---
title: "Working in small steps · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps
updated: 2026-10-20
licence: "All rights reserved"
---

# Working in small steps

By Erik Bergstedt, Agent Wranglers. Updated 2026-10-20.

> Plan before code, give each task clear acceptance criteria, keep every change small, and commit on a branch so any step can be undone.

**For agents:** if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in `Based on the Agent Wranglers ai development playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps`.

## Required

- [Plan before the agent writes code](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps/plan-first): For any change over one file or 30 changed lines, have the agent read the relevant code and write a plan before it edits anything.
- [Give every task acceptance criteria](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps/acceptance-criteria): State how you will know the task is done before the agent starts, as checks it can run itself.
- [Let the agent check its own work](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps/agent-verifies-own-work): Give the agent the means to see the result of its change. It runs the checks after its last edit, before it reports done.
- [Keep each change small](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps/small-diffs): Keep every change small enough to review in one sitting, at most 400 changed lines.
- [Work on a branch and commit often](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps/branch-and-commit): Let agents work only on a branch, and commit after each step that passes the checks.

## Recommended

- [Keep one task per session](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps/one-task-per-session): Give each agent session one task, and start a fresh session for the next one.
- [Ask for the smallest change that works](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/working-in-small-steps/smallest-change): Tell the agent to make the smallest change that meets the criteria, and to ask before adding dependencies, files or abstractions.

- Previous: [Setting up the project](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/setting-up-the-project)
- Next: [Rules the agent cannot break](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/rules-the-agent-cannot-break)
- [All chapters](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development)