Phase 1: The Tool Landscape · 20 min · Lovable · v0 · Bolt.new

The Decision Matrix

The right tool isn't the most powerful one. It's the one that matches your project, your comfort, and your timeline.

Hiring signal: What changes when you use this: you can pick the right tool for a project in 2 minutes instead of 2 hours — which means you start building sooner and waste less time on setup.

What you will learn

Use a decision matrix to pick the right tool category based on three factors
Understand when to switch tools mid-project
Recognize the cost of using the wrong tool category
Make tool decisions confidently without second-guessing

Your Mission

Apply a 3-factor decision matrix to your 3 scoped projects (from Phase 00, Lesson 03) and pick a specific tool for each. Output: tool_decision_record.md.

You need: Your project_scoping.md from Phase 00. A text editor.

Time: 15 minutes.

Step 1: Learn the Three Factors (3 min)

Factor 1: Project Complexity

Simple (landing page, calculator, list app) → Browser app builder
Medium (multiple pages, forms, some state) → Browser app builder first, switch to IDE-native if needed
Complex (existing codebase, multi-file features, backend) → Terminal agent or IDE-native

Factor 2: Deployment Needs

Need a live URL now → Browser app builder (built-in deploy)
Need local development first → Terminal agent or IDE-native
Need to deploy to a specific platform → Terminal agent or IDE-native

Factor 3: Technical Comfort

Browser-only, no terminal → Browser app builder
Basic terminal commands → IDE-native
Comfortable with terminal, git, project structure → Terminal agents

The cost of the wrong tool
Using a browser builder for a complex existing codebase: you can't import the project, you can't make targeted changes, you regenerate everything and lose existing work. Using a terminal agent for a simple landing page: you spend 30 minutes on setup when you could have deployed in 5 minutes. The matrix prevents both mistakes.

Unlock the full lesson

You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers Step 2: Apply the Matrix to Your 3 Projects (10 min), Project 1: [name], Project 2: [name], Project 3: [name], Step 3: Note When You'd Switch Tools (2 min), When I'd Switch Tools, You're Done — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.

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