A request for a new path can hide a usable path that already exists but is hard to find, explain, or trust.
The practical check
Before adding a new workflow, ask what current route, rule, or service already solves part of the problem and why people are not using it.
Where AI fits
AI can match the requested capability against existing routes and identify the exact discovery, guidance, or eligibility gap that makes the current path hard to use.
The human decision
People decide whether to improve, reuse, or replace the existing path.
The lesson
Before creating a new path, find out whether the real gap is missing capability, missing discovery, unclear eligibility, or weak guidance around a path that already works.
Existing routes, discovery gaps, and eligibility rules receive the technical treatment in this Build Log companion.
AI Skills
Use this lesson with the AI assistant you already use
Compare a requested path with existing routes, missing guidance, and the decision to reuse or build.
Paste the prompt, share only the context needed to answer it, and treat the result as a draft for your review. Do not include confidential information or let an AI assistant make changes without your approval.
Optional: for a visual report and saved memory, run /dxdev first.
Don’t have it? Get it at dxdev.com/skills/dxdev. The prompt works without it.
dxdev LESSON · paste into your AI agent
LESSON: Check for a Usable Existing Path
WHAT TO SHARE:
A de-identified description of the work, current evidence, and the decision you are considering.
ASK YOUR AGENT TO:
1. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions and unanswered questions.
2. Compare a requested path with existing routes, missing guidance, and the decision to reuse or build.
3. Identify the narrowest useful next review step.
RETURN:
A short table with the evidence, uncertainty, human-owned decision, and next action.
BOUNDARY: Do not change records, contact anyone, route work, publish content, or act in an external system. A person must review the evidence and approve every consequential step.
