Context Is a Deliverable

Nova calls it “just context,” but context is the job. The same model gives very different answers depending on what it’s told up front.

A five-part brief

1. Goal: what you’re trying to achieve and why.
2. Constraints: versions, libraries, performance or security requirements.
3. Relevant code: the files and functions involved, trimmed.
4. What you’ve tried: and what happened.
5. The ask: exactly what you want back (a plan, a diff, an explanation).

Save good briefs. The second time you need one for the same project, it takes thirty seconds.