2 min lesson
Sequence subproblems by risk and value
Answer this: "You're given the prompt 'migrate this 1M-line monolith off a deprecated framework.' After clarifying the goal and naming stakeholders, you've decomposed into four subproblems. Which do you attack first and why?"
Step 1 of 3
Sequence subproblems by risk and value
Not all subproblems deserve equal attention up front. Once you've decomposed, order the work so the scariest unknown gets tested first. If the riskiest piece is going to fail, you want to know in week one, not month three.
Interactive diagram. Tab through its regions; each focused region shows its detail in the panel below.
diagram: quadrant
Attack the high-risk, high-value bet first; defer the pretty, low-value polish.