Monday Commitment Card - Spec-First Build
Print one per person, A6 or half-A5. Hand out in the closing 10 minutes, pens ready. The room just built a feature spec-first; this card turns “that was a good idea” into “I’ll do it on Monday.” Keep it to one real commitment - small and true beats big and aspirational (Way #4).
Facilitator line: “Pick the one place this week where you’d normally jump straight to code - and instead write the spec first. One place. Write it down, name a buddy, and pick the day they’ll ask you about it.”
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| MY SPEC-FIRST COMMITMENT Innovation Day |
| |
| Name: ______________________ Team: __________________ |
| |
| ---------------------------------------------------------|
| 1. The ONE place I'll write a spec or contract BEFORE |
| I write code this week |
| (a real task on my plate - an endpoint, a schema, |
| a function signature, a data shape): |
| |
| ____________________________________________________ |
| ____________________________________________________ |
| |
| ---------------------------------------------------------|
| 2. The ONE standard I'll adopt first |
| (circle one, or write your own): |
| |
| [ ] REQ-API-2 - machine-readable OpenAPI, in sync |
| [ ] QTEST-EARLY - test at the lowest viable layer |
| [ ] ENG-PRIN-REVIEW-STMT - no self-merge |
| [ ] ENG-PRIN-DOC-STMT - one ADR line, the *why* |
| [ ] ENG-PRIN-INCR-STMT - small, reviewable steps |
| [ ] Other: _______________________________________ |
| |
| ---------------------------------------------------------|
| 3. My reviewer / buddy |
| (the human who signs the work with me - Way #2): |
| |
| ____________________________________________________ |
| |
| ---------------------------------------------------------|
| 4. Check-in date |
| (when my buddy asks "did you spec it first?"): |
| |
| ______ / ______ / __________ |
| |
| ---------------------------------------------------------|
| Snap a photo of this card before you leave. Put the |
| check-in in your calendar now, with your buddy invited. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+How to use it
| Step | Facilitator action |
|---|---|
| Hand out | One card + pen per person during the closing block. |
| Frame | Read the facilitator line. Stress one commitment, real task, named human. |
| Fill | 3 minutes, heads down. No discussion yet. |
| Pair | 60 seconds: each person reads their card to their buddy. The buddy’s only job is to agree to ask on the check-in date. |
| Lock it in | ”Calendar invite, now, buddy invited. If it’s not in the calendar, it won’t happen.” |
| Capture | Everyone photographs their own card and keeps it. No collection needed. |
Tie-backs for the frame:
- Box 1 is Way #1: describe before you generate - if you can’t write the spec, you’re not ready to generate.
- Box 2 picks the one standard worth a real habit. The five options map to the five ways of working; the cite IDs come from
docs/corporate-standards-main/. - Box 3 is Way #2: a human always signs the work - the buddy isn’t a manager, they’re the second signature.
- Box 4 makes it real. A commitment without a date is a wish.
Part of the Spec-First Build session - see the folder index. The five ways of working: ways-of-working.md.
Downloads for this session
Grab the templates and sample files used here.