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TemplateCraft conventionIntermediate

Product Specification

A feature specification that covers states, edge cases and accessibility rather than only the happy path.

Definition

A specification defines what will be built precisely enough to implement and to test. Most specifications fail by describing only the successful case.

Craft convention. True because the industry converged on it. Breaking it costs familiarity, not correctness.

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Definition

One paragraph. If it takes more, the scope is probably too large.

What the user achieves, and how you would verify it in a test.

Explicit boundaries prevent scope drift during build.

Behaviour

Steps, with the system's response at each.

Empty, loading, partial, error, success, offline, permission denied.

Zero, one, many, maximum, longest content, slowest response, permission variations.

Requirements

Keyboard, focus, labels, announcements, contrast, motion.

Every string the interface needs, written out, not described.

Anything requiring a decision before build. Assign each one.

Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.

Often used with

These usually appear in the same screen or the same decision.

Short definition

The one-paragraph version, for when that is all you need.