Learn-Driven Development
The Learning Loop

The Learning Loop

The five-phase operational core of LDD. Frame, Slice, Build, Validate, Decide.

By Martin Alaimo

Learn-Driven Development runs in five phases. Each one requires a specific thinking mode, clear inputs, and a clear output. Together they form the atomic unit of progress: a learning loop. Whether you're a team of ten or a solo builder, the structure is the same.

  1. Frame. Write the Spec: a functional description of the feature from a business and user perspective, with a bet and a testable hypothesis.
  2. Slice. Design the Exposure Plan: what to reveal, to whom, and in what sequence. Each level tests a belief that contributes to the hypothesis.
  3. Build. Generate the Technical Spec and build the whole feature coherently in one pass, with reveal controls in place.
  4. Validate. Reveal progressively and test each belief against reality. After each level, decide whether to continue, adjust, or cut to Decide.
  5. Decide. Double down on the bet, pivot, or abandon.

The output of one loop is the input to the next.

Agents Drift When Context Is Rebuilt

Incremental builds force agents to reconstruct context on every slice, and each reconstruction introduces subtle drift.

Phase 1: Frame

Write the Spec - a functional description of the feature with a bet and testable hypothesis.