Agentic Coding 05: Diagnose Before You Build

The most expensive beginner habit in AI coding is asking the model to build before it understands. This lesson teaches the plan-first gate: how to make the model investigate and propose a plan first — and forbid it from writing code until you approve. You will walk away with reusable prompt templates that move every potential mistake to the cheap side of the cost curve.

Where you'll use it

• Investigating a production bug before writing any fix
• Evaluating multiple architectural approaches before committing code
• Auditing model comprehension before approving a large change
• Scoping a new feature request by requiring a plan and risk assessment first
• Preventing premature implementation in large, multi-repo codebases