Brainforge Knowledge

README

3 min read

Compound Engineering

Course: Compound Engineering
Program: Brainforge AI L&D Program Q2 2026
Audience: All team members who build with AI agents (platform engineers, delivery, GTM)
Owner: Brylle Girang (L&D)
Status: Draft
Time: ~3.5 hours total across 7 modules (5 core + 2 supplemental)
Format: Async-first, self-paced
Related: Notion — Brainforge AI L&D Program Q2 2026

Why this course exists

Compound Engineering is the workflow system that turns an AI-assisted task into a merged, reviewed, shippable change — consistently, without cutting corners. It covers the full loop from deciding what to build, through planning, implementation, code review, and getting a PR to merge-ready state.

The five core phases (Brainstorm → Plan → Build → Review → Ship) mirror how expert agentic developers actually work. The two supplemental modules (Feedback, Debug) extend the loop for the moments after review and when things go wrong.

Desired behavior after this course:

You independently run a task through the Compound Engineering loop — from first prompt to merged PR — applying the right skill at each phase without needing to be told which step comes next.

Course learning outcomes

By the end of this course, every learner will be able to:

  1. Frame a work item using ce-brainstorm and produce a clear scope for what to build.
  2. Write a tech plan from a brainstorm output using ce-plan with structured phases and acceptance commands.
  3. Execute a feature using ce-work while maintaining quality gates (lint, types, tests).
  4. Run a structured code review using ce-code-review with tiered persona agents and merge-ready output.
  5. Commit, push, and open a PR using ce-commit-push-pr with a value-first description.
  6. Resolve PR feedback using ce-resolve-pr-feedback — evaluate validity, fix in parallel, reply with resolution text.
  7. Debug systematically using ce-debug — trace root causes, reproduce from issue trackers, verify fixes.

Module sequence

Module 1: Brainstorm                    (~30 min, async)
       ↓
Module 2: Plan                          (~45 min, async)
       ↓
Module 3: Build                         (~45 min, async)
       ↓
Module 4: Review                        (~40 min, async)
       ↓
Module 5: Ship                          (~30 min, async)
       ↓
Module 6: Resolve PR Feedback           (~25 min, async)  [supplemental]
       ↓
Module 7: Debug Systematically          (~35 min, async)  [supplemental]

Total: ~3.5 hours (core: ~3 hours · supplemental: ~1 hour)

Module navigation

ModuleFolderTimeFormat
Module 1 — Brainstorm01-brainstorm~30 minAsync
Module 2 — Plan02-plan~45 minAsync
Module 3 — Build03-build~45 minAsync
Module 4 — Review04-review~40 minAsync
Module 5 — Ship05-ship~30 minAsync
Module 6 — Resolve PR Feedback06-resolve-pr-feedback~25 minSupplemental
Module 7 — Debug Systematically07-debug-systematically~35 minSupplemental

Visual progression

flowchart TD
    M1[Module 1: Brainstorm] --> M2[Module 2: Plan]
    M2 --> M3[Module 3: Build]
    M3 --> M4[Module 4: Review]
    M4 --> M5[Module 5: Ship]
    M5 --> M6[Module 6: Resolve PR Feedback]
    M6 --> M7[Module 7: Debug Systematically]

How to complete this course

  1. Complete Modules 1–5 in order — they form the core shipping loop.
  2. Modules 6 and 7 are supplemental; work through them when you encounter PR feedback or a bug to debug.
  3. Each module has one lesson built around the relevant Compound Engineering skill.
  4. Retrieve the skill (ce-{skill-name}) when you need to apply it in real work.

Questions

Slack: #learning-support · Owner: Brylle Girang

Graph View