Specifying Future Software Tasks
Use an AI assistant to draft detailed design documents and specifications for upcoming development work.
What it does
Use an AI assistant to draft detailed design documents and specifications for upcoming development work.
What it does
The user leverages the chat agent to research topics, review existing issues, and create comprehensive design documents for tasks that are not yet being coded. This process allows them to prepare detailed specifications in advance so they can immediately begin implementation once previous coding work is finished.
Example output
Design Document: Dark Mode Toggle Implementation in React & Tailwind CSS
1. Executive Summary
This document outlines the strategy for implementing a robust Dark Mode feature using React and Tailwind CSS. The solution prioritizes performance, accessibility (WCAG), persistence across sessions/devices, and seamless transition between themes without layout shifts.
2. Current Best Practices & Technical Constraints
A. Best Practices
- CSS Variables over Class Toggling: Use Tailwind’s
dark:variant with CSS custom properties for fine-grained control (e.g., specific component colors) rather than toggling a single class on<html>. - System Preference Detection: Respect the user’s OS-level preference (
prefers-color-scheme) as the default. - Persistence: Store user choice in
localStorageor a secure cookie, with fallback to system preference. - No Flash of Unstyled Content (FOUC): Implement server-side rendering (SSR) safe practices if using Next.js/Nuxt, or inline script injection for client-side apps.
- Accessibility: Ensure all color contrasts meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards in both light and dark modes. [… truncated, full run would continue]
Example prompt
Research current best practices and technical constraints for implementing [feature name] using [tech stack]. Review the existing codebase structure in [link or description of relevant modules] to ensure compatibility. Identify potential edge cases, security risks, and performance bottlenecks associated with this feature. Draft a comprehensive design document that includes architecture diagrams, API specifications, and database schema changes. Outline a step-by-step implementation plan with clear acceptance criteria for each sub-task.
How to build it
Open your chat agent (ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot) and paste the example prompt. Adjust the inputs in the curly braces and run.
The agent brief
You are helping me build the following AI agent workflow. ## Goal Specifying Future Software Tasks: Use an AI assistant to draft detailed design documents and specifications for upcoming development work. ## Specification - What it does: Use an AI assistant to draft detailed design documents and specifications for upcoming development work. - Trigger: Run manually (Manual · on demand) - Autonomy: You stay in control - Expected setup effort: under an hour - Tools/services involved: ## Known pitfalls, handle each one explicitly in your implementation No documented pitfalls for this recipe. Apply your own review before going live. ## Reference implementation https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45577350 (user_report) Fetch and inspect this before building. If it matches my stack, adapt it; if not, rebuild the pattern with my tools. ## Process requirements 1. Before building: ask me which of the listed tools I actually use and what my platform is (n8n / Make / code / other). Do not assume. 2. Adapt the pattern to my answers; do not force the reference stack. 3. Address every pitfall above; tell me how you handled each. 4. Provide a test plan I can run before letting this touch real data. 5. Ask before any step that sends messages, modifies data, or spends money. Source: https://usecasesforagents.com/use-case/specifying-future-software-tasks-332f/ via usecasesforagents.com
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Who it's for
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