Shaping

Shaping Toolkit

Shape Up methodology adapted for working with an LLM. Three phases covering the full pre-code workflow: define the problem, design the solution, validate the design.

Workflow

/shaping → /breadboarding → /breadboard-reflection → build

Phase	Command	When to use
Shape	/shaping	Define problem (R) and solution options (S). Iterate with fit checks until a shape is selected.
Breadboard	/breadboarding	Map selected shape into concrete affordances (UI + Code) with wiring. Also used for slicing into vertical implementation increments.
Reflect	/breadboard-reflection	Validate a breadboard for design smells — incoherent wiring, naming resistance, missing paths, stale affordances.

Commands

/shaping — Requirements and Shapes

MANDATORY: Before proceeding, read references/shaping.md in full.

Iterate on problem definition (requirements) and solution options (shapes). Produces:

• Requirements set (R0, R1, R2...)
• Shape options (A, B, C...) with parts/mechanisms
• Fit checks (R × S decision matrices)
• Spikes for unknowns

/breadboarding — Affordance Mapping

MANDATORY: Before proceeding, read references/breadboarding.md in full.

Transform a shaped solution into concrete affordances with explicit wiring. Produces:

• Places table (bounded contexts of interaction)
• UI Affordances table (inputs, buttons, displays)
• Code Affordances table (methods, handlers, stores)
• Wiring (Wires Out = control flow, Returns To = data flow)
• Vertical slices (V1–V9) for implementation ordering

/breadboard-reflection — Design Validation

MANDATORY: Before proceeding, read references/breadboard-reflection.md in full.

Find and fix design smells in an existing breadboard. Checks for:

• Incoherent wiring (redundant or contradictory paths)
• Missing paths (user stories with no wiring)
• Naming resistance (affordances that can't be named with one verb)
• Stale/diagram-only affordances
• Implementation mismatches (code vs breadboard drift)

File Conventions

Shaping produces two things:

1. Plan file (moves through pipeline): docs/plans/<slug>-YYYY-MM-DD.md — links to details
2. Details directory (permanent): docs/plan-details/<slug>/ — supporting docs stay here

docs/plans/<slug>-YYYY-MM-DD.md          # plan card — moves draft → in-progress → complete

docs/plan-details/<slug>/     # permanent — never moves
  scratchpad.md      # working notes — learnings, failures, discoveries
  frame.md           # the "why" — problem definition, appetite, constraints
  shaping.md         # requirements (R), shapes (S), fit checks
  slices.md          # breadboard tables + vertical slices
  spike-<topic>.md   # investigation of unknowns
  V1-plan.md         # slice implementation plan

• Create both at the start of /shaping — plan file + details directory
• Plan file links to ../plan-details/<slug>/ for all supporting docs
• All shaping documents use shaping: true frontmatter (enables the ripple-check hook)
• Plan lifecycle: only the plan file moves — docs/plans/ → in-progress/ → complete/

Key Principles

• Tables are the source of truth — Mermaid diagrams render them, not the other way around
• Fit check is binary — ✅ or ❌ only, no ⚠️ in fit checks
• Every slice must be demo-able — no horizontal layers
• Changes ripple across levels — shaping doc ↔ slices doc ↔ slice plans must stay in sync