Intents

High-level statements of purpose that drive development

What is an Intent?

An Intent is a high-level statement of purpose that encapsulates what needs to be achieved - whether a business goal, feature, or technical outcome. It serves as the starting point for AI-driven decomposition.

Think of an Intent as the answer to “What do we want to build?” without getting into the details of “How do we build it?”

Examples of Intents

Good intents are clear, outcome-focused, and appropriately scoped:

User Authentication System

Enable users to securely register, login, and manage their accounts

Product Catalog with Search

Allow customers to browse and search products with filters

Payment Processing

Integrate payment gateway for secure transactions

Real-time Notifications

Push notifications to users for important events

Intent Structure

When captured, an Intent becomes a directory in your Memory Bank:

memory-bank/intents/{intent-name}/
├── requirements.md      # User stories, acceptance criteria, NFRs
├── system-context.md    # Boundaries, interfaces, constraints
└── units/               # Decomposed units
    ├── {unit-1}/
    └── {unit-2}/

Creating an Intent

Use the Inception Agent to create intents:

/specsmd-inception-agent intent-create

The agent will guide you through:

1. Describe Your Goal

   Explain what you want to achieve in plain language

2. Answer Clarifying Questions

   The AI asks questions to minimize ambiguity

3. Review Requirements

   Validate the generated user stories and NFRs

4. Define Context

   Establish system boundaries and constraints

Intent vs Epic

Aspect	Agile Epic	AI-DLC Intent
Definition	Large body of work	Statement of purpose
Decomposition	Manual by team	AI-powered
Output	User stories	Units with stories
Context	Lost over time	Persisted in Memory Bank

Requirements Document

The requirements.md file contains:

# Intent: User Authentication System

## User Stories

### US-001: User Registration
As a new user, I want to register with email and password
so that I can create an account.

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Email validation
- [ ] Password strength requirements
- [ ] Confirmation email sent

### US-002: User Login
...

## Non-Functional Requirements

### NFR-001: Security
- Passwords must be hashed with bcrypt
- Sessions expire after 24 hours
- Rate limiting on login attempts

### NFR-002: Performance
- Login response time < 500ms
- Support 1000 concurrent users

System Context

The system-context.md defines boundaries:

# System Context: User Authentication

## In Scope
- User registration and login
- Password reset flow
- Session management

## Out of Scope
- Social login (OAuth) - future intent
- Multi-factor authentication - future intent

## Interfaces
- REST API for frontend
- Database for user storage
- Email service for notifications

## Constraints
- Must use existing PostgreSQL database
- Must integrate with current session store

Best Practices

Keep Intents Focused

One intent should represent one cohesive goal. If you find yourself saying “and also…”, consider splitting into multiple intents.

Be Outcome-Oriented

Focus on what users will be able to do, not on technical implementation details.

Include Context

Provide relevant business context, constraints, and dependencies upfront.

Iterate on Requirements

Requirements will evolve. Use the agent to refine and clarify as you learn more.

Next Steps

Units

Learn how Intents are decomposed into Units