---
name: principle-exhaust-the-design-space
description: Build a few materially different cheap prototypes and compare evidence before committing to one design. Use when for novel interactions or architecture with no strong precedent.
---
# Exhaust the Design Space

## Trigger

For novel interactions or architecture with no strong precedent.

## Rule

Build a few materially different cheap prototypes and compare evidence before committing to one design.

## Application

1. Name the concrete decision this principle changes.
2. Apply the rule to that decision, not as a decorative citation.
3. Prefer evidence from the current repository/runtime over generic preference.
4. If the principle conflicts with an explicit user constraint, keep the constraint and state the tradeoff.