name: ae-sdd-discovery description: Discover high-level architectural requirements for change-set specs

SDD Discovery

Analyze high-level architectural requirements for implementing change-set specs to ensure proper alignment and identify potential concerns.

Required Skills

• spec-driven-development (state management, phase gates)
• research
• architecture-fit-check
• architecture-workshop

Inputs

[!IMPORTANT] Resolve the change set by running ls changes/ | grep -v archive/. If exactly one directory exists, use it. Only prompt the user when multiple change sets are present.

Instructions

1. Load spec-driven-development skill and read current state from changes/<name>/state.toml. Apply state entry check per skill guidelines. If lane is not full or phase doesn't permit discovery, redirect the user.

2. Read proposal.md and any existing specs in changes/<name>/specs/.

3. Discovery answers how a change fits into or extends the existing architecture:

   • Use research skill to understand current architectural patterns
   • Use architecture-fit-check to assess alignment
   • If concerns exist (technical debt, messy workarounds), enter Daedalus Mode:
     • Explain concerns clearly
     • Explore solutions (light-touch vs. architectural)
     • Reach consensus with the user on approach

4. Document findings: Capture explorations, tradeoffs, and decisions in changes/<name>/thoughts/

5. Do not update phase status in this command. After documenting discovery artifacts, suggest ae-sdd-next <name> when the user wants to proceed.

Success Criteria

• Architecture fit assessed and documented
• Any concerns captured in thoughts/ directory
• Discovery artifacts complete and ready for ae-sdd-next
• User ready to proceed to tasks phase

Usage Examples

Do

• "This change slots cleanly into the existing Notification pattern."
• "Implementing this directly would create circular dependencies. Should we introduce an event bus instead?"

Don't

• Start planning implementation tasks or file-level changes.
• Guess at architectural alignment without researching the codebase.