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AIDLC Workflow

The AIDLC (AI-Driven Development Lifecycle) workflow provides a structured approach to AI-assisted software development with three phases: Inception, Construction, and Operations.

Overview

When you select AIDLC as your implementation methodology, VisionStudio provides dedicated views for managing the full development lifecycle.

Phases

Inception

The discovery and planning phase that establishes project foundations.

Deliverables:

Document Required Description
Vision Document Yes Strategic vision and product direction
Requirements Spec Yes Functional and non-functional requirements
Technical Spec Yes APIs, data models, system interfaces
Architecture Spec No Component design, deployment topology

Construction

The implementation planning phase that prepares for development.

Deliverables:

Document Required Description
Implementation Plan Yes Milestones, tasks, resource allocation
Test Plan Yes Test strategy, cases, automation
Integration Plan No External system connections
Security Review Yes Threat modeling, access control

Operations

The production readiness phase for deployment and monitoring.

Deliverables:

Document Required Description
Runbook Yes Deployment procedures, troubleshooting
Monitoring Plan Yes Metrics, alerts, dashboards
Disaster Recovery No RTO/RPO, backup, failover
SLO Document Yes SLIs, SLOs, error budgets

Using the AIDLC Workflow

Accessing AIDLC Views

  1. Select a project with AIDLC as implementation methodology
  2. Click AIDLC Workflow in the sidebar
  3. View phase status and deliverable completion

Generating Documents

  1. Navigate to a specific phase
  2. Click on a deliverable to open it
  3. Use Generate to create initial content
  4. Review and edit the generated document
  5. Run evaluation to assess quality

Phase Transitions

  1. Complete all required deliverables in current phase
  2. Pass phase gate review criteria
  3. Click Transition to Next Phase
  4. The workflow advances and unlocks next phase deliverables

Sync Status

The AIDLC Sync panel shows synchronization between:

  • AIDLC documents and VisionSpec specs
  • Phase completion status
  • Dependency satisfaction

Document Dependencies

AIDLC enforces document dependencies:

Vision Document
    └── Requirements Spec
            ├── Technical Spec
            │       └── Implementation Plan
            │               ├── Test Plan
            │               └── Security Review
            └── Architecture Spec
                    └── Implementation Plan

Evaluation

Each document is evaluated against AIDLC criteria:

  • Completeness - All required sections present
  • Clarity - Unambiguous and actionable
  • Traceability - Links to upstream documents
  • Feasibility - Realistic and achievable

Passing threshold: 3.5/5.0 weighted score

Cost Estimates

VisionStudio displays estimated LLM costs per document:

Phase Estimated Cost
Inception ~$0.51
Construction ~$0.70
Operations ~$0.60
Total ~$1.81