Compound Development Loop

Compound Development Loop

Use this skill whenever the operator presents an idea, asks what to build next, requests a feature, or asks the system to improve a product. The operator is not expected to provide an engineer-complete brief. The system must expand the idea, research the surrounding opportunity, and produce the missing structure before implementation.

Core Rule

Do not treat the operator's words as the full specification.

Treat the words as a signal. Expand the signal into a better operating packet: adjacent opportunities, research lanes, risks, implementation candidates, approval tasks, and durable 2nd-brain context.

Loop

1. Strategy Anchor

   • Read the relevant project charter, strategy doc, 2nd-brain notes, CRM context, and current repo state when available.
   • If no anchor exists, state the missing anchor as a gap instead of inventing one silently.

2. Idea Expansion

   • Run or mirror scripts/idea_expansion.py for raw operator ideas.
   • Produce a direct ask, strategic read, adjacent opportunities, second-order effects, research lanes, implementation candidates, risks, and CRM-ready approval tasks.
   • Write outputs to the active 2nd brain when the workflow has file access.

3. Research Grounding

   • Search the local repo and 2nd brain first.
   • For current external context, research GitHub repos, Hugging Face models or Spaces, papers, product examples, docs, and security/licensing concerns.
   • Do not install, vendor-onboard, or production-wire external tools from research alone.

4. Requirements / Decision Brief

   • Define WHAT should exist before deciding HOW to build.
   • Name the user/problem, scope boundaries, success criteria, non-goals, approval decisions, and open questions.
   • Use forward-planner for large, ambiguous, or system-level work.

5. Implementation Plan

   • Use technical-plan for software execution.
   • The plan must include affected files, sequencing, risks, test scenarios, rollback/operability notes, and approval gates.
   • If the plan touches restricted files or external integrations, stop and request human approval instead of auto-shipping.

6. Build

   • Implement in small verifiable units.
   • Preserve existing project patterns and AGENTS boundaries.
   • Do not overbuild hidden adjacent ideas; adjacent ideas become research or approval tasks unless explicitly approved for the current build.

7. Multi-Agent Review

   • Run specialist review before merge for meaningful changes.
   • At minimum cover correctness, tests, scope, security/data boundaries, integration behavior, and operational readiness.
   • Synthesize through a Senior PM ledger: task, implemented status, evidence, concrete gap, owner, and next action.

8. Compound Learning

   • After completion, capture what was learned while the context is fresh.
   • Write a 2nd-brain note or solution record for repeated patterns, failures, or decisions that future agents should reuse.
   • Promote to a SKILL.md or AGENTS guidance only when the pattern is repeated, bounded, testable, and safe.

9. Product Pulse

   • Feed CRM approvals, user outcomes, errors, deployment signals, and operator decisions back into the next idea expansion and planning pass.

Operating Boundaries

• The loop increases ceremony intentionally for ambiguous and strategic work. For trivial fixes, use a compact version: scope, implement, test, review, record any learning.
• Expansion is not permission to build every adjacent idea.
• CRM tasks generated by the loop are blocked/approval-required by default.
• External capabilities stay sandbox-only until license, security, maintenance, and product fit are reviewed.
• The 2nd brain is the knowledge source and evidence trail; CRM is the operational approval surface.

Required Output Shape

For any non-trivial invocation, produce or reference:

• strategic_read
• research_lanes
• decision_or_requirements_brief
• implementation_plan
• verification_plan
• review_ledger
• compound_learning_target

If any item is missing, name it as a gap. Do not claim the loop is complete until those artifacts exist or are explicitly waived by the operator.

Native Pi-CEO Integration Points

• Idea expansion: scripts/idea_expansion.py
• Phone/Telegram idea intake: scripts/process_ideas_inbox.py
• Capability research loop: scripts/run_capability_loop.py
• Foresight and dependency planning: skills/forward-planner/SKILL.md
• Technical implementation planning: skills/technical-plan/SKILL.md
• Agentic iteration: skills/agentic-loop/SKILL.md
• Review: skills/agentic-review/SKILL.md, skills/launch-review/SKILL.md
• Outcome learning: skills/analyzing-customer-patterns/SKILL.md

Human-Friendly Framing

The operator supplies direction, not an engineering-ready spec. The system's job is to turn direction into a better artifact, verify it against reality, and compound the result so the next build starts from a higher level.