The Operon Library

Volume III · Prompting is not the skill. Specifying intent is.

Intent Architecture

Nine prompt-flavored chapters from the first edition collapse into three, freeing this volume to own the arc from prompts to specifications. It maps the vocabulary spec-driven development already won — constitution, specify, plan, tasks, clarify — against the Fowler tension between living specs and disposable plans, and closes by reframing intent architecture as system design.

Chapters
11
Published
11
01Prompts Are InterfacesThe prompt as UI; why prompt quality is an interface-design problem, not a phrasing problem.8 min readPublished
02From Prompts to SpecificationsWhy the field's vocabulary moved (2025–26); what survived from prompt engineering and what didn't.7 min readPublished
03Specs as Executable ArtifactsSpec-driven development: specifications become executable, directly generating implementations — positioned against unstructured vibe coding.7 min readPublished
04The Constitution PatternProject principles as standing context: spec-kit's constitution, CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md as constitutional documents, policy files.7 min readPublished
05The Spec WorkflowThe canonical phase structure — constitution → specify → plan → tasks → implement — plus Kiro's requirements/design/tasks system as the alternative shape.7 min readPublished
06Living Specs vs Static PlansThe Fowler tension: does the spec stay alive as source-of-truth, or is it a disposable planning artifact?8 min readPublished
07Plan-Mode ThinkingPlan-before-execute as a harness-native primitive; when to plan, when planning is waste.7 min readPublished
08Intent FilesAGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md as intent infrastructure: layered instruction scopes (org → project → directory), maintenance, drift.7 min readPublished
09Prompt & Spec LibrariesReusable organizational intent assets; reviewing specs the way we review code.8 min readPublished
10Intent Anti-PatternsOver-specification, under-specification, prompt inflation, intent drift, stale constitutions.8 min readPublished
11Beyond Prompt EngineeringCapstone — intent architecture as system design.5 min readPublished

Key sources: GitHub spec-kit · Martin Fowler "Understanding Spec-Driven Development: Kiro, spec-kit, and Tessl" · Anthropic CLAUDE.md guidance

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