Experiencing Compounding | The Compound Engineering Loop

Theory is great, but compounding only makes sense when you experience it. Let's do a mini-exercise that shows the difference between session 1 and session 2 when you document properly.

🧪

Compound Effect Exercise Guide

Step-by-step guide to experiencing compounding firsthand

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📊 Before vs. After Comparison

Let's see what happens WITHOUT documentation vs. WITH documentation:

Session 2 Without Claude.md	Session 2 With Claude.md
You: "I have a to-do list app..." (2 min explaining)	You: "Add complete/incomplete toggle" (5 seconds)
Claude: "Let me look at your files..." (1 min analyzing)	Claude: Already knows structure from Claude.md (0 seconds)
Asks clarifying questions about structure	Immediately suggests approach matching your patterns
Time to start building: 3-4 minutes	Time to start building: 5 seconds

✅ The Math

3-4 minutes saved per session × 20 sessions = 60-80 minutes saved. Plus, Claude builds on your patterns instead of guessing. That's compounding.

🧪 The Exercise

Experience compounding yourself with this 15-minute exercise:

Session 1: Setup and Document (10 minutes)

Step 1: Create folder and navigate there
mkdir ~/Documents/Projects/compound-test && cd ~/Documents/Projects/compound-test

Step 2: Start Claude Code
claude

Step 3: Create simple to-do list
Prompt: "Create a simple to-do list web app. Single HTML file with inline CSS and JavaScript. Features: add tasks, display list. Keep it minimal."

Step 4: Test it works
Open index.html in browser. Add a few tasks.

Step 5: Create Claude.md
Prompt: "Create a Claude.md file documenting this project: what it does, tech stack, file structure, and any patterns you used."

Step 6: Exit
/exit

Session 2: Experience Compounding (5 minutes)

Step 1: Start Claude Code again
claude (in the same folder)

Step 2: Add feature immediately
Prompt: "Add the ability to mark tasks as complete with a checkbox."
Notice: You didn't explain the project. Claude already knows.

Step 3: Observe the difference
Claude built on existing code, matched patterns, asked zero setup questions.

Step 4: Test the new feature
Check boxes work, tasks can be marked complete.

Step 5: Update documentation
Prompt: "Update Claude.md with what we added: complete/incomplete functionality."

✨ The Difference

In session 2, you didn't explain the project. You didn't remind Claude what exists. Claude read the Claude.md file and picked up where you left off. That's compounding in action.

📈 What You'll Notice

As you use this workflow on real projects:

Session 1: Most time spent on setup and explanation
Session 2: Less explaining, more building
Session 3: Even less explaining, Claude knows the patterns
Session 5+: Claude anticipates what you need

The curve keeps improving. That's the compound advantage.

📊 Progression Metrics

Here's what typically happens over multiple sessions:

Session	Setup Time	What's Improving
Session 1	5-10 minutes	Explaining project, establishing patterns, creating structure
Session 2	2-3 minutes	Claude knows basics, you refine patterns
Session 3-4	30 seconds	Claude follows established patterns automatically
Session 5+	0 seconds	Claude anticipates needs, suggests improvements

⚡ Pro Tip: Track Your Own Progress

Keep a simple log noting how long setup takes each session. You'll see the curve flatten dramatically. By session 5, you're spending almost all your time building, not explaining.

🔄 The Virtuous Cycle

Good documentation → Better sessions → More learning → Better documentation → Even better sessions...

Each cycle makes the next one easier. This is why senior developers seem to work "faster"—they've built up compound knowledge over years.

With Claude Code and good documentation habits, you can experience similar compounding in weeks instead of years.

💡 Signs Compounding Is Working

You'll know compounding is happening when:

Compounding Success Indicators

Session 2 starts faster than Session 1

Claude builds features matching your existing patterns without being told

You spend less time explaining, more time building

Claude references decisions from Claude.md in its suggestions

You feel momentum building rather than starting from scratch

💡 Start Now, Not Later

The best time to start documenting was the beginning of your project. The second best time is now. Every session you document from here forward builds compound value.

📚 Resources & Further Reading

Compound Engineering (Every.to) The original methodology explaining the compound effect
Stop Coding and Start Planning (Every.to) Why planning accelerates everything

💭 Pause & Reflect

Before moving on, take a moment to consider:

Did you complete the exercise? What surprised you about Session 2?
Can you think of other areas in your work where "compounding" applies?
What would motivate you to maintain documentation discipline?

🎯 Module 3 Summary

In this module, you learned:

Key Learnings

Topic 3.1: The 4-step loop (Plan → Work → Assess → Compound)

Topic 3.2: How to create and maintain Claude.md

Topic 3.3: What to document and when

Topic 3.4: How compounding accelerates each session

Next: See it all work together in a complete example

These aren't just concepts—this is a complete workflow you can use on every project. The next topic shows it all in action with a real example from start to finish.

🎯 Almost There!

You understand the loop. Now let's see it in action through a complete example.

Topic 3.4 Complete • Up Next: 3.5 – Putting It All Together