A structured methodology for spec-driven development with AI agents, emphasizing disciplined collaboration over automation. Implemented as portable markdown documents and built on the premise that better outcomes come from deliberately coupling human judgment with agent capability, not separating them through delegation. Task execution is intentionally single-threaded — work scoped into discrete actions that are small enough to review meaningfully, with active, hands-on developer involvement creating a tight feedback loop that leverages complementary strengths, favoring iterative refinement and co-development over raw throughput. The framework unifies project organization, context, and execution in a single, stack-agnostic system.
[key features]
Developers adopt a preset directory of templates into their project, customize foundational documents for their stack and goals, then utilize structured, customizable workflows from requirements through task execution — with session protocols maintaining continuity across context boundaries.
- Constitutional documents anchoring project vision, architecture, and development standards
- Core workflow: PRD generation → task breakdown → single-threaded execution, review, and refinement
- Session initialization and handoff protocols for agent orientation and context preservation
- Tiered quality gate scaffolding scoped from per-subtask checks to full-suite validation
- Structured work organization: feature, technical, and incidental tracks with lifecycle management
- Archival protocols preserving completed work as searchable, structured project history
[implementation details]
Document Architecture
- Three-tier knowledge system: constitutional documents (stable foundation), ADRs and strategy guides (patterns evolved from real use), and active work tracking (tasks, session context, notes)
- Layered agent configuration: central reference card extended by agent-specific files, with multi-agent slash commands and skills for low-friction workflow invocation
Workflow & Execution
- Single-subtask protocol with explicit completion criteria and approval gates between each action
- Supplemental workflows covering session initialization and handoff, atomic commits, incidental work and branch management, documentation maintenance and archival, and tiered pre-merge code review
Work Management
- GTD-inspired capture and processing: low-friction task inbox for idea capture, atomic tasks for discrete work items, and weekly review cycles for ongoing work units (sets of interdependent tasks)
- Progressive planning pipeline: capture → evolving planning notes → structured PRD → scoped tasks with explicit success criteria
- Quarterly archival system organizing completed work by type as searchable project history
Portability
- No code dependencies — markdown documents in a preset active/backlog/reference directory structure
- Self-hosting: the framework's own development follows its methodology, using an internal ARC workspace
Photo Credits: Alexey Ruban, Mike Stoll, Jason Leung
