Spec Driven Development
Spec-driven development (SDD or SDDD) resolves the technical debt caused by "vibe coding"—the process of throwing vague prompts at an AI and hoping for the best—by introducing a structured, engineering-first approach to AI-assisted coding. Vibe coding often leads to "AI slop," characterized by inconsistent logic, security vulnerabilities, and a total lack of documentation.
SDD addresses this debt through the following mechanisms:
1. Establishing a "Source of Truth"
In vibe coding, the code itself is the only record of intent, and it often drifts from original requirements. SDD flips this relationship: the specification becomes the source of truth, and the code is treated as a derivative artifact that can be regenerated from that spec.
• Traceability: Every line of code generated can be traced back to a high-level requirement or user story, preventing the "black box" effect of random prompting.
• Version Control: Specs are typically stored as simple Markdown files in Git alongside the code, ensuring they are version-controlled and peer-reviewable.
2. Eliminating Context Collapse
A major source of technical debt in vibe coding is "context loss," where the AI forgets decisions made in previous sessions, leading to fragmented or duplicative code.
• Persistent Plans: SDD uses structured task lists and design documents to keep context alive across multiple days and between different team members.
• Agentic Orchestration: Frameworks like the BMAD method use specialized AI agents (e.g., an Analyst, Architect, and QA Engineer) to manage different parts of the lifecycle, ensuring that the "why" behind a feature is preserved and the context is "infused" at every step.
3. Enforcing Standards via Governance
Vibe coding frequently ignores architectural and security standards because the AI is optimized primarily for functionality.
• Constitution Files: Tools like GitHub Spec Kit utilize a "Constitution" file—a set of non-negotiable rules for code quality, security policies, and performance requirements that the AI is literally bound by.
• Formal Verification: SDD can integrate "Type III" systems that translate prompts into verifiable constraints, catching subtle logic flaws and security "timebombs" at compile time rather than in production.
4. Replacing Documentation Gaps
Vibe coding produces "zero documentation," making it nearly impossible for human developers to maintain the AI-generated code once the original session is closed.
• Auto-generated Evidence: SDD platforms automatically generate product requirement documents (PRDs), data schemas, and sequence diagrams before any code is written.
• Compliance & Audit: For regulated industries like telecoms, this provides a built-in audit trail, reducing the need for expensive manual audits and emergency remediation.
5. Integrating Verification (TDD)
While vibe coding is purely about code generation, SDD emphasizes Test-Driven Development (TDD).
• Validation Checkpoints: Humans validate the spec and the plan before the AI implements the code.
• Automated Testing: AI agents generate unit and integration tests based on the spec first; the task is only considered "done" once the code passes these tests, preventing the accumulation of "broken" code paths.
Summary of Key Tools
To use a metaphor, vibe coding is like hiring a contractor who starts swinging a hammer based on a verbal description, leading to a house with mismatched windows and no blueprint. Spec-driven development is the architect who draws the plans and the inspector who signs off on every phase, ensuring the final structure is exactly what was intended and safe to inhabit.