Philosophy of SED
The foundational principles that drive specification-exact development
Core Slogans
"AI does not imagine. It executes."
"Spec is the contract. Spec is the code."
"No assumption. No improvisation. Only implementation."
Philosophy Summary
SED redefines the relationship between developers, AI, and specifications. Here's how each aspect contributes to the methodology:
| Category | Content |
|---|---|
| Philosophy | Spec is the truth. Development simply executes that truth. |
| AI's Role | Makes no judgments—executes the specification without interpretation. |
| Developer's Role | Devote energy to crafting complete, unambiguous specifications. |
| Quality Assurance | Testing and verification are fully automated from the specification. |
| Deliverable Traits | Consistent, verifiable, maintainable, and predictably high-quality. |
Key Philosophical Principles
Specification as Source of Truth
In SED, the specification is not mere documentation—it is the definitive blueprint from which all development flows. The specification is both contract and code.
- Specifications define exact implementation
- Code is a direct manifestation of specs
- Changes begin with spec updates
Elimination of Ambiguity
SED eliminates all room for interpretation. Every aspect of implementation must be explicitly defined, leaving nothing to AI inference.
- No assumptions or guessing allowed
- All details explicitly documented
- Ambiguous requirements are rejected
Predictable Outcomes
Given the same specification, AI will produce identical results every time. This predictability is fundamental to SED's reliability.
- Reproducible implementations
- Consistent results across runs
- Verifiable against specifications
Human-AI Collaboration
SED establishes clear boundaries: humans create specifications and make decisions, while AI executes implementations precisely.
- Humans provide creative direction
- AI provides execution precision
- Clear separation of responsibilities
Intellectual Property and Copyright
When development is conducted using publicly available SED specifications with AI assistance:
Copyright Ownership
The copyright of the resulting code belongs to the specification author, not to the AI.
Rationale
Since the AI strictly follows the specification without making creative decisions, the intellectual property derives from the specification itself.
Author Rights
The person who writes the specification is the creator of the work, regardless of who or what implements it.
This principle recognizes that in SED, the specification is the true creative work, and the implementation is merely its mechanical execution.
Best Practices
Begin with high-level storylines that describe user journeys and feature flows. These storylines provide context and help identify what needs to be specified in detail.
Recommendation: Write at least 100 storyline items before diving into detailed specifications.
Every code change must be reflected in specifications, and every specification update should trigger re-implementation. This synchronization ensures specifications remain the single source of truth.
Recommendation: Use version control for both code and specifications, and link commits to show traceability.
Don't begin development until specifications achieve a completeness score of 90 or higher. This threshold ensures sufficient detail for precise AI implementation.
Recommendation: Use spec score command regularly to track specification completeness.
Specifications must include not just code structure, but also comments, styling, user-facing text, and translations. Every pixel, word, and comment should be part of the specification.
Recommendation: Create separate specification files for code, design, text, and internationalization.
Testing specifications should be the most detailed section. Define unit tests, integration tests, E2E tests, performance criteria, and security requirements with precision.
Recommendation: Aim for minimum 80% code coverage and document all test scenarios in specifications.
Break large specifications into logical modules. Provide AI with only the relevant specification fragment for each development stage to manage token budgets effectively.
Recommendation: Use the dependencies field in YAML headers to link related specifications.
Core Message
SED transforms AI from an unpredictable interpreter into a precise implementation tool. By eliminating all ambiguity through complete, detailed specifications, we achieve consistent, reproducible, and maintainable software development.