---
name: principle-redesign-from-first-principles
description: Design the shape you would choose if the requirement had existed from day one, then migrate toward that shape. Use when when integrating a new requirement into a design that keeps fighting it.
---
# Redesign from First Principles

## Trigger

When integrating a new requirement into a design that keeps fighting it.

## Rule

Design the shape you would choose if the requirement had existed from day one, then migrate toward that shape.

## 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.