Here's the full Intent-Driven Engineering process for tackling a legacy codebase

Here's the full Intent-Driven Engineering process for tackling a legacy codebase — no README, fragmented docs, different game entirely — using Mark Kendall's framework from LearnTeachMaster as the foundation.Here's how each phase maps to your specific situation — no README, fragmented docs, 5-7 person team.

Phase 1 — Discover (Steps 1–2). This is the hardest part of the legacy game. The whole problem is that without original intent, you must reverse-engineer behavior rather than build from a clear brief. Feed every file to Claude with a prompt like: "Map what this does, its inputs, outputs, and side effects. No assumptions." Then immediately write the intent document that was never written — what it does, what it was built for, and every known gap. That doc becomes your team's shared source of truth.

Phase 2 — Define (Step 3). Now you make the upgrade vs. rewrite call with actual evidence. Upgrade if the core logic is recoverable and structurally sound. Rewrite if intent is unrecoverable or the structure itself is the problem.

Phase 3 — Architect (Step 4). The 3-layer reality from Intent-Driven Engineering applies here: sandbox (Claude) for fast validation, intent architecture for structured ownership, and enterprise runtime for what becomes real — deployed, integrated, observable, scalable. Map your legacy system into those three layers before writing a single new line of code.

Phase 4 — Validate (Steps 5–6). Running code in Claude is not the final system — it's a validated blueprint. The sandbox proves your idea works, your flow is correct, your structure is viable. Generate structured outputs: frontend/, backend/, docker/, RUNBOOK.md. These are artifacts your team owns, not throwaway AI output.

Phase 5–7 — Build, Govern, Ship (Steps 7–10). Move from sandbox to local run, then containerize for portability, then extend to reality with real databases, auth, APIs, and monitoring. This is where engineers separate themselves — the system runs outside Claude, connects to real infrastructure, handles real traffic, and is monitored and controlled.

The key mindset shift for your team: Instead of "write me a function that does X," you move to "here is the intent, the constraints, the architecture, and the outcome — execute." That shift changes everything for a 5-7 person team because everyone is aligned to the same intent doc, not each person's local understanding of fragmented code.

Click any step in the diagram to go deeper on that specific phase.