DRIVER Help

What is DRIVER?

DRIVER is a methodology for building finance and quantitative analysis tools with AI assistance. It guides you from concept to completion through six stages.

The Philosophy: Cognition Mate (认知伙伴)

Core principle: 互帮互助，因缘合和，互相成就

What this means in practice:

• AI is not a tool you command — it's a thinking partner
• You bring vision and domain expertise; AI brings patterns and research
• Neither creates alone — meaning emerges from interaction
• The relationship is collaborative, not transactional

The Six Stages

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  DEFINE (开题调研)                                        │
│  "What are we building? What already exists?"            │
│  开题 = Open the topic  调研 = Research/investigate       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                           ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  REPRESENT                                               │
│  "How do we break this into buildable pieces?"          │
│  Roadmap, data model, sections                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                           ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  IMPLEMENT                                               │
│  "Build it, run it, show it"                            │
│  Show don't tell — code speaks louder than plans        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                           ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  VALIDATE                                                │
│  "Cross-check your instruments"                         │
│  Known answers, reasonableness, edges, AI blind spots   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                           ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  EVOLVE                                                  │
│  "Package the final deliverable"                        │
│  Self-contained export, ready for production            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                           ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  REFLECT (Optional)                                      │
│  "What did we learn?"                                   │
│  Capture tech stack lessons, especially failures        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Concepts

分头研究 (fēn tóu yán jiū)

"Parallel research" — Before building anything, research what exists. You focus on your unique needs; AI researches existing libraries, papers, implementations.

很可能已经有类似的了 = "There's probably something similar already"

Show Don't Tell

Don't explain what you'll build. Build it. Run it. Let them see it.

The fastest feedback loop: See result → Give feedback → Iterate → See updated result

KISS — Keep It Simple, Structured

• Simple and logical beats elegant and fancy
• Quants need clear data tables, not animations
• A 500-line Python script beats a 50-file TypeScript project

Available Skills

Recommended Stack for Finance/Quant

UI:           Streamlit (or Dash/Panel)
Backend:      FastAPI + Pydantic
Calculations: NumPy, Pandas, SciPy
Finance:      numpy-financial, QuantLib
Data Sources: See README for tiered recommendations
              LLM-Native: financialdatasets.ai, Alpha Vantage, EODHD
              MCP Available: Polygon.io, S&P Global/Kensho
              Free (verify): yfinance, FRED
Storage:      SQLite → PostgreSQL, Parquet files
Testing:      pytest + Hypothesis

Data Quality Matters: For LLM-driven development, use MCP-native data providers (financialdatasets.ai recommended). Free sources like yfinance may have gaps, delays, or inaccuracies.

Why Python over TypeScript for quant work:

• Vectorized calculations (NumPy) vs manual loops
• Pydantic catches validation errors at boundaries
• streamlit run app.py vs npm/webpack complexity
• Division by zero: np.divide(..., where=b!=0) vs manual guards everywhere

Example Projects

Getting Started

1. New project: /finance-driver:init or just describe what you want to build
2. Existing project: /finance-driver:status to see where you are
3. Stuck? Tell me the finance problem you're solving — we'll figure it out together

Iron Laws (Never Break These)