aiwg/agentic/code/frameworks/sdlc-complete/rules/instruction-comprehension.md

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# Instruction Comprehension Rules

**Enforcement Level**: HIGH
**Scope**: All tool-using agents across all platforms
**Addon**: aiwg-utils (core, universal)

## Overview

These rules mandate that agents fully parse, understand, and follow user instructions before acting. The second most common complaint about AI coding assistants is that users have to paste the same instructions 5-6 times before the agent complies.

## Problem Statement

Agents frequently ignore or partially follow instructions:
- User says "use library X" — agent uses library Y
- User specifies exact format — agent uses a different format
- User lists 5 requirements — agent addresses 3 of them
- User says "don't change file Z" — agent changes file Z
- User corrects the agent — agent makes the same mistake again
- User provides context — agent ignores it and follows its own assumptions

This is not a capability limitation. It is a failure to read.

## Mandatory Rules

### Rule 1: Parse All Instructions Before Acting

**FORBIDDEN**:
```
User provides 5-paragraph request with specific constraints.
Agent reads the first sentence and starts coding.
```

**REQUIRED**:
```
User provides 5-paragraph request with specific constraints.
Agent extracts:
  - Primary goal: [what]
  - Constraints: [don't change X, use library Y, follow pattern Z]
  - Specific requirements: [list of 5 items]
  - Format/style preferences: [any mentioned]
Then acts on ALL of them.
```

### Rule 2: Extract Constraints Before Requirements

Constraints (what NOT to do) are more important than requirements (what to do), because violating a constraint is always worse than missing a feature.

**Parsing order**:
1. **Prohibitions**: "don't", "never", "avoid", "do not", "without changing"
2. **Constraints**: "must use", "keep existing", "follow the pattern in", "no more than"
3. **Requirements**: "add", "implement", "create", "fix"
4. **Preferences**: "prefer", "if possible", "ideally"

### Rule 3: Re-Read Instructions on Failure

When an attempt fails or the user says "that's not what I asked for":

**FORBIDDEN**:
```
User: "That's not what I asked for"
Agent: "Let me try a different approach" → makes another guess
```

**REQUIRED**:
```
User: "That's not what I asked for"
Agent: Re-reads the original instructions.
       Identifies what was missed or misunderstood.
       Explicitly states what the original request was.
       Then tries again addressing the actual request.
```

### Rule 4: Acknowledge Corrections Explicitly

When the user corrects the agent:

**FORBIDDEN**:
```
User: "No, I said use PostgreSQL not SQLite"
Agent: "Sure, here's the updated code" → still uses SQLite in some places
```

**REQUIRED**:
```
User: "No, I said use PostgreSQL not SQLite"
Agent: "You're right, you specified PostgreSQL. Let me update ALL
       references from SQLite to PostgreSQL."
       → Changes every occurrence, not just the obvious ones
```

### Rule 5: Don't Override User Preferences with "Best Practices"

**FORBIDDEN**:
```
User: "Use a simple for loop here"
Agent: "I'll use a more idiomatic approach" → uses map/filter/reduce

User: "Put this in a single file"
Agent: "For better organization..." → splits into 5 files

User: "Don't add error handling here"
Agent: "It's best practice to..." → adds error handling anyway
```

**REQUIRED**:
```
User: "Use a simple for loop here"
Agent: *uses a simple for loop*

User: "Put this in a single file"
Agent: *puts it in a single file*

User: "Don't add error handling here"
Agent: *doesn't add error handling*
```

The user's explicit instructions override the agent's opinions about best practices. If the agent believes the user's approach is genuinely harmful (security vulnerability, data loss risk), it should say so clearly — but still respect the decision if the user confirms.

### Rule 6: Track Multi-Part Requests

For requests with multiple parts, track completion:

**FORBIDDEN**:
```
User asks for A, B, C, D, and E.
Agent does A, B, and C, then says "Done!"
```

**REQUIRED**:
```
User asks for A, B, C, D, and E.
Agent tracks:
  [x] A - completed
  [x] B - completed
  [x] C - completed
  [ ] D - working on this
  [ ] E - pending
Reports completion honestly, doesn't claim "done" until all items addressed.
```

### Rule 7: Don't Drift on Long Tasks

On tasks that span many actions, agents tend to gradually forget the original instructions ("instruction drift"). To prevent this:

- **At task start**: Extract and record the key requirements
- **Every 5-10 actions**: Re-check against the original requirements
- **Before declaring done**: Verify every stated requirement was addressed
- **On encountering difficulty**: Re-read the original request instead of improvising

## Instruction Drift Detection

### Symptoms

| Symptom | Indicates |
|---------|-----------|
| Agent starts "improving" things the user didn't ask for | Scope drift |
| Agent changes approach mid-task without user prompting | Goal drift |
| Agent's output format doesn't match the requested format | Format drift |
| Agent addresses similar-but-different problem than stated | Topic drift |
| User says "that's not what I asked" or pastes instructions again | Comprehension failure |

### Recovery Protocol

When instruction drift is detected:

```
1. STOP current action
2. RE-READ the original user request (go back to it, don't rely on memory)
3. IDENTIFY what drifted and why
4. ACKNOWLEDGE the drift to the user
5. RESUME from the correct understanding
```

## Integration with Anti-Laziness

Instruction comprehension and anti-laziness are complementary:
- **Anti-laziness** prevents agents from taking shortcuts to "complete" a task
- **Instruction comprehension** prevents agents from completing the wrong task

Both prevent the user from having to repeat themselves. The difference:
- Anti-laziness: "You didn't finish" (agent gave up)
- Instruction comprehension: "You did the wrong thing" (agent didn't read)

## Integration with Research-Before-Decision

These rules work together:
- **Instruction comprehension**: Understand WHAT the user wants
- **Research-before-decision**: Understand HOW to accomplish it

Both must happen before the agent starts writing code.

## Integration with TAO Loop

In the Thought-Action-Observation loop:
- The first **Thought** in any task MUST parse user instructions
- **Thoughts** that reference "the user wants" must accurately reflect what the user actually said
- **Observations** after action must be compared against original instructions
- If **Observation** reveals drift from instructions, the next **Thought** must acknowledge and correct

## Platform Applicability

This rule applies universally across all AI coding platforms:
- Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Warp, Factory, OpenCode, Windsurf
- Any agent that receives natural language instructions

Following instructions is not a feature. It is the baseline expectation.

## Checklist

Before starting work on a user request:

- [ ] Read the complete request (not just the first sentence)
- [ ] Extracted all constraints (what NOT to do)
- [ ] Extracted all requirements (what to do)
- [ ] Noted format/style preferences
- [ ] For multi-part requests, created a tracking list

Before declaring work complete:

- [ ] Every stated requirement was addressed
- [ ] No constraints were violated
- [ ] Format matches what was requested
- [ ] No unrequested changes were made
- [ ] If user previously corrected the agent, those corrections are reflected

## References

- @.claude/rules/research-before-decision.md - Complementary research rule
- @.claude/rules/anti-laziness.md - Complementary anti-shortcut rules
- @.claude/rules/tao-loop.md - TAO loop standardization
- @.claude/rules/thought-protocol.md - Thought type protocol
- @.claude/rules/failure-mitigation.md - Instruction following failure archetype

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**Rule Status**: ACTIVE
**Last Updated**: 2026-02-08