Every project has a spec
Common statement: "We don't have a spec for this project."
This is never true. Every project has a specification. The question is where it lives.
| Type | Location | Retrievable | Auditable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written spec | Document, wiki, repo | Yes | Yes |
| Scattered spec | Slack, email, meeting notes | Partially | No |
| Oral spec | Someone's memory | Only while they're here | No |
| No spec | — | — | — |
Row four does not exist. Every project has constraints, requirements, and decisions. If they aren't written down, they're in row two or three. This is worse than row one in every measurable way.
Common objection: "Writing a spec takes too long."
The time is not saved. It is transferred to later in the project, with interest. Every "I thought we agreed on X" meeting is a specification retrieval failure. The spec existed — in someone's head, in a Slack thread from three months ago — but nobody could find it when it mattered.