Spec-driven development in microservices, part 3: archspec investigate — researching a feature before code

▤ Summary

This article walks through an architecture-first development workflow for a microservices project using archspec and LLM-assisted investigation. It explains how the team mapped services, events, and APIs in SERVICE_MAP.yaml before writing code, then used that map to analyze a task involving smart task reassignment. The piece highlights several implementation concerns, including gRPC integration, NATS events, outbox handling, city_id resolution, and edge-case testing. It also compares an investigate phase with an implement phase and shows how the workflow improved code quality and test coverage. Overall, the article presents a practical example of using spec-driven methods to design and validate distributed software changes.

▦ Linked Companies

Anthropic

$10M to $25M