Prompt Driven Development (PDD) A Manifesto Against Comfortable Guessing

We learned TDD because code lies. Or more precisely: code tells you everything you allow it to tell. Now we have LLMs — and they will still tell you a coherent story even when the premise is already wrong. Time for a small process hack that doesn’t feel like a hack. The Scene You’re sitting there. Coffee. Tabs. A timeline full of “AI will replace developers.” You enter a prompt. The model delivers code. The code looks good. And that is exactly why it’s dangerous. Because LLMs are polite. They rarely contradict you. They deliver. They fill gaps. And gaps are not romantic in project management. Gaps are budget. “You wanted a solution. You got an answer. That is not the same thing.” What PDD Is (and What It Is Not) Prompt Driven Development (PDD) treats prompts as verifiable specifications . Not as wish lists. Not as chat. But as a contract that must be measured against reality. PDD Is Not not “prompt engineering” (more words, better magic) not “the LLM writes my code” (delegation without