Skip to content

METHODOLOGIE

Compound Engineering

An engineering practice in which each unit of work also improves the system that produces future work: lessons, tests, prompts, and tooling are captured as durable artifacts so quality and speed compound over time instead of resetting with each task. Discussed mainly in the context of AI-assisted software development.

Origin

A term from recent writing on AI-assisted development, framing engineering as a system that compounds its own future output.

loop
Ideate→Brainstorm→Plan→Work→Review→Polish→Compound
category
AI-native engineering philosophy (cumulative work)
definition
Engineering where each feature makes the next one easier
principle
Each unit of work makes the next one easier (via knowledge)
key_principle
50/50 rule, agent-native, Plans are the new code
version
v2.60.0 (2026-03-31)
steps
Plan, Work, Assess, Compound

Related entities

Fiches (7)