2026-04-19

#17 Build With Intention | Start With the Spec, Not the Stack

Hello Reader

Here's something I keep noticing.

Vibe Coding / Agentic Engineering have changed the game for us. The faster we can build, the less time anyone spends deciding what to build.

Today I want to touch on Spec-Driven Development.

Intention

Most people think the spec is about engineering discipline. It's not. It's about thinking.

The spec is where a vague idea becomes a clear decision. Where "we should build this" becomes "this, for them, solving that."

AI agents can write code fast. That means we can prototype fast. It also means we can commit to the wrong product and not realise until it's too late.

And that's why having a spec matters more now, not less.

Insight

The spec doesn't need to be fancy. One page. Start with these five questions.

1. What are we building? One sentence. If you need two, you haven't decided yet.

2. Who is it for? One person. Not a market. A real user you can picture sitting down with this on a Tuesday afternoon.

3. What problem does it solve? In their words, not yours. If you don't know their words, you're still guessing.

4. What does "done" look like? The smallest version that works. Not the beautiful version. The one that proves the idea.

5. What are we not building? The hardest question. Everything you say no to here is time you get back later.

That's it. One page.

Here's what the spec does that nothing else can.

It turns your intention into something an agent can execute. Something a team can build against.

Without it, you're letting the model infer what you meant. You're letting your team fill in the blanks. You're letting velocity substitute for direction.

Every build of mine started on one page. Akashik. Muse. The Art of Intent. The ones that took off all began as specs I could read in ninety seconds.

Action

Before your next build, try this.

Put one page in front of you. Answer the five questions. See if it holds together.

If it does, you're ready to build.

If it doesn't, you've just saved yourself three months.

That's the work worth doing.

A Note

If you're an engineer or a founder trying to get the spec right before you dedicate engineering hours to it, I'm always happy to have a discussion.

Book a Call

Hope this helps you in your projects this week. What are you building with intention?