Living Glossary

Every term in the series, explained for humans. Click any entry to explore.

2 terms

Directive

operations

A documented set of instructions for completing a specific task or process.

What it does

Tells the AI (or a human) exactly what to do, in what order, with what tools, and what to do when something goes wrong.

Without it

Knowledge lives in one person's head. When they're gone, so is the process.

Scary → Normal

"Write a directive with edge cases and escalation rules" → "Write down what you do, in order, including what to do if something goes wrong."

Introduced in Stage 1

3-Layer Architecture

infrastructure

The organizing principle: directives (what to do), orchestration (decision making), execution (doing the work).

What it does

Separates human intent from AI judgment from reliable tools. Each layer does what it's best at.

Without it

Everything is tangled together. Errors compound. Changes break unrelated things.

Scary → Normal

"Implement a 3-layer architecture" → "Separate your recipes, your chef, and your kitchen appliances."

Introduced in Stage 2