Providing AI coding agents with structured project documentation — a 'composition stack' of six markdown files (README, CLAUDE.md, .mcp.json, design system, architecture, plan) — produces far better results than prompt engineering alone. The key insight is that agents need the same context a new teammate would need on day one. These documents serve dual purpose: they help human engineers and AI agents alike, eliminating the need for separate prompt scaffolding. The approach offers session continuity, team visibility, and composability, but requires ongoing maintenance to stay effective.
Table of contents
Why "Just Prompt Better" Is the Wrong AnswerThe Composition StackWhat This Gets You That Prompts Don'tWhat This Doesn't SolveThe Mental ShiftCloseUse Mine to Start30 Impressions