd: write the test first, then the code.
Human-in-the-loop vs AFK
Planning and QA need you. Implementation can run AFK — “away from keyboard”. Do the thinking together; let Claude grind out the code.
Prefer clear over compact
When a session gets big, write a short handoff and start clean instead of “compacting”. A fresh reviewer in the smart zone catches what a tired one misses.
The whole workflow in one line
Idea → Issues you do together. Build runs mostly on its own. QA is you again — that's where your taste goes in.
Adapted, with credit, from Matt Pocock's engineering workshop.