📋 Spec-Driven Development

Philosophy: 55 minutes defining the problem, 5 minutes solving it.

1. The Problem

Most AI coding failures happen because the agent starts coding before understanding:

• What the user actually wants (vs. what they said)
• Edge cases and constraints
• Integration points and dependencies
• Success criteria

2. Execution Workflow

PHASE 1: INTERROGATION (No Code Allowed)
  ├─ "What is the ONE thing this must do?"
  ├─ "What does success look like? Be specific."
  ├─ "What are 3 things this must NOT do?"
  ├─ "Who/what does this interact with?"
  └─ "What's the simplest version that would be useful?"

PHASE 2: SPEC DOCUMENT
  └─ Write a design.md with:
     ├─ Goal (1 sentence)
     ├─ Requirements (numbered list)
     ├─ Non-Requirements (explicit exclusions)
     ├─ Architecture (how components connect)
     ├─ Edge Cases (what could go wrong)
     └─ Acceptance Criteria (how to verify)

PHASE 3: USER APPROVAL
  └─ Present spec for review
  └─ DO NOT proceed to code until approved

PHASE 4: IMPLEMENTATION
  └─ Code against the approved spec
  └─ Reference spec line items in commits

3. The Spec Template

# Design Spec: [Feature Name]

## Goal
[One sentence describing what this does]

## Requirements
1. [Must do X]
2. [Must handle Y]
3. [Must integrate with Z]

## Non-Requirements (Out of Scope)
- [Will NOT do A]
- [Will NOT support B]

## Architecture
[How the components connect — diagram or description]

## Edge Cases
- [What if input is empty?]
- [What if API is down?]
- [What if user does X instead of Y?]

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] [Testable condition 1]
- [ ] [Testable condition 2]

4. When to Use

• Any feature that touches >3 files
• Any task that takes >30 minutes
• Any time you catch yourself thinking "I'll figure it out as I go"

skill #engineering #planning #spec