Specification Development Guidelines & Template

Specification Development Guidelines

Purpose

These guidelines ensure specifications are clear, consistent, and valuable for both human contributors and AI systems. They are designed to:
  1. Standardize Documentation: Create a consistent structure across all technical specifications
  2. Enable AI Assistance: Make specifications easily parsable by AI systems for better code generation and analysis
  3. Facilitate Maintenance: Make it easier to update and extend specifications over time
  4. Improve Onboarding: Help new contributors understand the project's technical landscape

When to Create a Specification

Create a specification when:
  • Introducing a new major feature or system component
  • Making significant architectural changes
  • Documenting complex workflows or processes
  • Establishing new patterns or standards
  • When multiple implementation approaches need evaluation

Specification Template

markdown 
---
title: Descriptive and Specific Title
lede: 1-2 sentence summary of what this specification covers and its primary goal.
date_authored_initial_draft: YYYY-MM-DD
date_authored_current_draft: YYYY-MM-DD
date_authored_final_draft: YYYY-MM-DD or empty
date_first_published: YYYY-MM-DD or empty
date_last_updated: YYYY-MM-DD or empty
at_semantic_version: 0.1.0
status: Draft | In-Review | Approved | Implemented | Deprecated
augmented_with: {{Tool used to assist with creation}}
category: Technical-Specification | RFC | Guidelines
date_created: YYYY-MM-DD
date_modified: YYYY-MM-DD
site_uuid: {{generate-uuid}}
tags: 
  - {{relevant-tag-1}}
  - {{relevant-tag-2}}
  - {{relevant-tag-3}}
authors:
  - {{Primary Author Name}}
image_prompt: {{Description of an appropriate image that represents the specification}}
banner_image: {{URL-to-relevant-image}}
portrait_image: {{optional-URL-to-portrait-image}}
---

# [Title]

## 1. Executive Summary
Briefly describe the problem being solved, the proposed solution, and its benefits. This should be understandable to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

## 2. Background & Motivation
- What problem does this solve?
- Why is this important now?
- What are the current limitations or pain points?

## 3. Goals & Non-Goals
### Goals
- Clear, specific, and measurable objectives
- What success looks like

### Non-Goals
- What's explicitly out of scope
- Related but separate concerns

## 4. Technical Design
### High-Level Architecture
- System diagrams (Mermaid recommended)
- Component interactions
- Data flow

### Detailed Design
- API specifications
- Data models
- Algorithms
- Security considerations
- Performance implications

### Error Handling
- Expected error cases
- Recovery strategies
- Logging and monitoring

## 5. Implementation Plan
### Phases
1. **Phase 1**: Core functionality
2. **Phase 2**: Extended features
3. **Phase 3**: Optimization and polish

### Dependencies
- Internal/external systems
- Required resources

### Testing Strategy
- Unit tests
- Integration tests
- Performance tests

## 6. Alternatives Considered
- Other approaches that were considered
- Why they weren't chosen
- Trade-offs made

## 7. Open Questions
- Unresolved decisions
- Areas needing further research

## 8. Appendix
### Glossary
### References
### Revision History

Best Practices

For Humans

  1. Be Precise: Use clear, unambiguous language
  2. Use Visuals: Include diagrams for complex systems
  3. Link to Code: Reference specific files and line numbers when possible
  4. Keep It Updated: Update the specification as the implementation evolves
  5. Review Process: Have at least one other person review before finalizing

For AI Prompts

When working with AI to generate or update specifications:
  1. Provide Context: Include relevant background information
  2. Be Specific: Clearly define the scope and requirements
  3. Use Examples: Provide examples of similar specifications
  4. Iterate: Review and refine AI-generated content
  5. Verify: Always validate technical details against the codebase

Version Control

  • Use semantic versioning for specifications
  • Update the status field as the specification progresses
  • Keep a changelog of significant updates

Review Process

  1. Draft: Initial creation and internal review
  2. In-Review: Open for team feedback
  3. Approved: Ready for implementation
  4. Implemented: Feature is complete
  5. Deprecated: No longer current but kept for reference

Examples

For reference, see these well-structured specifications:

Template Usage Instructions

  1. Copy the template into a new file in the appropriate directory
  2. Fill in the frontmatter with accurate metadata
  3. Replace placeholder content with your specification
  4. Delete or modify sections as needed for your specific case
  5. Update the status as the specification progresses

Maintenance

  • Assign an owner to each specification
  • Review specifications periodically for accuracy
  • Archive or update deprecated specifications