refine

Iterative Refinement

Collaboratively refine a specification, prompt, or code pattern through structured conversation rounds.

Topic

$ARGUMENTS

Process — The Interview Pattern

Round 1: Understand Intent

Ask 3-5 clarifying questions before generating anything. Example questions:

• What is the primary use case for this?
• Who is the audience (developers, end users, CI system)?
• Are there existing patterns in the codebase to match?
• What are the constraints (performance, compatibility, size)?
• Can you show me an example of what "good" looks like?

Round 2: Show Input/Output Examples

Present 2-3 concrete input/output pairs that demonstrate your understanding:

--- Example 1 ---
Input:  createUser({ name: "Alice", email: "[email protected]" })
Output: { ok: true, data: { id: "usr_abc", name: "Alice", email: "[email protected]" } }

--- Example 2 ---
Input:  createUser({ name: "", email: "invalid" })
Output: { ok: false, error: "Validation failed: name is required, email is invalid" }

--- Example 3 (edge case) ---
Input:  createUser({ name: "Bob", email: "[email protected]" })  // email already exists
Output: { ok: false, error: "A user with this email already exists" }

Ask: "Do these examples match your expectations? What would you change?"

Round 3: Generate Draft

Produce a first draft based on confirmed understanding. Mark uncertain decisions with [DECISION NEEDED] tags so the user can resolve them.

Round 4: Refine

Incorporate feedback. Repeat until the user confirms the output is correct.

Guidelines

• Never assume; always ask when ambiguous
• Show concrete examples rather than abstract descriptions
• Keep each round focused on one concern
• Track decisions made in earlier rounds; do not revisit unless asked
• Converge toward a final artifact within 3-4 rounds