ADU feasibility first-pass
Rung 8 of 10 · Cognitive verifier
1 · Learn the move · Cognitive verifier
An ADU (accessory dwelling unit) question is exciting and dangerous: owners hear "rental income" and want a yes. The cognitive verifier forces the AI to state its own assumptions and check them before answering, so setbacks, zoning, cost, and rent all get marked UNKNOWN instead of guessed. This is a first-pass to organize the question, never a permit determination.
List your assumptions, mark every zoning and cost figure UNKNOWN, then give a feasibility first-pass.
2 · Your turn — you write the prompt
A client with a 6,000 sqft lot asks whether they can add a backyard ADU and rent it out. You know the lot size and the city name; you do not know setbacks, the zoning code, permit fees, build cost, or achievable rent. Write a prompt that produces an honest first-pass without inventing any of those numbers.
Remember: the AI sees only your prompt — not this page. If the situation isn't in your prompt, it doesn't exist.
Optional — these shape the output when you run your prompt below, not your score.