The Spec-First Revolution: Why Enterprise AI Needs Formal Specifications
Abstract
This article introduces spec-driven AI development—a paradigm that brings rigorous specification practices to machine learning systems—and argues for its necessity in enterprise contexts. Drawing on 14 years in software engineering and 7 years specializing in enterprise AI, the article explores the historical evolution from traditional software specifications to AI-specific formal methods, articulates core principles of the spec-first approach, and compares it with prevailing ad-hoc and experiment-driven methodologies.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Software Engineering Techniques and Practices
Artificial Intelligence Applications
Safety Systems Engineering in Autonomy
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Publication date
- 17 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Preprint