breadboarding

name	breadboarding
description	Transform a workflow description into affordance tables showing UI and Code affordances with their wiring. Use to map existing systems or design new ones from shaped parts.

Breadboarding

Breadboarding transforms a workflow description into a complete map of affordances and their relationships. The output is always a set of tables showing numbered UI and Code affordances with their Wires Out and Returns To relationships. The tables are the truth. Mermaid diagrams are optional visualizations for humans.

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Use Cases

1. Mapping an Existing System

You have a workflow you're trying to understand. Provide code repo(s) and a workflow description (always from the perspective of an operator trying to make an effect happen). Output: affordance tables + optional Mermaid.

2. Designing from Shaped Parts

You have a new system sketched as an assembly of parts (mechanisms) per shaping. Provide the parts list, the R (requirement/outcome), and optionally the existing system. Output: affordance tables + optional Mermaid.

3. Mixtures

An existing system that must remain as-is, plus new pieces or changes. Breadboard both together — existing affordances and new ones — showing how they connect.

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Core Concepts

Places — A bounded context of interaction. The blocking test: can you interact with what's behind? No → different Place. Yes → same Place with local state changes. Places get IDs (P1, P2...) and can contain subplaces (P2.1, P2.2).

Affordances — Things you can act upon. UI affordances (U): inputs, buttons, displays. Code affordances (N): methods, subscriptions, stores, framework mechanisms.

Wiring — How affordances connect. Wires Out = control flow (what triggers what). Returns To = data flow (where output goes). Navigation wires go to Places, not to affordances inside them.

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The Output: Affordance Tables

Every breadboard produces these tables:

Places Table

#	Place	Description
P1	Search Page	Main search interface
P2	Detail Page	Individual result view

UI Affordances Table

#	Place	Component	Affordance	Control	Wires Out	Returns To
U1	P1	search-detail	search input	type	→ N1	—
U2	P1	search-detail	loading spinner	render	—	—

Code Affordances Table

#	Place	Component	Affordance	Control	Wires Out	Returns To
N1	P1	search-detail	activeQuery.next()	call	→ N2	—
N2	P1	search-detail	activeQuery subscription	observe	→ N3	—

Data Stores Table

#	Place	Store	Description
S1	P1	results	Array of search results

Column Definitions

Column	Description
#	Unique ID (P1, P2... for Places; U1, U2... for UI; N1, N2... for Code; S1, S2... for Stores)
Place	Which Place this affordance belongs to (containment)
Component	Which component/service owns this
Affordance	The specific thing you can act upon
Control	The triggering event: click, type, call, observe, write, render
Wires Out	What this triggers: → N4, → P2 (control flow, including navigation)
Returns To	Where output flows: → N3 or → U2, U3 (data flow)

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References

Load these progressively as needed:

File	Contains	Load When
concepts.md	Places, subplaces, place references, modes, containment vs wiring, navigation wiring	You need to determine Place boundaries or model containment
procedures.md	Step-by-step for mapping existing systems (11 steps) and designing from parts (8 steps)	Starting a breadboarding task
principles.md	Never use memory, mechanisms aren't affordances, two flows, data source rules, store placement	Reviewing or debugging a breadboard
catalog.md	Complete element/relationship reference, qualification criteria, verification checks	Quick lookup of what qualifies as what
visualization.md	Mermaid conventions, colors, lines, subgraphs, chunking, workflow annotations	Creating or reviewing Mermaid diagrams
slicing.md	Vertical slicing methodology, constraints, procedure, visualization	Breaking a breadboard into implementation slices
reflection.md	Design smell detection, naming test, splitting affordances, fixing wiring	Reviewing a breadboard for correctness
examples.md	Example A: mapping existing system, Example B: designing from parts + slicing	Need a worked example for reference