What is Prompt Order Theory™?
Prompt Order Theory™ is a proprietary teaching framework created by Dr. Michael Huwe for building AI apps with no-code AI builders like Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Cursor, v0, and Base44. It defines the correct dependency order for the 23 named phases every real production app moves through — from brand and vision all the way to post-launch optimization.
The rule is deceptively simple: one prompt = one step. Test after each. Follow the order and your builder stops inventing fake plumbing, your credit spend drops, and your app actually stays stable when you add the next feature.
The 23 named steps, in order
- 1FoundationMike™Identity and branding — name, logo, favicon, colors, mission, audience, first landing page
- 2VisionMike™Product constitution — primary success event, workflow, business rules, V1/V2 roadmap
- 3GuardrailMike™Permanent development rules the AI must follow forever
- 4VerifyMike™Verify the AI understands before any building begins
- 5SentinelMike™Always-on prompt protection against every prior decision
- 6ConversionMike™Landing-page conversion system — hooks, CTAs, trust, pricing, objections
- 7SEOMike™Search and discovery foundation across the public pages
- 8AuthMike™Authentication, user identity, sessions, roles, protected routes
- 9DataMike™Database architecture — core object, tables, relationships, ownership
- 10SecureMike™Row Level Security and data protection on the tables that now exist
- 11CRUDMike™Complete, secure create / read / update / delete lifecycle
- 12APIMike™AI and third-party API architecture — keys, errors, fallbacks, costs
- 13PaymentMike™Payments, subscriptions, webhooks and entitlements
- 14HappyPathMike™The primary success event, built end to end
- 15FeatureMike™Remaining Version 1 features, one at a time, on existing architecture
- 16NavigationMike™Final information architecture once the features exist
- 17DashboardMike™User workspace and decision center
- 18AdminMike™Administration and Stability Center across the complete app
- 19GuideMike™User documentation, help, FAQs and contextual guidance
- 20PWAMike™Installation and offline foundation — manifest, icons, install badge
- 21LaunchMike™Launch infrastructure and compliance — legal, contact, readiness
- 22TestMike™Complete application verification as a real user
- 23OptimizeMike™Evidence-based improvement, then re-test before release
Prompt Order Theory™ is a proprietary teaching framework by MikeKnows AI Apps. Step numbers are stable — they never renumber, so you can reference "Step 8 (AuthMike™)" for the life of your project.
Every prompt lands on a foundation the previous step already built. No fake plumbing.
You stop paying the AI to rebuild features it never should have built first.
Security (Step 10) comes right after the database — before any feature can leak the wrong user's info.
Frequently asked questions
What is Prompt Order Theory™?+
Prompt Order Theory™ is a 23-step ordered framework for building AI apps with no-code AI builders (Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Cursor, v0). Each step has a name, a step number, and a specific job. Building in this order dramatically reduces bugs, wasted AI credits, and rework because dependencies are set up before the features that need them.
Why does prompt order matter when building AI apps?+
AI builders happily let you prompt features in any order — but downstream steps depend on upstream ones. If you prompt payments before auth, or a UI before its database schema, the AI invents fake plumbing and you spend credits rebuilding. Prompt Order Theory™ enforces the correct dependency order so each prompt lands on a stable foundation.
What are the 23 steps of Prompt Order Theory™?+
The 23 steps, in order: FoundationMike™ (brand), VisionMike™ (constitution), GuardrailMike™ (dev rules), VerifyMike™ (comprehension check), SentinelMike™ (ongoing consistency), LandingMike™ (landing page), ConversionMike™ (CTAs + pricing), SEOMike™ (SEO foundation), AuthMike™ (auth), SecureMike™ (RLS + protection), DataMike™ (schema), CRUDMike™ (record lifecycle), HappyPathMike™ (core workflow), NavigationMike™ (menus + routing), DashboardMike™ (workspace), APIMike™ (integrations), AdminMike™ (admin center), Secondary Features & Integrations, GuideMike™ (docs + onboarding), PWA Foundation, LaunchMike™ (release), TestMike™ (QA), and OptimizeMike™ (post-launch polish). The named prompts are Mike's proprietary implementations sold in the Prompt Vault — the internals aren't published.
Who created Prompt Order Theory™?+
Prompt Order Theory™ was created by Dr. Michael Huwe (MikeKnows) as the teaching framework behind the MikeKnows AI Apps course. It is proprietary and was developed after shipping multiple live AI apps with no traditional coding background.
Can I use Prompt Order Theory™ with Lovable, Bolt, Replit, or Cursor?+
Yes. Prompt Order Theory™ is builder-agnostic. The 23 steps map to any modern AI app builder — Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Cursor, v0, Base44, Rork — because every one of them has the same underlying dependencies (brand → shell → auth → data → security → features → payments → launch).
What is the single most important rule?+
One prompt = one step. Test between each. If you batch multiple steps into one prompt, the AI cuts corners and you lose the ability to isolate the bug.
Learn the exact prompt for every step
The full MikeKnows course walks through every one of the 23 steps with the exact fill-in-the-blank prompt, what to check after, and how to recover if the AI drifts. One payment, 3 months of full access.