Flow Engineering
How do you turn a picture into a product?
OUTCOME → VALUE STREAM → DEPENDENCIES → CAPABILITIES → A&ID
│ │ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Contracts Processes Sequencing Readiness Orchestration
The same way factories get built — draw it first. P&IDs became steel and concrete. Flow maps become working systems. The drawing IS the engineering.
The Maps
Five maps. Five questions. In sequence. Each produces inputs for the next.
| Map | Question | Produces |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Map | What does success look like? | Domain contracts, success measures |
| Value Stream Map | Where's the waste? | Use cases, repositories, adapters |
| Dependency Map | What must happen first? | Composition, task ordering |
| Capability Map | What can we do? | Generators, skills, work charts |
| A&ID | How do agents orchestrate? | Agent configs, feedback loops |
4 Key Maps = WHAT to build
A&ID = HOW agents work together to build it
The Capstone
The Agent & Instrument Diagram extends P&ID discipline to AI and Crypto systems.
| Element | Role | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Agents (AG-XXX) | Actors that take action | Claude, humans, DePIN |
| Instruments (QC/VC/FC) | Sensors that measure | Smart contracts, oracles |
| Feedback Loops | Data improving agents | VVFL, tokenomics, governance |
Products Loop
Flow engineering connects to every dimension of product development:
| Dimension | Connection | How Maps Help |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs To Be Done | Outcome Map IS a job analysis | "What does success look like?" = "What job are we hired for?" |
| AI Products | A&ID IS agent orchestration | Define evals, build loops, measure distributions |
| Product Design | Value Stream maps the design audit | Rendering, visual, responsive, interaction — in sequence |
| Software | Capability Map reveals build vs buy | Core capabilities build, generic capabilities buy |
The Outcome Map starts where JTBD starts — what progress is the customer trying to make? The A&ID ends where AI Products begins — how do agents deliver outcomes in a feedback loop?
Two Dimensions
Every map has two layers:
| Layer | What It Captures |
|---|---|
| Dream | Future state — what we're building |
| Engineering | Current state — what exists |
| Gap | What we must build to close the distance |
Fill maps with REALITY (evidence, not hopes). Keep them FRESH (stale maps are worse than no maps).
PLANS ARE WORTHLESS, PLANNING IS ESSENTIAL.
GOOD PLANNING ALWAYS STARTS WITH MAPPING REALITY.
Picture the dream. Map reality. Close the gap.
Context
- Pictures — The tools that make thinking visible
- Type-First Development — What this looks like at the keyboard
- Products — Great products deliver great outcomes
- Process Optimisation — Improve the flow
- Flow Engineering (Steve Pereira) — Origin methodology
- Flow Collective — Community of practice