Problem Statement
While /speckit.clarify helps reduce ambiguity in the feature specification before planning, there is currently no equivalent step for validating implementation scope after task generation and before execution.
This leaves a gap where /speckit.implement may exceed the intended scope by acting on future tasks or making architectural assumptions that were not explicitly reviewed beforehand.
This creates risks such as:
Scope creep across planned phases
Unintended architecture changes
Hallucinated dependencies or missing interfaces
Higher review and rollback costs
Proposed Solution
Introduce a new optional command: /speckit.guide.
This command would run after /speckit.tasks and before /speckit.implement, generating a guide.md file that acts as a dry-run implementation plan.
The generated guide would describe:
- Which files are expected to be modified
- Which interfaces or services may be affected
- Required dependencies or prerequisites
- Execution order of tasks
- Scope boundaries for the current phase
- Potential risks or stop conditions
This would provide developers with a reviewable implementation artifact before execution, reducing the chance of scope drift and improving architecture control.
Proposed workflow:
/speckit.specify
→ /speckit.clarify
→ /speckit.plan
→ /speckit.tasks
→ /speckit.guide
→ Human review
→ /speckit.implement
This would not replace /speckit.clarify, but complement it by extending the same validation principle into the implementation phase.
Alternatives Considered
Yes, I considered the following alternatives:
-
Using /speckit.clarify
- This helps resolve ambiguity in the feature specification before planning.
- However, it does not address implementation scope validation after task generation.
-
Improving /speckit.implement directly
- Scope validation logic could be embedded into
/speckit.implement.
- However, this would mix planning/review concerns with execution, reducing workflow transparency.
-
Manual guide.md creation
- This is the current workaround I use.
- It provides better control, but it is manual, inconsistent, and not integrated into the Spec Kit workflow.
I believe a dedicated /speckit.guide command is the cleanest solution because it introduces a reusable, explicit review layer between task generation and implementation.
Component
Agent integrations (command files, workflows)
AI Agent (if applicable)
None
Use Cases
No response
Acceptance Criteria
No response
Additional Context
No response
Problem Statement
While /speckit.clarify helps reduce ambiguity in the feature specification before planning, there is currently no equivalent step for validating implementation scope after task generation and before execution.
This leaves a gap where /speckit.implement may exceed the intended scope by acting on future tasks or making architectural assumptions that were not explicitly reviewed beforehand.
This creates risks such as:
Scope creep across planned phases
Unintended architecture changes
Hallucinated dependencies or missing interfaces
Higher review and rollback costs
Proposed Solution
Introduce a new optional command:
/speckit.guide.This command would run after
/speckit.tasksand before/speckit.implement, generating aguide.mdfile that acts as a dry-run implementation plan.The generated guide would describe:
This would provide developers with a reviewable implementation artifact before execution, reducing the chance of scope drift and improving architecture control.
Proposed workflow:
This would not replace
/speckit.clarify, but complement it by extending the same validation principle into the implementation phase.Alternatives Considered
Yes, I considered the following alternatives:
Using
/speckit.clarifyImproving
/speckit.implementdirectly/speckit.implement.Manual
guide.mdcreationI believe a dedicated
/speckit.guidecommand is the cleanest solution because it introduces a reusable, explicit review layer between task generation and implementation.Component
Agent integrations (command files, workflows)
AI Agent (if applicable)
None
Use Cases
No response
Acceptance Criteria
No response
Additional Context
No response