Type: url
Original: https://felipefontoura.com/articles/what-is-spec-driven-development
Status: generated
Summary
A practitioner’s guide to spec-driven development (SDD) that defines it as writing and approving a structured specification before any code is generated, with the spec remaining the source of truth the AI agent builds from, and argues that the spec serves as the external memory an amnesiac agent lacks. It lays out four phases (requirements, design, tasks, implementation) separated by human approval gates, works through a complete payment-charge spec, recommends writing functional requirements in the EARS format and stating negative scope, and discusses levels of spec rigor, how SDD differs from TDD, BDD, vibe coding and waterfall, and when a spec is not worth writing.