Spec-Driven Development
/spɛk ˈdrɪvən dɪˈvɛləpmənt/
Also known as: SDD, spec-first agent development
technicalintermediate
What is Spec-Driven Development?
Spec-driven development has agents write a specification before any code, and has humans approve it. The spec becomes the reviewable artifact that implementation agents work against, so people review intent instead of large diffs.
The Two-Spec Pattern
Warp's factory uses two documents for complex issues:
- Product spec: The product invariants the change must satisfy.
- Technical spec: The architecture and shape of the code.
A human reviews the spec, then an implementation agent builds against it in a cloud sandbox. Simple issues skip this step and go straight to implementation.
Why It Matters
Code review is the most painful step in agent-driven development. Moving human attention to the spec, where judgment matters most, keeps people in control while agents handle the volume.