The AI Intake Prompt
SGD only works if the governance layers are filled in well — a clear Vision, a sensible capability model, and feature specs with real acceptance criteria. Writing those from a blank page is the single biggest barrier to getting started.
This page removes that barrier. Copy the prompt below, fill in the blanks about your product, and paste it into Claude (or any capable AI). It already contains the background on what SGD needs; you supply the product knowledge, and the AI generates the high-quality SGD inputs — a draft Layer 0 Vision, a starter capability model, your first feature spec with Gherkin acceptance criteria, and the stakeholder questions worth asking before you build.
You only fill in what you know
Leave any blank you are unsure about empty — the AI will mark it as an open question rather than invent an answer. A rough intake today beats a perfect one next quarter.
How to use it
- Copy the master prompt below into a new Claude conversation.
- Replace every
{{ ... }}blank with what you know about your product. Skip the ones you cannot answer. - Send it. The AI returns the four SGD seed artefacts, formatted as Markdown.
- Review and commit the output: the Vision as
docs/vision.md, the capability model and first spec into your spec registry, and the questions to your stakeholders.
The master prompt
You are helping me seed a new repository for Specification-Governed Development (SGD).
SGD governs AI-assisted codebases with machine-readable specifications so that AI agents
(Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor) produce coherent, traceable, well-tested code. Your job is
to turn the product information below into the four inputs SGD needs, at high quality.
Rules:
- Use only the information I provide. Where a field is blank or unclear, DO NOT invent an
answer — instead add it to an "Open Questions" list phrased as a precise question for a
named stakeholder.
- Outcomes over outputs. Prefer measurable success criteria over feature lists.
- Acceptance criteria MUST be written as Gherkin (Given / When / Then) so they can be turned
into automated tests.
- Output valid Markdown in the four sections below, nothing else.
=== PRODUCT INPUT (fill in the blanks) ===
Product name: {{PRODUCT_NAME}}
One-line description: {{WHAT_IT_DOES_IN_ONE_SENTENCE}}
The problem it solves: {{PROBLEM_AND_WHO_HAS_IT}}
Target users / buyers: {{WHO_USES_IT_AND_WHO_PAYS}}
What "good" looks like: {{OUTCOMES_YOU_WANT_e.g. fewer X, faster Y}}
Next milestone / MVP: {{THE_SPECIFIC_THING_NEEDED_FOR_THE_NEXT_CUSTOMER_OR_DATE}}
Explicit non-goals: {{WHAT_YOU_ARE_DELIBERATELY_NOT_BUILDING}}
Known constraints: {{REGULATORY_TECH_TIME_BUDGET_CONSTRAINTS}}
Tech stack (if known): {{LANGUAGES_FRAMEWORKS_PLATFORMS}}
Main capabilities: {{3_TO_7_BIG_THINGS_THE_SYSTEM_DOES}}
First feature to build: {{THE_ONE_FEATURE_TO_SPEC_FIRST}}
Key stakeholders: {{NAMES_OR_ROLES_WHO_DECIDE_SCOPE}}
=== PRODUCE THESE FOUR ARTEFACTS ===
## 1. Layer 0 — Vision (docs/vision.md)
A short vision document with these sections: Vision (one sentence), Why we exist (one
paragraph), What good looks like (outcomes), MVP framing (name the next milestone),
Non-goals, and three to five outcome-level Success Measures.
## 2. Capability Model (L1 → L2 → L3)
A hierarchy: L1 domains → L2 capabilities → L3 features, covering the main capabilities above.
Mark each L3 feature as `[MVP]` or `[post-MVP]` against the MVP framing.
## 3. First Feature Spec
A structured spec for the first feature: Business intent (citing which Success Measure it
moves), User stories, Data model sketch, API/contract sketch, Acceptance criteria in Gherkin,
Edge cases, and Dependencies.
## 4. Stakeholder Questions
Every blank I left empty or anything ambiguous, as a numbered list of precise questions, each
tagged with the stakeholder who should answer it. These become the QD-NN decision records.What you get back
| Artefact | Where it goes | SGD layer |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | docs/vision.md | Layer 0 |
| Capability model | Spec registry / capability tree | Layer 1 |
| First feature spec (with Gherkin) | Spec registry | Layer 3 |
| Stakeholder questions | QD-NN records for your stakeholders | Layer 0 (governance) |
The Gherkin acceptance criteria in the spec are not throwaway — they are the source of your automated tests, so the feature ships with a concrete, executable definition of "done".
Coming soon: /sgd:init
This prompt is the content behind a planned /sgd:init slash command in the SGD Claude Code plugin, which will walk you through the same questions interactively and write the artefacts straight into your repo — making onboarding completely painless. Until then, the copy-paste prompt above does the same job.