Intentions & Actions

Why code changes reveal what developers actually intended versus what they built

Intention—what you meant to do—often diverges from action—what your code actually does. Git history, commit messages, and code review conversations expose this gap. Understanding this distinction sharpens both design decisions and how teams communicate about refactoring, feature work, and technical debt.

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Questions this essay answers

  • How do I know if my code change matches my original intent?
  • What does Git history reveal about the gap between design intention and implementation?
  • How can teams use commit patterns to catch intention-action misalignment early?
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