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Process Guide

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Step-by-step walkthrough of the three-phase spec-driven development workflow.

In This Section

  • Requirements Phase - Gathering and structuring requirements using EARS format
  • Design Phase - Creating comprehensive design documents with research
  • Tasks Phase - Breaking down design into actionable coding tasks
  • Change Management - Managing spec evolution and handling discovered requirements

The Three-Phase Workflow

stateDiagram-v2
  [*] --> Requirements : Start with user needs
  Requirements --> Design : Requirements approved
  Design --> Tasks : Design approved
  Tasks --> [*] : Ready for implementation

  Requirements --> Requirements : Iterate based on feedback
  Design --> Design : Refine design
  Tasks --> Tasks : Adjust task breakdown

Each phase builds upon the previous one, with explicit approval gates to ensure quality and alignment before proceeding.

Phase 1: Requirements Gathering

Purpose: Transform vague feature ideas into clear, testable requirements

Key Activities:

  • Capture user stories that express value and purpose
  • Define acceptance criteria using EARS (Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax)
  • Identify edge cases and constraints
  • Validate completeness and feasibility

Benefits:

  • Ensures all stakeholders understand what's being built
  • Provides clear success criteria for implementation
  • Reduces scope creep and feature drift
  • Creates a foundation for testing and validation

Phase 2: Technical Design

Purpose: Create a comprehensive technical plan for implementation

Key Activities:

  • Research technical approaches and constraints
  • Define system architecture and component interactions
  • Specify data models and interfaces
  • Plan error handling and testing strategies

Benefits:

  • Identifies technical challenges before coding begins
  • Enables better estimation and resource planning
  • Provides a roadmap for implementation
  • Documents design decisions and their rationale

Phase 3: Task Planning

Purpose: Break down the design into actionable, sequential implementation steps

Key Activities:

  • Convert design elements into specific coding tasks
  • Sequence tasks to enable incremental progress
  • Define clear objectives and completion criteria
  • Reference requirements to ensure traceability

Benefits:

  • Makes large features manageable through decomposition
  • Enables parallel work and better progress tracking
  • Reduces cognitive load during implementation
  • Facilitates code review and quality assurance

Related Content

Prerequisites

Next Steps

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