Relational Tech Process Guide

# The Builder's Spiral

A practice for building technology that deepens community — rooted in place, shaped by neighbors.

Software tools emerge from relationships, conversations, and dreams in the neighborhood.

The Idea

Building technology is a relational practice, not a technical one.

This guide is for people who want to build technology that grows from their neighborhood — not from a product roadmap. The process is not linear. It's a spiral. Each time around, you widen your circle of relationships and deepen your understanding of what your community actually needs.

The tools you build are not the point. They are artifacts of something more important: the conversations you have, the trust you earn, the dreams you share with the people around you. Software is what emerges when a neighborhood imagines its own future.

The 90 / 10 Rhythm

90% of your time is spent in community — listening, being present, reflecting, dreaming alongside your neighbors. 10% is the actual building. The spiral teaches you that these aren't separate activities. The 90% is what gives the 10% its meaning and direction.

How the Spiral Works

Instead of a step-by-step checklist, think of the build process as a series of expanding circles. You start close — with yourself and the people nearest to you. As you listen, imagine, and create together, the circle naturally widens. More voices join. More dreams surface. The tool you build gets more rooted in the real life of the place.

Each turn of the spiral passes through the same essential movements — relating, listening, dreaming, shaping, building, and sharing — but at a wider scale and with deeper understanding. Nothing is wasted. Every conversation feeds the next turn. Every small tool planted in the community becomes a seed for the next imagination.

*"The process of building is itself relational. The 90% is not overhead — it's the whole point."*

The Six Movements

Each turn of the spiral passes through these movements.

1. Listen & Be Present — Innermost Circle · 90%

The spiral begins where you are — in your neighborhood, in relationship. Be porous. Walk the block. Sit on porches. Show up at gatherings, schools, churches, barbershops, corner stores. Let the place teach you what it needs. This isn't preparation for the work. This is the work. Spend the vast majority of your time here. Let the rhythms of the neighborhood become your rhythms.

2. Notice & Name — Second Circle · 90%

What surfaces from being present? Dreams, needs, aspirations, frustrations, joys. Write them down — not as problems to solve, but as seeds to tend. Don't force anything into a format yet. These notes are gifts from the relationships you're building. They carry the wisdom of the neighborhood.

3. Imagine Together — Third Circle · 90%

Share those seeds with the people around you. What tools, spaces, or practices could make the neighborhood's vision more present in daily life? This is where dreaming becomes communal — the imagination doesn't belong to one person, it belongs to the relationships between people. What could we build, right here, with these neighbors, that would help us live more fully into the future we see?

4. Remix in the Studio — Fourth Circle · The 10% Begins

Bring your shared vision to the Relational Tech Studio at studio.relationaltechproject.org. Here you mix your neighborhood's dreams with stories, components, and patterns from relational tech builders across the country. You're not starting from scratch — you're remixing a commons. The Studio sidekick helps you shape your idea into a buildable prompt that carries your place, your culture, your aesthetic.

5. Shape & Build — Fifth Circle · 10%

Work with AI tools to sharpen your prompt — is it clear enough, specific enough, rooted enough for a builder like Lovable or Dyad to bring to life? Then build the thing. Open your builder of choice in Plan mode, walk through the plan, and build. Keep it small. Keep it local. Keep it true to the vision that came from the neighborhood.

6. Share & Spiral Outward — Outermost Circle · Back to 90%

Put the tool in people's hands. Share it on porches and at kitchen tables. Watch how it lives in the neighborhood. Listen again — now with something tangible between you. New conversations emerge. New dreams surface. The circle of people involved grows wider. The relationships deepen. And the spiral continues: you carry everything you've learned into the next turn, building on a wider and deeper foundation.

Every Turn Widens the Circle

Each time you move through the spiral, something has changed. You know more people. More people know you. The dreams are sharper. The tools are more rooted. The trust is deeper.

The spiral doesn't have an end point. It's a practice — like gardening, like neighboring, like showing up. The software you build is not the goal. It's a gift that comes from living in community and paying attention to what wants to emerge.

Remember: 90% is listening, being present, and living in community.

Trust the Process: The tools will come. They emerge from the relationships.

Start Your Spiral

1. Walk your neighborhood this week. Just listen.
2. Write down what surfaces — dreams, needs, possibilities.
3. Share those notes with someone you trust in the community.
4. When you're ready, bring your idea to the Studio.

Visit the Relational Tech Studio at studio.relationaltechproject.org to begin.

Remix this tool

• Live site: /Builders_Guide_RTP.pdf
• Studio library page: https://studio.relationaltechproject.org/library?item=9939c9e0-5652-4837-bb3b-f9e1b9ba8d12

Lineage

Created by Relational Tech Project.

Details

• creator name: Relational Tech Project
• tool category: tech_for_building