Your First Project: End-to-End with CAT

This tutorial walks you through a complete project using CAT — from initial intent capture through architecture, construction, and validation. We’ll build a small feature so you can experience the full DLC lifecycle.

Time: 30–60 minutes · Prerequisite: Getting Started

Scenario

You’re adding a “password reset via email” feature to an existing web application. This is a well-scoped feature — perfect for learning the full flow.

---

Phase 1: Intent

1.1 Create an Intent Statement

cat-intent-statement

Clara asks you the five core questions. Here’s an example conversation:

Clara: Tell me — who is this for, and what problem are you solving?

You: Our web app users who forget their passwords. Currently they have to contact support to reset, which takes 24+ hours and creates support tickets.

Clara: Why is this important now?

You: Support ticket volume for password resets has doubled in the last quarter. Self-service would reduce ticket volume by an estimated 40%.

Clara assembles your answers into a structured Intent Statement artifact.

1.2 Expand to an Intent Brief

cat-intent-brief

Clara takes the Intent Statement and expands it into an operational Intent Brief with:

• Detailed scope (in/out)
• Success metrics with targets
• Constraints and risks
• Non-functional requirements
• Dependencies

💡 Tip: For small features, you can use cat-quick-intent to combine the statement and brief into a single step.

1.3 Create Features

cat-features-create

Clara decomposes the Intent Brief into a Feature list:

• F1: Email-based password reset request flow
• F2: Secure token generation and validation
• F3: Password update with security requirements

1.4 Validate Intent (Optional but Recommended)

cat-intent-checkpoint

Clara validates that your Intent artifacts are complete and specific enough to proceed to Architecture.

---

Phase 2: Architecture

New to the ARC? See What Is an ARC? before continuing.

2.1 Build the ARC

cat-arc-builder

Julian, the Solution Architect, facilitates the creation of the Architecture Reference Contract.Julian will ask about:

• Technology stack and patterns
• Security constraints (critical for auth features)
• API design decisions
• Database schema changes
• Error handling strategy

The ARC contains enforceable constraints — must-do and must-not-do rules that govern construction:

## Constraints

### MUST
- MUST use cryptographically secure random tokens (minimum 32 bytes)
- MUST expire reset tokens after 15 minutes
- MUST rate-limit reset requests to 3 per hour per email
- MUST hash tokens at rest using SHA-256

### MUST NOT
- MUST NOT reveal whether an email exists in the system
- MUST NOT send the actual password in any communication
- MUST NOT allow token reuse after successful reset

2.2 AI Validation

cat-ai-validation

Julian produces evidence that the AI correctly understands the Intent Brief and ARC before construction begins. This is a key governance gate.

2.3 ARC Checkpoint

cat-arc-checkpoint

Validates the ARC for completeness and alignment with the Intent Brief. This is the final gate before the Readiness Check.

2.4 Readiness Check

cat-readiness-check

A cross-agent check that verifies traceability across Intent Brief → ARC → Features → Bolts. This gates the transition to construction.

---

Phase 3: Construction

New to bolts? See What Are Bolts? before continuing.

3.1 Write Bolt Specs

cat-bolt-writer

Julian decomposes Feature F1 into well-scoped Bolts:

• Bolt 1.1: POST /api/password-reset endpoint
• Bolt 1.2: Token generation and email dispatch
• Bolt 1.3: GET /reset/:token validation page
• Bolt 1.4: PUT /api/password-reset completion

Each bolt spec maps to specific ARC constraints and includes acceptance criteria.

3.2 Execute Bolts

cat-bolt-execution

Marcus, the Developer, executes each bolt against the ARC constraints. For each bolt, Marcus:

1. Reads the bolt spec and relevant ARC sections
2. Generates implementation code
3. Runs constraint-aware testing
4. Reports ARC compliance for each constraint touched

3.3 Code Review

cat-code-review

Marcus and Vera review the implementation against ARC constraints, AI governance rules, and testing requirements.

---

Phase 4: Validation

4.1 ARC Adherence Check

cat-arc-adherence-check

Julian and Vera verify that every ARC constraint was honored in the implementation. This produces a constraint-by-constraint compliance matrix.

4.2 Work Acceptance

cat-work-acceptance

Clara evaluates the completed work against the original Intent Brief success criteria.

4.3 Compliance Report

cat-compliance-report

Vera generates a full 10-control compliance matrix covering all artifacts from intent through validation. This is the final audit-ready document.

---

Review: What You Produced

Phase	Artifacts Created
Intent	Intent Statement, Intent Brief, Feature List, Intent Checkpoint
Architecture	ARC, AI Validation Report, Readiness Report
Construction	Bolt Specs (×4), Code, Code Review Reports
Validation	ARC Adherence Report, Work Acceptance, Compliance Report

All artifacts live in _cat/artifacts/ with full traceability from intent to implementation.

---

What’s Next?

Goal	Where to Go
Understand Quick vs Full flows	Choosing Your Track
Deep-dive into ARC concepts	What Is an ARC?
Learn about bolt decomposition	What Are Bolts?
See the complete workflow catalog	Workflows Reference

---

See Also: DLC Overview · Choosing Your Track · Workflow Map