Spec-Driven Development Is Not Waterfall: Clarifying a Common Misconception
By
Marc Brooker
Summary
The article addresses a common misconception that spec-driven development (SDD) is equivalent to waterfall methodology. The author argues that SDD is not about creating rigid, upfront specifications, but rather about making specifications explicit, versioned, living artifacts that guide implementation. The key distinction is "pulling designs up" rather than "pulling designs up-front" — specifications evolve alongside the software rather than being static documents created before development begins.
Source
Key quotes
· 3 pulledSpecification driven development isn't about pulling designs up-front, it's about pulling designs up.
Making specifications explicit, versioned, living artifacts that the implementation of the software flows from, rather than static artifacts.
This distinction is important, because...
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