RAPID in 10 minutes
RAPID is Davies’ model for building software at the new speed: AI agents build; engineers direct, review and govern. This tour gives you the model, the operating boundary and the first place to act.
The 30-second version
AI collapses the cost of research, design, build and test. The bottleneck moves from typing to direction: defining the outcome, making the trade-offs, reviewing the evidence and authorising what cannot be undone.
RAPID keeps the acceleration and restores the discipline. Architecture, security, compliance, documentation and test sit inside the delivery flow, not in a hardening queue at the end.
Definition → Design → Tech selection → Build → Refinement → Flow-state ⇄ Production
The first five phases form a pipeline. The last two form a permanent loop. Every turn leaves behind updated tests, documentation, runbooks and memory, so the next turn starts faster.
Keep the three layers separate
| Layer | Question it answers | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| STOP · GO · BUILD | How do we adopt RAPID across an organisation or portfolio? | Adoption programme |
| Seven-phase lifecycle | How do we take a product or change from insight to safe operation? | RAPID process |
| Operational toolkit | Which checklist, template, prompt, skill or register do we use now? | Toolkit guide |
STOP · GO · BUILD is not part of the seven-phase lifecycle. It creates the conditions in which squads can run that lifecycle safely.
The lifecycle, one output at a time
| Phase | The job | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Definition | Turn evidence and domain insight into a testable plan. | Product Feature Definition |
| 2 · Design | Make flows, data and key screens buildable. | Design handoff pack |
| 3 · Tech selection | Choose the default-first stack and record exceptions. | ADR + stack playbook |
| 4 · Build | Run the director–builder loop inside the scaffold and merge gate. | Working software + docs/tests |
| 5 · Refinement | Run named quality passes with clear exit bars. | Acceptable raised to good |
| 6 · Flow-state | Remove friction and deposit reusable knowledge. | Polished build + capital deposit |
| 7 · Production | Harden, verify, release and operate. | Secure, supportable live release |
Every transition uses a gate: a checklist executed in minutes, with checkable evidence automated and human judgement reserved for intent, domain correctness and the irreversible.
Scale the evidence, not the discipline
| Work in front of you | Route |
|---|---|
| New product or major feature | Run the full pipeline, then the permanent loop. |
| Small feature or enhancement | Collapse Definition and Design into a short brief; inherit the stack; run Build → Refinement → loop. |
| One-hour bugfix | Reproduce, fix through the Merge gate, verify in Production, then deposit the regression test and gotcha. |
| Legacy estate that is not safe to accelerate | Start with STOP, then enter the lifecycle when the Definition of Stable is met. |
The gates do not disappear on small work. The amount of evidence changes with risk.
The human-agent boundary
Humans
- Set direction and define the acceptable outcome.
- Make domain, taste and trade-off decisions.
- Review evidence and challenge test honesty.
- Authorise irreversible actions.
Agents
- Investigate the codebase, domain and options.
- Build and verify in bounded, reviewable loops.
- Keep documentation and tests with the change.
- Capture memory, runbooks and reusable skills.
The human stops typing, not deciding.
Choose your next move
- I need to run work now: open the phase-by-phase process, then take the linked artefact bundle.
- I need to prepare a squad or portfolio: start with STOP · GO · BUILD and the three-month plan.
- I know the job but not the file: use the toolkit guide to find the right gate card, template, prompt, skill or register.
- I need a rule or procedure: browse Standards for what must be true and Playbooks for how to do it.
RAPID was formerly named RAID (Rapid AI Development). It was renamed to avoid confusion with RAID logs; some historical material may still use the old name.