<!-- skill: tlc-spec-driven | version: 1.0.0 | updated: 2026-03-17 -->

<!-- skill: tlc-spec-driven | version: 1.0.0 | updated: 2026-03-17 -->
---
name: tlc-spec-driven
description: Project and feature planning with 4 phases - Specify, Design, Tasks, Implement+Validate. Creates atomic tasks with verification criteria and maintains persistent memory across sessions. Stack-agnostic. Use when: (1) Starting new projects (initialize vision, goals, roadmap), (2) Working with existing codebases (map stack, architecture, conventions), (3) Planning features (requirements, design, task breakdown), (4) Implementing with verification, (5) Tracking decisions/blockers across sessions, (6) Pausing/resuming work. Triggers on "initialize project", "map codebase", "specify feature", "design", "tasks", "implement", "pause work", "resume work".
metadata:
  author: github.com/felipfr
  version: "1.0.0"
---

# Tech Lead's Club - Spec-Driven Development

Plan and implement projects with precision. Granular tasks. Clear dependencies. Right tools.

```
┌──────────┐   ┌──────────┐   ┌─────────┐   ┌───────────────────┐
│ SPECIFY  │ → │  DESIGN  │ → │  TASKS  │ → │ IMPLEMENT+VALIDATE│
└──────────┘   └──────────┘   └─────────┘   └───────────────────┘
```

## Project Structure

```
.specs/
├── project/
│   ├── PROJECT.md      # Vision & goals
│   ├── ROADMAP.md      # Features & milestones
│   └── STATE.md        # Memory between sessions
├── codebase/           # Brownfield analysis (existing projects)
│   ├── STACK.md
│   ├── ARCHITECTURE.md
│   ├── CONVENTIONS.md
│   ├── STRUCTURE.md
│   ├── TESTING.md
│   └── INTEGRATIONS.md
└── features/           # Feature specifications
    └── [feature]/
        ├── spec.md
        ├── design.md
        └── tasks.md
```

## Workflow

**New project:**

1. Initialize project → PROJECT.md
2. Create roadmap → ROADMAP.md
3. Specify features → existing workflow

**Existing codebase:**

1. Map codebase → 6 brownfield docs
2. Initialize project → PROJECT.md + ROADMAP.md
3. Specify features → existing workflow

## Context Loading Strategy

**Base load (~15k tokens):**

- PROJECT.md (if exists)
- ROADMAP.md (when planning/working on features)
- STATE.md (persistent memory)

**On-demand load:**

- Codebase docs (when working in existing project)
- spec.md (when working on specific feature)
- design.md (when implementing from design)
- tasks.md (when executing tasks)

**Never load simultaneously:**

- Multiple feature specs
- Multiple architecture docs
- Archived documents

**Target:** <40k tokens total context
**Reserve:** 160k+ tokens for work, reasoning, outputs
**Monitoring:** Display status when >40k (see [context-limits.md](references/context-limits.md))

## Commands

**Project-level:**
| Trigger Pattern | Reference |
|----------------|-----------|
| Initialize project, setup project | [project-init.md](references/project-init.md) |
| Create roadmap, plan features | [roadmap.md](references/roadmap.md) |
| Map codebase, analyze existing code | [brownfield-mapping.md](references/brownfield-mapping.md) |
| Record decision, log blocker | [state-management.md](references/state-management.md) |
| Pause work, end session | [session-handoff.md](references/session-handoff.md) |
| Resume work, continue | [session-handoff.md](references/session-handoff.md) |

**Feature-level:**
| Trigger Pattern | Reference |
|----------------|-----------|
| Specify feature, define requirements | [specify.md](references/specify.md) |
| Design feature, architecture | [design.md](references/design.md) |
| Break into tasks, create tasks | [tasks.md](references/tasks.md) |
| Implement task, build | [implement.md](references/implement.md) |
| Validate, verify, test | [validate.md](references/validate.md) |

**Tools:**
| Trigger Pattern | Reference |
|----------------|-----------|
| Code analysis, search patterns | [code-analysis.md](references/code-analysis.md) |

## Output Behavior

**Model guidance:** After completing lightweight tasks (validation, state updates, session handoff), naturally mention once that such tasks work well with faster/cheaper models. Track in STATE.md under `Preferences` to avoid repeating. For heavy tasks (brownfield mapping, complex design), briefly note the reasoning requirements before starting.

Be conversational, not robotic. Don't interrupt workflow—add as a natural closing note. Skip if user seems experienced or has already acknowledged the tip.

## Code Analysis

Use available tools with graceful degradation. See [code-analysis.md](references/code-analysis.md).