A spec-first workflow that turns a one-line feature request into a plan, design doc, and task breakdown before any code is written, so scope gets settled up front instead of mid-implementation.
Most of the rework on my teams came from scope that wasn't settled until someone was already mid-implementation. This is the fix: a spec-first workflow that interviews the developer for goals, constraints, and acceptance criteria, then generates a spec the rest of the team works from — before any code gets written.
It pulls context from code search and existing docs, so the design doc references the actual codebase instead of starting from a blank page.
Highlights
- Interviews the developer for goals, constraints, and acceptance criteria
- Generates a plan, design doc, and task breakdown from that interview
- Pulls in code search and docs so the spec references the real codebase
- The spec doubles as the reference doc when someone picks the work up later
The payoff
Settling scope up front means the expensive questions get answered while they're still cheap to answer. Estimates come from explicit acceptance criteria instead of gut feel, PRs get reviewed against an agreed spec instead of a moving target, and the doc keeps working as reference after the feature ships. It's part of the Credit Karma Frontend Platform tooling.