spec-driven development

[ spek-DRIV-uhn dih-VEL-uhp-muhnt ]noun

Writing the plan down properly first and treating it as the real thing, with the code as something generated from it and checked against it.

Explanation

Usually shortened to SDD and done in four steps: write the spec, plan it, break it into tasks, build it, with a person checking at each step. It caught on because AI writes code well and guesses what you meant badly.

Related words

• EARS notation — Five fill-in-the-blank sentence shapes that turn a vague request into something you can actually test.
• spec-code drift — What builds up when the code keeps changing and the written plan does not.
• RPI — Research, Plan, Implement: the AI reads the code and writes a plan first, and is not allowed to change anything until you say go.