Specification Drafting
The Architect agent takes the impact analysis and produces a detailed specification. This includes proposed interfaces, data models, error handling strategy, and testable acceptance criteria. The spec serves as a contract between what was planned and what gets built, making it easy to verify that the implementation matches the design.
How it works
The Architect agent synthesizes the impact analysis with your project's existing patterns and architectural decisions (pulled from Knowz vaults if connected). It considers alternatives, documents trade-offs, and produces a specification with clear interfaces, data flow diagrams, error handling rules, and numbered acceptance criteria. Each criterion becomes a test in the next phase. The spec is written to a file in your project's specs directory for review.
Specification document showing interfaces and acceptance criteria
Screenshot coming soon
Why it matters
Without a specification, AI-generated code often makes arbitrary design decisions that conflict with your existing architecture. The spec phase forces explicit design decisions and creates a reviewable artifact. If you disagree with the approach, you can adjust the spec before any code is written -- much cheaper than rewriting after implementation. Specs also serve as living documentation that stays in your repo.
Comparison of ad-hoc AI code vs spec-driven implementation
Screenshot coming soon
Related Features
Impact Analysis
An analyst agent examines your codebase and identifies which files and components will be affected before code is written.
Test-First Building
A builder agent writes tests before code, ensuring every requirement is verified.
Architect
Specification drafting: designs solutions, considers alternatives, documents verification criteria.