---

name: project-specification description: Transforms project briefs into testable specifications with user stories and acceptance criteria. Use after brainstorming, before planning. alwaysApply: false

Custom metadata (not used by Claude for matching):

model: sonnet category: workflow tags: [specification, requirements, acceptance-criteria, spec-driven-development] complexity: intermediate model_hint: standard estimated_tokens: 800 role: library

Delegation

For detailed specification writing workflows, this skill delegates to spec-kit:spec-writing as the canonical implementation. Use this skill for quick specification needs; use spec-kit for thorough specification documents.

When To Use

• After brainstorming phase completes
• Have project brief but need detailed requirements
• Need testable acceptance criteria for implementation
• Planning validation and testing strategy
• Translating business requirements into technical specs
• Defining scope boundaries and out-of-scope items

When NOT To Use

• Still exploring problem space (use Skill(attune:project-brainstorming) instead)
• Already have detailed specification (use Skill(attune:project-planning) instead)
• Refining existing implementation (use code review skills)
• Making strategic decisions (use Skill(attune:war-room) for complex choices)

Integration

With spec-kit:

• Delegates to Skill(spec-kit:spec-writing) for methodology
• Uses spec-kit templates and validation
• Enables clarification workflow

Without spec-kit:

• Standalone specification framework
• Requirement templates
• Acceptance criteria patterns

Documentation Audience

Carry the brief's Doc audience field into the specification, and treat it as a requirement rather than a note: it decides what the project's README, guides, and tutorials may contain. When the brief did not set one, ask, do not guess.

Specify the deep-dive destination alongside it, so extraction has somewhere to go before the first document is written: modules/ for skills, docs/deep-dive/<topic>.md for repo docs. Tier table and cut test: scribe:slop-detector module audience-targeting.md.

Record the Tradeoff (decision journal)

If the specification settled a design decision with real alternatives (a chosen data model, an interface boundary, a constraint accepted), record it to docs/tradeoffs.md before continuing (draft and confirm):

• If leyline is installed, invoke Skill(leyline:decision-journal) and append a tradeoff entry (the decision, the options weighed, and what was sacrificed; set phase to specify). Show the draft; append on confirmation.
• Fallback (leyline absent): append to docs/tradeoffs.md using the in-file ENTRY TEMPLATE; assign the next TR-NNN id.

Post-Completion: Workflow Continuation (REQUIRED)

Automatic Trigger: After Quality Checks pass and docs/specification.md is saved, MUST auto-invoke the next phase.

When continuation is invoked:

1. Verify docs/specification.md exists and is non-empty
2. Display checkpoint message to user:

   Specification complete. Saved to docs/specification.md.
   Proceeding to planning phase...
   

3. Invoke next phase:

   Skill(attune:project-planning)
   

Bypass Conditions (ONLY skip continuation if ANY true):

• --standalone flag was provided by the user
• docs/specification.md does not exist or is empty (phase failed)
• User explicitly requests to stop after specification

Do NOT prompt the user for confirmation: this is a lightweight checkpoint, not an interactive gate. The user can always interrupt if needed.

Exit Criteria

• docs/specification.md exists, is non-empty, and passes Quality Checks.
• Every functional requirement has testable acceptance criteria.
• The documentation audience tier is stated, carried from the brief or asked for when the brief omitted it.
• Any design decision with real alternatives is recorded to docs/tradeoffs.md (or there was no meaningful design fork).
• The next phase is auto-invoked unless a bypass condition holds.

Related Skills

• Skill(spec-kit:spec-writing) - Spec-kit methodology (if available)
• Skill(attune:project-brainstorming) - Previous phase
• Skill(attune:project-planning) - AUTO-INVOKED next phase after specification
• Skill(attune:mission-orchestrator) - Full lifecycle orchestration

Related Commands

• /attune:specify - Invoke this skill
• /attune:specify --clarify - Run clarification workflow
• /attune:blueprint - Next step in workflow

Examples

See /attune:specify command documentation for complete examples.