I recently stumbled across Cameron Sjo‘s spec-compare project while working on a similar comparison of my own. The project is outstanding. Compiling, testing, and documenting this many tools and frameworks takes considerable effort, and the findings are immediately useful if you’re evaluating spec-driven approaches for your team. I’m grateful someone else did this work and shared it openly. If you haven’t explored the project yet, it’s well worth your time.

Then I read the Critical Analysis.

The practical observations about AI adherence, review burden, and especially the MDD parallel are solid work. Where it lost me was the historical framing. The analysis builds its central tension around whether SDD is “waterfall dressed in AI clothing.” This is built on several layers of popular misconception, and like a house of cards at a toddler’s birthday party, it doesn’t survive contact with much scrutiny.