Outline-Driven
Development
Beyond specs. Beyond vibes.
A versioned outline becomes the contract for every agentic act.
How does it compare?
| Aspect | Vibe coding | Spec-driven | BMad | Outline-Driven Development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source of truth | LLM intuition | Spec doc | Behavioral specs | Versioned outline (hash-anchored) |
| Iteration unit | Try again | Spec → re-prompt | BDD scenarios | Outline node × diff |
| Validation | Eyeball | Spec compliance | Acceptance tests | Diagram-first invariants + AST |
| Tooling | Plain chat | GitHub Spec Kit | BMad CLI | Plugins for Claude / Codex / Gemini |
| Reuse unit | Conversation | Spec template | Story | Skill / agent / outline |
| LLM creativity | Unbounded | Bounded by spec | Bounded by story | Bounded by outline; preserved within envelope |
| Best for | Throwaway scripts | Greenfield features | User-facing flows | Long-lived methodologies + agentic work |