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Related lectures: Lecture 01. Strong models don't mean reliable execution · Lecture 02. What harness actually means Template files: templates/

Project 01. Prompt-Only vs. Rules-First: How Much Difference Does It Make

What You Do

Build a minimal Electron knowledge-base app shell — a window with a document list on the left, a Q&A panel on the right, and a local data directory. The task itself is not complex. What's complex is how you get the agent to complete it.

You run it twice. First time: just a prompt, no preparation. Second time: AGENTS.md, init.sh, feature_list.json pre-placed in the repo. Then compare.

This course scenario uses a short rediscovery/preparation interval as an example, not a fixed measured result.

Tools

• Claude Code or Codex (pick one, use it for both runs)
• Git (manage branches and compare)
• Node.js + Electron (project stack)
• A timer (record each run's duration)

Harness Mechanism

Minimal harness: AGENTS.md + init.sh + feature_list.json

Use the Checked-In Project

Repository path: projects/project-01/

Directory	What it contains	How to use it
starter/	The weak-harness run. It has only task-prompt.md as the task description and no AGENTS.md or feature_list.json.	Give the prompt to your coding agent and measure what it completes without extra structure.
solution/	The same product slice with explicit harness artifacts: AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, init.sh, feature_list.json, and claude-progress.md.	Compare how the same task is made concrete through rules and verification evidence.

The four concrete features are window launch, document list, question panel, and local data directory creation. Inspect solution/feature_list.json for the expected evidence for each feature.