spec-first

To enforce an RFC and ADR review workflow before coding, guide teams to locate, read, and summarize canonical specifications before implementation begins. This approach prevents drift from canonical designs by ensuring engineering alignment with governance documents and tracking open questions.

A specs-first approach in software engineering requires teams to read and understand official specifications before implementing any feature. It ensures alignment with governance documents like RFCs and ADRs, preventing drift from canonical designs during feature development and architecture changes.

To make sure feature development aligns with architecture decisions, summarize key requirements and constraints from canonical ADRs before starting implementation. This documented workflow captures ambiguities and decisions for traceability, ensuring engineering teams remain aligned with governance documents.

Yes, you can use a specs-first workflow for tracking open questions and ambiguities. The process captures unresolved decisions and constraints during specification summarization, providing traceability and enabling future review of architectural choices and design decisions throughout development.

No, you do not need external tools to manage specifications and governance documents. The specs-first workflow requires no external tools beyond standard project docs, relying entirely on existing RFCs, ADRs, and terminology documentation to guide implementation and alignment.