# Speck Frontier Scan > Scans current methodology or product frontiers. Use for SOTA research or live-market claim rechecks. - Skill: `telum-ai/speck-frontier-scan` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add telum-ai/speck-frontier-scan` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/telum-ai/speck-frontier-scan/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Research & Search - Author: telum-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/telum-ai) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/telum-ai/speck-frontier-scan --- # speck-frontier-scan --- ## Purpose `speck-frontier-scan` is a self-refreshing, proactive process skill that prevents Speck from falling behind SOTA (State of the Art) advancements in AI-driven software engineering. Rather than treating methodology rules as static or frozen, this skill codifies a continuous research-and-apply ritual. It ensures that the engineering agent proactively scans for new industry standards, parses active AI evaluation reports (e.g. SWE-bench updates, Berkeley RDI, academic agentic security preprints), and updates Speck's templates, skills, and validators additively. ## When to Run - On a scheduled `/loop` cadence (e.g. quarterly or every 30 days) - When a major new model family or agentic framework is released - When starting a brand new Platform-level project to establish a modern research baseline - Explicitly requested by the user: `/speck-frontier-scan` or "refresh SOTA baseline" - **Product-market recheck** (`--product`): re-validate a product's differentiator / "no competitor does X" claims against the live market — on cadence, or when `/speck-recheck` flags `MARKET_DRIFT` (see **Product Mode** below, issue #80) ## Prerequisites - Access to Perplexity MCP (`perplexity_research` / `perplexity_search`) or resilient fallback web search tools - Active project specs directory (`specs/projects//`) ## Execution Steps ### 1. Perform 4-Angle SOTA Research Invoke deep web search across the following four research angles: 1. **Architectures & Execution Topologies**: Search for multi-agent coordination, conductor/worker patterns, babysit-merge, and agent-VCS lifecycle integration. 2. **Context Engineering & long-horizon retention**: Search for model context management, JIT (just-in-time) retrieval, compaction, prompt-caching optimization, and instruction-rot prevention. 3. **Agent Verification, Reliability & Reward Hacking**: Search for agent testing harnesses, self-verification loops, adversarial protection, and reward-hacking defenses (e.g. preventing agent editing of test logic). 4. **Spec-Driven Development (SDD)**: Search for requirements grammar (e.g. EARS, Gherkin), spec-to-deployed provenance, and spec-first generation maturity curves. ### 2. Synthesize Against Speck Baseline Compare findings against the current Speck codebase and methodology artifacts: - What does Speck currently do well? (e.g. Promise->Build->Prove, Traceability Matrix, Adversarial Probe Suite) - Where are the execution or context gaps? - What are the concrete, high-value improvements (deltas)? ### 3. Map Deltas to Canonical Speck Homes For each identified delta, find its canonical location in the Speck directory structure (per `AGENTS.md` routing table): - Core promise rules → `product-contract.md` - Verifiable proof rules, anti-proof, or irreversible action tiers → `evidence-contract.md` - Codebase style, agent-behavior rules → `AGENTS.md` - Validation logic → `.speck/scripts/validation/validators/` - Parallel orchestration behavior → `.cursor/skills/parallel-execution/SKILL.md` ### 4. Author the Frontier Research Report Write a dated, markdown-compliant research report to: `specs/projects//project-frontier-research-report-.md` The report **SHALL** utilize the following template: ```markdown # Speck Frontier SOTA Research Report () ## 1. Executive Summary [High-level overview of the frontier landscape, changes since the last scan, and the net impact on the active project] ## 2. The 4-Angle SOTA Audit ### Angle 1: Architectures & Execution Topologies - **Frontier Findings**: ... - **Speck Baseline Comparison**: ... ### Angle 2: Context Engineering & Retention - **Frontier Findings**: ... - **Speck Baseline Comparison**: ... ### Angle 3: Agent Verification & Reward Hacking - **Frontier Findings**: ... - **Speck Baseline Comparison**: ... ### Angle 4: Spec-Driven Development (SDD) - **Frontier Findings**: ... - **Speck Baseline Comparison**: ... ## 3. High-Value Deltas & Canonical Mapping | Delta ID | Description | Severity/Impact | Target Canonical Artifact | Status | |----------|-------------|-----------------|---------------------------|--------| | FTR-001 | [Description] | [High/Med/Low] | `evidence-contract-template.md` | Proposed | ## 4. Proposed Action Plan (Reversible Change-Cascade) [Provide concrete instructions or story specifications to implement the changes. If any existing validated features are affected, run compute-cascade.sh to trace the blast radius.] *[as of SHA | verified against SOTA ]* ``` ### 5. Apply SHA Stamp & Recheck Apply the SHA stamp to the research report: ```bash .speck/scripts/stamp-truth.sh specs/projects//project-frontier-research-report-.md ``` Trigger `/project-state` to record the new frontier research report under project assets and update the state. --- ## Product Mode (`--product`) — competitive-claim re-validation (issue #80) This skill also runs against a **product's live market** instead of Speck's own methodology. Trigger: `/speck-frontier-scan --product` (or "product-market" in `$ARGUMENTS`), or when `/speck-recheck` surfaces `MARKET_DRIFT`. It reuses the machinery above — resilient Perplexity/WebSearch, dated report, cited sources — but re-points the four angles: 1. **Direct competitors & feature parity** — who now ships the capability §3 claims is unique? Name products + dates. 2. **Substitute / DIY landscape** — free general-purpose AI + effort, OSS, free tiers (feeds `product-contract.md` §2a Value Defensibility). 3. **Category & pricing shifts** — reference-price movement, table-stakes creep, new entrants. 4. **Targeted falsification** — take each absolute claim from §3 "Core differentiator" and §3a Anti-Differentiators and assign a verdict — **HOLDS | ERODED | FALSE** — each with a cited source + date. **Inputs**: `product-contract.md` §2a/§3/§3a, `PRD.md` Competitive Landscape, legacy `value-defensibility.md`. **Output**: `specs/projects//project-market-research-report-.md` (matches the existing `project-*-research-report-*.md` routing glob — no new routing row). Reuse the report skeleton above with the four angles re-pointed. **Then**: - Propose concrete `/adjust --level project` deltas to §3 / §2a / §3a / PRD. **Never auto-rewrite §3** — the differentiator is an always-preserve; STOP-AND-PROPOSE. - Re-stamp the differentiator via the SOLE writer (`stamp-market.sh` refuses without an existing report, and for `holds` requires `sources ≥ market_sources_floor` — so a claim can never read fresh without a real sourced re-validation behind it, P2): ```bash .speck/scripts/stamp-market.sh specs/projects//product-contract.md \ --verdict holds --sources --scan project-market-research-report-.md ``` An `eroded`/`false` verdict is stamped honestly and then treated as `MARKET_DRIFT.P1` by `/speck-recheck` to force the fix (evaluation over verification). **Cadence & config** (all optional in `.speck/project.json`, absent = safe default): `market_absolute_claim_days` (default **30** — deliberately below the observed ~8-week rot half-life), `market_scan_cadence_days` (default **45** for consumer/SaaS/paid-API, **90** for infra/backend), `market_sources_floor` (default **3**), `market_scan` (`false` opts a claim-free internal tool out). Sprint play level is skipped (no `product-contract.md`). ## Behavior Rules - NEVER use vague or generic AI hype terminology in reports (e.g. "groundbreaking", "revolutionary"); keep findings cited and technically specific. - ALWAYS cite sources with links or researcher/institution names (e.g. "Berkeley RDI, 2026"). - NEVER bypass the canonical routing table; delta actions must map to existing, valid Speck files. - ALWAYS follow the resilient MCP/tool fallback rules if Perplexity is down or has quota limitations. ## Integration Points - Required input: Perplexity/WebSearch access, existing Speck methodology (`AGENTS.md`). - Required output: `project-frontier-research-report-.md` (with SHA stamp). - Downstream consumers: `/adjust --level project`, `/adjust --level epic`, and developer-facing backlogs.