v0.12.0 Release Notes¶

Release Date: 2026-07-06

This release restructures the workflow ordering to follow the true AWS Working Backwards methodology, where specs are ordered by synthesis dependencies rather than category grouping. It also adds Infrastructure Design (IRD) as a required spec in the big-tech-product profile.

Highlights¶

True AWS Working Backwards workflow order
6-Pager positioned as leadership approval gate before PRD/UXD
Infrastructure Design (IRD) added as required spec
Workflow follows synthesis dependency chain

What's New¶

True AWS Working Backwards Order¶

The spec workflow now follows the actual AWS Working Backwards methodology:

Before (category-first grouping):

mrd → prd → uxd → press → faq → narrative-6p → trd → tpd → spec

After (true workflow order):

mrd → press → faq → narrative-6p → prd → uxd → trd → ird → tpd → spec

This reflects how specs actually depend on each other during synthesis:

Phase	Specs	Purpose
Discovery	MRD	Market opportunity
Vision	Press Release, FAQ	Working backwards from announcement
Approval	6-Pager	Leadership decision gate
Product	PRD, UXD	Detailed requirements (after approval)
Technical	TRD, IRD, TPD	Architecture, infrastructure, testing
Output	Execution Spec	Reconciled final spec

The 6-Pager (narrative-6p) is now correctly positioned before PRD and UXD. In Amazon's process:

Write MRD (market problem)
Write Press Release (work backwards from announcement)
Write FAQ (challenge assumptions)
Write 6-Pager (comprehensive narrative for leadership)
Leadership reads 6-Pager → APPROVAL DECISION
Only then invest in detailed PRD/UXD work

This prevents wasted effort on detailed requirements before getting leadership buy-in.

Infrastructure Design (IRD) Required¶

The big-tech-product profile now includes IRD as a required spec:

ird:
  required: true
  category: technical
  description: "Infrastructure design - deployment, scaling, operations, and cloud architecture"

IRD synthesis configuration:

synthesis:
  ird:
    sources:
      - trd
      - prd
    guidance: "Infrastructure design covering deployment architecture, scaling strategy,
               cloud services, monitoring, security, and operational runbooks.
               Include cost estimates and capacity planning."

IRD covers:

Deployment architecture
Scaling strategy
Cloud services selection
Monitoring and observability
Security requirements
Operational runbooks
Cost estimates
Capacity planning

Updated Synthesis Dependencies¶

PRD now includes the 6-Pager as a source to ensure detailed requirements align with the approved narrative:

prd:
  sources:
    - mrd
    - press
    - faq
    - narrative-6p  # NEW: align with approved narrative

TPD now includes IRD to ensure test plans cover infrastructure:

tpd:
  sources:
    - prd
    - trd
    - ird  # NEW: cover infrastructure testing

Breaking Changes¶

Workflow Order Changed¶

Applications that depend on the spec ordering will see a different order. The sidebar navigation and workflow visualization should now show:

Market Requirements (MRD)
Press Release
FAQ
6-Pager
Product Requirements (PRD)
User Experience (UXD)
Technical Design (TRD)
Infrastructure Design (IRD)
Test Plan (TPD)
Execution Spec

IRD Now Required¶

Teams using big-tech-product profile will now see IRD in their workflow. If IRD is not applicable, teams can create a minimal IRD document or use a different profile.

Migration Guide¶

For Existing Projects¶

Existing projects continue to work - The ordering change only affects display order
IRD addition - New projects will include IRD; existing projects can add it manually:

visionspec create ird -p myproject

For Custom Integrations¶

If your integration relies on spec order, update to use the new workflow order:

// Old order (category-first)
// mrd, prd, uxd, press, faq, narrative-6p, trd, tpd, spec

// New order (dependency-first)
// mrd, press, faq, narrative-6p, prd, uxd, trd, ird, tpd, spec

Bug Fixes¶

Fixed spec ordering to follow synthesis dependencies rather than arbitrary category grouping

Installation¶

go install github.com/ProductBuildersHQ/visionspec/cmd/visionspec@v0.12.0

Requirements¶

Go 1.22+