Spec Evolution and Reconciliation

Overview

Handle spec/code mismatches through AI-guided analysis and user-controlled evolution.

Specs WILL diverge from code. This is normal and healthy. The question is: which should change?

This skill detects divergence, analyzes the mismatch, recommends resolution, and executes the change.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Code review detects spec/code mismatch
• Verification finds spec compliance issues
• Developer explicitly requests evolution
• Implementation reveals better approach than spec
• Spec ambiguity discovered during implementation

Auto-triggered by:

• sdd:review-code (when deviations found)
• sdd:verification-before-completion (when compliance fails)

Don't use this skill when:

• No mismatch exists (everything compliant)
• Spec doesn't exist yet → Use sdd:spec
• Multiple specs need consolidation → Use sdd:spec-refactoring

Prerequisites

Ensure spec-kit is initialized:

{Skill: spec-kit}

If spec-kit prompts for restart, pause this workflow and resume after restart.

The Process

1. Detect Mismatches

Identify all spec/code divergences:

# Read spec
cat specs/features/[feature-name].md

# Compare to implementation
# For each requirement in spec:
#   - What does spec say?
#   - What does code do?
#   - Do they match?

Categorize each mismatch:

• Missing in code: Spec requires it, code doesn't have it
• Extra in code: Code implements it, spec doesn't mention it
• Different behavior: Spec says X, code does Y
• Ambiguous spec: Spec unclear, code made assumption

Document all mismatches with:

• Spec requirement (quote from spec)
• Actual implementation (what code does)
• Location (file:line in code, section in spec)

2. Analyze Each Mismatch

For each mismatch, determine:

Type:

• Architectural (affects system design)
• Behavioral (changes functionality)
• Cosmetic (naming, organization, details)

Severity:

• Critical: Breaking change, security issue, data loss
• Major: Significant behavior change, API contract change
• Minor: Small deviation, non-breaking addition
• Trivial: Naming, formatting, implementation details

Impact:

• User-facing vs internal
• Breaking vs non-breaking
• Risky vs safe

3. Recommend Resolution

For each mismatch, recommend:

Option A: Update Spec

• When: Implementation reveals better approach
• Why: Spec was incomplete/wrong, code is better
• Impact: Spec changes to match reality

Option B: Fix Code

• When: Code deviates from intended design
• Why: Spec is correct, code is wrong
• Impact: Code changes to match spec

Option C: Clarify Spec

• When: Spec was ambiguous, code made reasonable choice
• Why: Make implicit explicit
• Impact: Spec expanded with details, code unchanged

Provide reasoning for recommendation:

• Why this option is best
• Trade-offs of alternatives
• Risk assessment
• User impact

4. Decide Resolution

Decision flow:

Is this mismatch trivial/minor AND auto-update enabled?
  Yes → Auto-update with notification
  No → Ask user to decide

User decides:
  A) Update spec
  B) Fix code
  C) Clarify spec
  D) Defer (mark as known deviation)

Check user configuration:

{
  "sdd": {
    "auto_update_spec": {
      "enabled": true,
      "threshold": "minor",  // "none", "minor", "moderate"
      "notify": true
    }
  }
}

Thresholds:

• none: Never auto-update
• minor: Auto-update trivial/minor mismatches
• moderate: Include non-breaking behavioral changes

5. Execute Resolution

Option A: Update Spec

1. Modify spec to match implementation
2. Add to spec changelog
3. Validate updated spec for soundness
4. Commit spec change with clear message

# Update spec
vim specs/features/[feature].md

# Add changelog entry
echo "- YYYY-MM-DD: Updated [requirement] to include [change]" >> specs/features/[feature].md

# Commit
git add specs/features/[feature].md
git commit -m "Update spec: [change]

Implementation revealed [reason for change].

Previous: [old requirement]
Updated: [new requirement]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"

Option B: Fix Code

1. Modify code to match spec
2. Update tests if needed
3. Verify spec compliance
4. Commit code change

# Fix code
[Make changes to match spec]

# Update tests
[Adjust tests to match spec]

# Verify compliance
[Run sdd:verification-before-completion]

# Commit
git add [files]
git commit -m "Fix: Align [component] with spec

Code was [what it did], spec requires [what spec says].

Updated to match spec requirement: [spec section]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"

Option C: Clarify Spec

1. Add detail to spec (keep code unchanged)
2. Make implicit assumptions explicit
3. Add to spec changelog
4. Commit clarification

Option D: Defer

1. Document as known deviation
2. Add to spec's "Known Deviations" section
3. Note reason and plan to address
4. Commit documentation

6. Verify Reconciliation

After resolution:

# Re-check spec compliance
# Ensure mismatch is resolved
# Verify no new mismatches introduced

Confirm:

• Spec and code now aligned
• Tests still passing
• No regressions introduced

Checklist

Use TodoWrite to track:

• Detect all spec/code mismatches
• Categorize each mismatch (type, severity, impact)
• Analyze and recommend resolution for each
• Check user configuration for auto-update
• Decide resolution (auto or ask user)
• Execute resolution (update spec, fix code, or clarify)
• Verify reconciliation complete
• Commit changes with clear messages
• Update documentation if needed

Examples

Example 1: Auto-Update (Minor Addition)

[During verification]

Spec compliance check: 95%

Mismatch detected:

**Mismatch 1: Response includes timestamp (MINOR)**
- **Spec says:** Return `{ id, name, email }`
- **Code does:** Returns `{ id, name, email, updated_at }`
- **Location:** src/api/users.ts:45, specs/features/user-api.md#response

**Analysis:**
- Type: Behavioral (but non-breaking addition)
- Severity: Minor
- Impact: Non-breaking, adds useful information

**Recommendation: Update Spec (Option A)**

**Reasoning:**
- `updated_at` is standard practice for update endpoints
- Provides useful information to clients
- Non-breaking addition (clients can ignore it)
- Implementation is better than spec

**User config:** auto_update_spec.threshold = "minor"

**Action:** Auto-updating spec...

Updated specs/features/user-api.md:
- Added `updated_at` to response format
- Changelog: "2025-11-10: Added updated_at timestamp to responses"

✅ Spec updated
✅ Compliance now 100%
✅ Committed to git

Notification: Spec auto-updated with updated_at field (minor addition)

Example 2: User Decision (Major Change)

[During code review]

Spec compliance check: 85%

Mismatch detected:

**Mismatch 1: Validation behavior difference (MAJOR)**
- **Spec says:** "Reject requests with invalid avatar_url, return 422"
- **Code does:** "Accept invalid URLs, set avatar_url to null, return 200"
- **Location:** src/middleware/validation.ts:78, specs/features/user-profile.md#validation

**Analysis:**
- Type: Behavioral (changes error handling)
- Severity: Major
- Impact: User-facing, affects API contract

**Options:**

**A) Update Spec - Lenient validation**
- Pros: More user-friendly, prevents frustration
- Cons: Inconsistent with other validation (strict)
- Risk: Users might not know avatar failed

**B) Fix Code - Strict validation**
- Pros: Consistent with spec and other validation
- Cons: Worse UX when URL is invalid
- Risk: None (matches spec)

**C) Clarify Spec - Explicit fallback**
- Pros: Best of both (validate but handle gracefully)
- Cons: More complex
- Risk: None

**Recommendation: Option C**

**Reasoning:**
Best practice is to validate input but handle gracefully. Update spec to explicitly define fallback behavior: validate URL, set to null if invalid, log warning, return success with indication.

Which option do you prefer?

User: C - explicit fallback

You: Perfect. Updating spec to clarify fallback behavior...

Updated spec:

## Validation Rules

### avatar_url
- Must be valid URL format if provided
- **Fallback behavior:** If URL validation fails:
  - Set avatar_url to null
  - Log validation error
  - Return 200 (success) with warning in response
  - Response includes: `warnings: ["avatar_url invalid, set to null"]`

Code now matches clarified spec ✅

Spec compliance: 100%

Committed to git ✅

Example 3: Fix Code (Spec Correct)

[During verification]

Spec compliance check: 90%

Mismatch detected:

**Mismatch 1: Missing error handling (CRITICAL)**
- **Spec says:** "Handle database connection errors with retry logic (3 attempts)"
- **Code does:** "Single attempt, fails immediately on error"
- **Location:** src/db/client.ts:34, specs/features/data-persistence.md#error-handling

**Analysis:**
- Type: Architectural (missing reliability mechanism)
- Severity: Critical
- Impact: Production reliability risk

**Recommendation: Fix Code (Option B)**

**Reasoning:**
- Spec defines critical reliability requirement
- Single-attempt fails too easily (production risk)
- Retry logic is standard practice
- Code is missing required feature

**No user decision needed - critical spec requirement missing**

Fixing code to implement retry logic...

```typescript
// Added retry logic
async function queryWithRetry(sql, params, attempts = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < attempts; i++) {
    try {
      return await db.query(sql, params);
    } catch (error) {
      if (i === attempts - 1) throw error;
      await sleep(1000 * (i + 1)); // Exponential backoff
    }
  }
}

Tests updated to verify retry behavior ✅ Spec compliance: 100% ✅

Committed code fix ✅

## Auto-Update Configuration

### Recommended Settings

**For solo projects:**
```json
{
  "auto_update_spec": {
    "enabled": true,
    "threshold": "minor",
    "notify": true
  }
}

For team projects:

{
  "auto_update_spec": {
    "enabled": true,
    "threshold": "none",  // Always ask
    "notify": true
  }
}

For experimental work:

{
  "auto_update_spec": {
    "enabled": true,
    "threshold": "moderate",
    "notify": true
  }
}

Classification Guidelines

Minor (Auto-Update Eligible)

• Adding timestamps to responses
• Renaming variables/functions
• Reorganizing code structure
• Adding logging/instrumentation
• Implementation detail changes

Major (Always Ask)

• Changing API contracts
• Modifying behavior
• Adding/removing features
• Changing error handling
• Architectural changes

Critical (Usually Fix Code)

• Security issues
• Data integrity problems
• Missing required features
• Incorrect business logic

Common Patterns

Pattern: Better Error Messages

Mismatch: Spec says "return error", code returns detailed error with context

Resolution: Update spec (minor)

• More detailed errors are better
• Non-breaking improvement

Pattern: Missing Edge Case

Mismatch: Spec doesn't mention empty array, code handles it

Resolution: Clarify spec (add edge case)

• Make implicit explicit
• Document intended behavior

Pattern: Performance Optimization

Mismatch: Spec doesn't specify caching, code adds cache

Resolution: Update spec (moderate)

• Document optimization in spec
• Ensure cache behavior is correct

Pattern: Different Architecture

Mismatch: Spec implies synchronous, code is async

Resolution: Ask user (major)

• Significant architectural change
• May affect other components

Remember

Spec evolution is normal and healthy.

• Specs are not contracts set in stone
• Implementation reveals reality
• Better approaches emerge during coding
• Ambiguities get discovered

The goal is alignment, not rigidity.

• Specs guide implementation
• Implementation informs specs
• Both should reflect truth

Always provide reasoning:

• Why update spec vs fix code
• What's the impact
• What are the trade-offs

Trust the process:

• Detect mismatches early
• Analyze thoughtfully
• Recommend clearly
• Execute decisively
• Verify completely

Spec and code in sync = quality software.