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Ask DOS for outcomes

The one habit that changes everything: describe the result you want, not the tool you think you need.

Describe the state you want the world to be in when DOS is done. Not the machinery.

DOS plans every request as a transition from current state to ideal state. Hand it a tool and it plans the tool. Hand it an outcome and it picks from 26 installed Packs, routes effort, runs parallel agents, and hands you the result.

One example

You want a research summary on JavaScript runtimes.

Same user, same goal, two phrasings

Don't

"Create a Research skill that can handle deep dives on JS runtimes."

DOS enters the Algorithm, scaffolds a skill directory, asks naming questions. Thirty minutes later: an empty workflow file. No research.

Do

"Deep research pass on Bun 1.3 vs Node 22 vs Deno 2.0 for a Next.js app. Comparison table plus recommendation."

DOS picks the Research Pack, fans out parallel agents, writes the table, rates the result. The Pack was already installed.

The second request works today, next month, next model. The first breaks the day Research is renamed.

Three more, same shape

Don't

"Build me a hook that runs tests on save."

Do

"Run my tests every time I save a file."

Don't

"Write a script that scrapes my competitor's pricing page."

Do

"Watch my top 3 competitors' pricing and tell me when it changes."

The right column runs. The left column sends DOS off to build something you then have to operate.

The shape of a well-formed request

Four slots

Fill these and the Algorithm stops asking questions.

  1. Result — what does "done" look like? A summary, a deployed worker, a fixed bug, a sent email.
  2. Constraints — length, tone, format, deadline, files to touch, files to avoid.
  3. Context — what DOS can't read from the repo: audience, stakes, prior attempts.
  4. Quality bar — "quick and dirty" vs "ship-ready" vs "this goes to the CEO."

The three-asks rule

Three identical asks is a Feature Request

First time you describe an outcome, it's a request. Second time, a coincidence. Third time you phrase the same ask the same way, you've found a workflow worth a Pack — and the DOS team builds Packs, not you. File a Feature Request and move on. Don't stop describing outcomes in the meantime; the Algorithm improvises until the Pack ships.

Troubleshoot

  • DOS built something instead of doing something. You phrased a tool. Re-ask with "I want X," never "build me X."
  • DOS asked too many questions. The outcome was vague. Add the four slots.
  • DOS picked the wrong Pack. Name the domain in one word: research, design, deploy, write.

Next

Set steering rules

Teach DOS your preferences once and have them applied every session.

File a Feature Request

When you've asked three times, the DOS team wants to hear about it.

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