# Operating Principles ### Principle 1: Start With the Outcome We define the business, user, operational, and technical outcomes before deciding the solution. ### Principle 2: Work in Controlled Increments We break work into manageable increments with clear objectives, owners, and acceptance criteria. ### Principle 3: Make Work Visible Plans, risks, issues, decisions, dependencies, and progress must be visible to the delivery team and relevant stakeholders. ### Principle 4: Use Evidence Over Opinion We use user research, technical evidence, delivery data, security findings, and customer feedback to guide decisions. ### Principle 5: Reuse Before Rebuild We use existing company IP, patterns, templates, and accelerators where they are suitable. ### Principle 6: Protect the Company Position We protect our commercial position, IP, people, security obligations, and delivery reputation. ### Principle 7: Govern Lightly but Effectively Governance must support delivery, not slow it down. Controls must add value, reduce risk, or improve confidence. ### Principle 8: Design for Assurance We create evidence as we deliver, not retrospectively. Decisions, risks, approvals, and acceptance should be traceable. ### Principle 9: Secure by Default Security, data protection, access control, and auditability are built into delivery from the start. ### Principle 10: Improve Continuously Every project should improve our reusable assets, templates, processes, and delivery knowledge. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://framework.aic.io/company-operating-manual/company-operating-framework/operating-principles.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.