Portfolio piece · Competent · Lesson 42 of 98 · about 5 hours
Specifying and scoping your own project
After this you can write a one-page spec with a problem statement, users, scope, non-goals and acceptance criteria, and record key decisions as ADRs.
Why it matters
Writing your own spec is the first time you decide what to build, not just how. Keep it to one page: the problem, who has it, what the app must do, what it explicitly will not do (non-goals are the most useful section), and how you will know it works. Record your first big decisions (database, hosting, auth approach) as short architecture decision records. This is a light first taste of a skill the later phases go deep on. Trap: scope. Cut the feature list in half, then cut it again. A small app done properly beats a large one half finished.
How to use this resource
Pick the simplest template (Nygard's) and use it for your first two decisions.