Topic: Foundations

A focused archive of Foundations articles for spec-first teams.

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OpenSpec, Superpowers, and Spec Kit: SDD Patterns

Compare OpenSpec, Superpowers, and GitHub Spec Kit through the practical SDD patterns they share: specs, plans, tasks, tests, review gates, and evidence.

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Refund Example: Vibe vs Spec Coding

Same order refund feature built two ways — vibe coding ships fast but drowns in edge-case bugs,…

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Acceptance Criteria Examples You Can Copy

20 real-world acceptance criteria examples in Given/When/Then format covering authentication, e-commerce, APIs, data processing, payments, and notifications.

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Technical Spec Template, Examples, and Generator

How to write a technical specification: a complete template, real-world walkthrough, section-by-section guidance, and a free online generator to draft your own.

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Building a Test Harness for API Services

A practical guide to building test harness infrastructure for backend API services — from fixtures and mocks to contract tests and CI integration,…

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Superpowers for Spec-First AI Coding

Superpowers is an open-source framework that enforces spec-first discipline on AI coding agents.

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Backward Compatibility Specs and Deprecation Paths

Define backward compatibility rules for API specs, including deprecation timelines, migration paths, Sunset headers, and breaking-change review.

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Database Schema Specs Before Migrations

Define database schemas before writing migrations, including columns, constraints, indexes, API alignment, and rollout order.

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AI Coding Prompts That Follow Specs

AI coding tools drift without constraints — adding fields, renaming functions, expanding scope.

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AI Coding Governance with Spec-Driven Prompts

Govern AI-assisted coding with spec-driven prompts: define scope, boundaries, evidence, and audit trails before generated code reaches review.

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Designing API Specs for Agentic Clients

Design API specs for LLM-powered agentic clients with discoverable fields, idempotency, dry-runs, semantic descriptions, and safe destructive actions.

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Spec Skills and Spec-First Delivery

See how Spec Skills fits spec-first delivery through constrained prompts, spec injection, boundary enforcement, and reviewable AI output.

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Quality Gates for AI-Assisted Development Specs

Quality gates for AI-assisted code: pre-prompt spec checks, diff review, test evidence, and human sign-off before generated code ships.

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How to Scope Non-Goals in Technical Specs

Write non-goals that stop scope creep, name deferred work, and give reviewers a clear boundary before implementation starts.

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How to Adopt Spec-First in a Team (30-Day Plan)

A 30-day adoption plan for Spec-First: choose the first workflow, set a review threshold, and measure whether rework drops.

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How to Write Testable Software Specifications

Turn software requirements into testable specs with observable outputs, failure paths, evidence types, and QA-ready acceptance criteria.

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PRD vs Technical Spec: What's the Difference?

PRD vs Technical Spec: What's the Difference becomes clearer when the team makes the hidden decisions visible before coding starts.

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What Is Spec-First Development? (Complete Guide)

What is spec-first development? A complete guide to surfacing hidden decisions about scope, contracts, edge cases, and acceptance criteria before coding starts.

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