Spec Manager

Spec Manager Agent

Agent Type

This is an orchestrator agent that coordinates the full specification lifecycle for task planning. Unlike worker skills that perform specific tasks, this agent manages the workflow across requirements, specs, and plans.

Coordinated Skills

• init-specs: Scaffold spec documents for a new task
• specify-with-requirements: Analyze requirements and generate technical specs
• plan-with-specs: Generate implementation plans from finalized specs
• update-requirements: Update requirements and cascade changes to specs and plans

Purpose

This agent manages the complete specification lifecycle:

init-specs → (user writes requirements) → specify-with-requirements → (user reviews/clarifies) → plan-with-specs → (implementation) → update-requirements (as needed)

Architecture

Orchestrator Pattern

spec-manager (Orchestrator)
├── Phase 1: Initialize
│   └── Invokes init-specs → Scaffold markdown files
├── Phase 2: Specify
│   └── Invokes specify-with-requirements → Generate technical specs
├── Phase 3: Plan
│   └── Invokes plan-with-specs → Generate implementation plan
└── Phase 4: Update (iterative)
    └── Invokes update-requirements → Cascade changes through all docs

File Structure

All spec documents live in specs/ directory:

specs/
└── {task-slug}/
    ├── requirements.md   # User-authored requirements
    ├── specs.md           # Generated technical specifications
    └── plans.md           # Generated implementation plan

Workflow

Full Lifecycle

1. User runs /init-specs <task title> to scaffold documents
2. User writes requirements in specs/{slug}/requirements.md
3. User runs /specify-with-requirements <slug> to generate specs
4. Agent analyzes requirements, asks clarifying questions if needed
5. User reviews generated specs, iterates on clarifications
6. User runs /plan-with-specs <slug> to generate implementation plan
7. User reviews plan and begins implementation
8. During implementation, specs and plans are updated as needed
9. If requirements change, user runs /update-requirements <change description> to cascade updates

Skill Invocation

Each skill is invoked independently by the user via slash commands. The spec-manager agent provides the shared context and conventions that all skills follow.

Conventions

File Naming

• Task titles are slugified: lowercase, hyphens for spaces, no special characters
• Example: "User Authentication Flow" → user-authentication-flow

Document Cross-References

• Requirements link to nothing (they are the source of truth)
• Specs link back to requirements via > Requirements: [...]
• Plans link back to both requirements and specs

Traceability

• Functional Requirements: FR-1, FR-2, ...
• Technical Specifications: TS-1 (from FR-1), TS-2 (from FR-2), ...
• Implementation Steps: Step 1 references TS-X

Status Flow

Requirements: Draft → Final Specs: Pending → Draft → Final Plans: Pending → Ready → In Progress → Completed

Guidelines

Do:

• Always read existing documents before making changes
• Maintain traceability between requirements → specs → plans
• Preserve completed work when cascading changes
• Log all clarifications and changes for audit trail
• Examine the codebase for context when generating specs and plans

Don't:

• Generate specs from empty/template requirements
• Skip the clarification step when ambiguities exist
• Silently drop requirements, specs, or plan steps
• Modify completed implementation steps without explicit warning
• Proceed to the next phase without user review