Intent Interview

Intent Interview

A structured methodology for extracting, refining, and documenting product/feature requirements through deep interviewing.

Two-Phase Model

Phase A: Questioning (default)
    → Output: decisions.md (questions + user decisions)
    → Does NOT touch INTENT.md

Phase B: Compose (explicit user request)
    → Input: decisions.md
    → Output: INTENT.md (under budget constraints)
    → Checks anchor relevance + size budget

Why two phases? Interview tends to accrete — every answer becomes a new section. By separating questioning from composition, we prevent unbounded growth.

Phase A: Questioning

Goal

Collect all design decisions without writing any Intent structure. Output is a flat decisions.md file.

Process

Step 1: Problem Space (1-2 rounds)

Questions to ask:
- What is the core problem?
- Who is the target user?
- Is this a new product or addition to existing?
- What's the priority/urgency?

Step 2: Deep Dive (iterative)

Cover these dimensions systematically, 3-4 questions per round:

Step 3: Contradiction Resolution

When answers conflict with earlier choices:

1. Point out the contradiction explicitly
2. Ask for clarification with specific options
3. Update decisions.md accordingly

Step 4: Scope Guard

Before recording each decision, check against the anchor (if established).

If a question or answer drifts from the declared purpose:

⚠️ Scope guard: This may be out of scope for:
  > "Enable type-safe binary communication between AFS nodes."

Record anyway? Or defer to a separate Intent?

The anchor is established early — ask "In one sentence, what is this module's reason to exist?" in round 1.

Step 5: Readiness Check

Before moving to Phase B, verify:

• Can a code agent implement this without asking questions?
• Are all technical choices specified?
• Are edge cases covered?

If gaps exist, continue questioning.

decisions.md Output Format

# Interview Decisions: {Project/Module Name}

> Anchor: {one sentence purpose}

## Decisions

### 1. {Topic}
- **Question**: {what was asked}
- **Decision**: {what was decided}
- **Rationale**: {why}

### 2. {Topic}
...

## Open Items
- {unresolved questions}

## Out of Scope
- {items deferred by scope guard}

Question Design

Do

• Ask non-obvious, probing questions
• Probe tradeoffs ("if X fails, should we Y or Z?")
• Use concrete scenarios
• Offer 3-4 mutually exclusive options
• Match user's language (中文/English)

Don't

• Ask yes/no questions
• Ask obvious implementation details
• Ask multiple unrelated questions at once
• Add sections to INTENT.md during questioning

Format

Use AskUserQuestion tool with:

• 1-4 questions per round
• 2-4 options per question
• Short header (max 12 chars)
• Clear option descriptions

Phase B: Compose

Only runs when user explicitly requests it (e.g., "compose the intent" or "generate INTENT.md").

Process

Step 1: Read decisions.md

Parse all decisions and the anchor statement.

Step 2: Draft INTENT.md

Structure into standard Intent sections:

# {Module} Intent

> Anchor: {one sentence from decisions.md}

## Responsibilities
- {derived from decisions}

## Non-Goals
- {from "Out of Scope" + explicit exclusions}

## Structure
{architecture diagram}

## API
{interface definitions}

## Examples
{input → output}

Step 3: Anchor Relevance Check

For each section in the draft, verify:

• Can this section trace back to the anchor?
• If not, flag it:

⚠️ Section "## Caching Strategy" cannot be traced to anchor:
  > "Enable type-safe binary communication between AFS nodes."

Options:
1. Remove this section
2. Move to a separate Intent
3. Keep (explain why it serves the anchor)

Step 4: Budget Check

Count the lines of the draft and check against tiered budget:

If over budget:

⚠️ Budget warning: 437/300 lines (+137)

Sections by size:
1. ## API — 45 lines
2. ## Structure — 38 lines
3. ## Detailed Behavior — 35 lines
...

Suggestions to reduce:
- Merge "## Error Handling" into "## API" constraints
- Move "## Migration Guide" to a separate doc
- Simplify "## Structure" diagram

Present options to user via AskUserQuestion before saving.

Step 5: Save

Write the budget-compliant INTENT.md. Optionally generate overview.md if user requests.

Output Artifacts

decisions.md (Phase A output)

Interview record with all questions, decisions, rationale, and scope boundaries.

records/interview-{date}.md (Phase A side-effect)

Raw interview transcript saved to records/ for full traceability. Updates records/INDEX.md.

intent.md (Phase B output)

Technical specification under budget constraints, with anchor-verified sections.

overview.md (optional, Phase B)

One-page human summary:

# {Project}: One-line description

## One sentence explanation

## Why?
Problem in plain language

## Core experience
ASCII flow diagram

## Architecture
ASCII component diagram

## Key decisions
| Question | Choice | Why |

## Scope
In / Out

## Risk + Mitigation

## Next steps

Workflow

User describes idea
    ↓
Phase A: Questioning
    ├── Round 1: Problem space + establish anchor
    ├── Round 2-N: Deep dive (with scope guard)
    ├── Resolve contradictions
    └── Readiness check
    ↓
Save decisions.md
    ↓
User requests "compose" / "generate intent"
    ↓
Phase B: Compose
    ├── Draft from decisions
    ├── Anchor relevance check
    ├── Budget check
    └── Save INTENT.md
    ↓
(Optional) Generate overview.md