core-concept · Foundations · maturing · Reviewed
Intent engineering
The practice of turning goals into versioned specifications, constraints, interfaces, invariants, decision rights, acceptance criteria, and testable outcomes before agents implement them.
Definition
The practice of turning goals into versioned specifications, constraints, interfaces, invariants, decision rights, acceptance criteria, and testable outcomes before agents implement them. A prompt requests work. A durable intent system defines what correct, safe, and complete work means.
Spec-driven practice is growing, but spec-as-source is not a universal consensus.
Why it matters
A prompt requests work. A durable intent system defines what correct, safe, and complete work means.
The operating shift is from “Prompt as instruction” to “Specification as executable intent.”
System anatomy
- Practice 1
- Version requirements beside implementation
- Practice 2
- Encode invariants and acceptance criteria
- Practice 3
- Trace design decisions back to intent
Important distinctions
- Prompt as instruction
- This concept moves the engineering system toward specification as executable intent.
Implementation signals
- Version requirements beside implementation
- Encode invariants and acceptance criteria
- Trace design decisions back to intent
Failure modes
- Verbose specifications without enforceable tests
- Assuming generated implementation keeps the specification current
Sources and further study
- GitHub — Spec-driven development with AI
A structured specification-to-plan-to-task workflow for making intent durable and actionable by coding agents.
Use in this library: First-party case study. This first-party account documents one organization, product, or implementation context and should not be generalized without local evidence.
engineering · engineering · Published 2025-09-02 - GitHub Spec Kit — Spec persistence models
Distinguishes spec-first, spec-anchored, and spec-as-source approaches without asserting one universal model.
Use in this library: First-party case study. This first-party account documents one organization, product, or implementation context and should not be generalized without local evidence.
engineering · engineering · Published 2026-07 - OpenAI — Harness engineering: leveraging Codex in an agent-first world
A production case study in designing repositories, tools, feedback loops, and environments for agent-first delivery.
Use in this library: First-party case study. This first-party account documents one organization, product, or implementation context and should not be generalized without local evidence.
engineering · engineering · Published 2026-02-11