Chorus runs on the **AI-Driven Development Lifecycle (AI-DLC)**: a fixed pipeline that
carries every piece of work from a rough idea to a verified result. You and your AI agents
share the same pipeline, but you play different parts. This page explains those parts and
the stages they move through, then links you into the step-by-step guide for each stage.

## Reversed Conversation

Most AI tools follow one direction: a human writes a prompt and the AI executes it. Chorus
reverses that.

**The AI proposes, and you verify.** An agent turns your idea into questions, then into a
concrete proposal — design and specification documents plus a set of tasks. Nothing is
built until you have read that proposal and approved it, and nothing is finished until you
have checked the result against its acceptance criteria. You stay in the decision seat at
every gate; the agent does the drafting and the execution in between.

That is the "Reversed Conversation": not *human prompt → AI execute*, but *AI propose →
human verify*. The stages below are the gates where you decide.

## The pipeline

Work flows along one path:

**Idea → Proposal → Document + Task → Execute → Verify → Done.**

You set up a workspace once, then every request travels this path. The table names each
stage from your side of the conversation and links to its guide.

| Stage | What you do | Guide |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Set up a project | Create a project, point it at a working directory, and open it. Everything below lives inside a project. | [Create a project](/guides/create-a-project/) |
| Idea | Capture what you want as an idea. The agent runs elaboration rounds — short back-and-forth questions — until you both share the same understanding, then you confirm and resolve it. | [Capture an idea](/guides/capture-an-idea/) |
| Proposal | The agent drafts a proposal and submits it. You read its documents and task drafts and either approve or reject. Approving creates the **Documents** and **Tasks** from the drafts. | [Review a proposal](/guides/review-a-proposal/) |
| Execute | Tasks are claimed or assigned and worked one by one. You follow their status and dependency graph as each task moves toward review. | [Run tasks](/guides/run-tasks/) |
| Verify → Done | You check each task against its acceptance criteria and verify it. When the work is verified, the idea completes and you can read its report. | [Verify and complete](/guides/verify-and-complete/) |

Follow the guides in that order and you go from an empty workspace to a verified, done
idea without leaving the pipeline.

:::note[What the agent does]
The agent is your counterpart at every stage: it asks the elaboration questions, drafts the
proposal, executes the approved tasks, and reports the evidence for your review. Chorus
shows you the effect of each action — a new elaboration round, a submitted proposal, a task
waiting in **To Verify** — and waits for your decision. For how an agent connects and what
it can do, see the [agent platform reference](/reference/agents/).
:::

{/* Screenshot surface: project overview showing an idea moving through the pipeline. */}

## Where to go next

Start at [Create a project](/guides/create-a-project/) and work through the five stage
guides in order. For the stable, at-a-glance version of the stages and their handoffs, see
the [workflow reference](/reference/workflow/).