Scenario-Driven Thinking

Ensure solutions are grounded in real-world usage scenarios with conscious, explicit trade-offs. Every design decision should be driven by concrete future usage, not abstract ideals.

Core Concepts

1. •Scenario-First: Understand how a solution will actually be used before proposing it
2. •Dimensional Analysis: Every scenario has dimensions (performance, cost, complexity, etc.) with different priorities
3. •Conscious Trade-offs: Every choice sacrifices something — make these sacrifices intentionally
4. •Explicit Communication: Users must understand what they gain and lose with each option

How to Use

Step 1: Request Future Usage Scenarios

Always start by asking about intended usage. Questions to ask:

• •"What are the expected usage scenarios for this feature?"
• •"How will this be used in production?"
• •"How frequently will this be used, and by whom?"

Step 2: Identify Scenario Dimensions

For each scenario, analyze relevant dimensions:

Step 3: Prioritize Dimensions

Based on the scenario, classify each dimension:

• •Critical: Must optimize, cannot sacrifice
• •Important: Should balance, some compromise acceptable
• •Acceptable to sacrifice: Can trade away for critical dimensions

Step 4: Propose Solutions with Explicit Trade-offs

For each option, clearly state:

Option [X]: [Solution Name]

Optimizes for:
- [Dimension]: [How/Why]

Sacrifices:
- [Dimension]: [What is compromised and to what extent]

Scenario fit:
[Why this trade-off makes sense for the stated scenario]

Step 5: Provide Comparison Table

| Dimension       | Option A | Option B | Option C |
|-----------------|----------|----------|----------|
| Performance     | high     | mid      | low      |
| Maintainability | low      | high     | high     |
| Cost            | low      | mid      | high     |

Recommendation: [Option X] because [scenario requires Y]

References

• •Scenario patterns (6 types), best practices (DO/DON'T), complete caching example: references/patterns-and-examples.md