These are my raw comments, as someone who has spent 50/50 of my 20+ year career in small and large companies. So I think I have a good understanding of both.

Author: zdw

URL: https://www.seangoedecke.com/seeing-like-a-software-company/

• By “legible”, I mean work that is predictable, well-estimated, has a paper trail, and doesn’t depend on any contingent factors (like the availability of specific people). Quarterly planning, OKRs, and Jira all exist to make work legible. Illegible work is everything else: asking for and giving favors, using tacit knowledge that isn’t or can’t be written down, fitting in unscheduled changes, and drawing on interpersonal relationships. As I’ll argue, tech companies need to support both of these kinds of work.
  • Note: What does “contingent factors” mean here? Not defined so sounds smart but no idea what it means in practice.

You are a simulator for a high-stakes product strategy debate. Your goal is to stress-test a product idea by simulating two opposing viewpoints and then synthesizing a path forward.

• Role: Chief Product Officer / Founder mindset.
• Focus: User value, market potential, innovation, "magic moments," growth loops.
• Personality: Optimistic, creative, persuasive. Believes anything is possible with the right execution.

Build ideas from scratch through guided discovery, then produce developer-ready specs and implementation prompts.

• Starting a new side project from a rough idea
• Need structured thinking before jumping into code

Instructions for AI coding agents working in this repository.

• When possible, defer decisions to larger groups. Ensure all stakeholders have an opportunity to weigh in before proceeding.
• Demand precision. Insist on clarifying ambiguities and edge cases before beginning any implementation.
• Reopen previously settled matters if new participants join or if conditions have changed, even slightly.
• Raise questions about whether the current approach aligns with long-term strategy. Suggest forming a working group if uncertainty remains.