Define the transitions, not the interface
Begin with the five states of the fixed synthetic job:
- Approved source notes enter the task.
- Those notes become a first content brief.
- A separate review inspects evidence, scope, and format.
- A correction produces the final brief.
- A checkpoint export preserves the full sequence.
For each transition, name the required input, the allowed change, the output, and the stopping condition. This reveals missing decisions earlier than a screen mockup or feature list.
Write boundaries beside the happy path
The fixed demonstration permits one generated workshop note. It asks for a concise Markdown content brief and one correction after review. The permitted content covers the audience, offer, and constraint. It excludes an unconfirmed schedule, price, customer data, sending, and outside research.
Failure behavior belongs in the design. If review finds the unsupported Saturday sentence, the brief returns for correction. If a required source is missing, the job records the gap instead of filling it from memory.
These rules make the finish line visible. The sequence ends when the corrected brief contains only supported details and the checkpoint records schedule and price as unknown.
Make proof match the claim
The synthetic example shows a reviewer tracing the Saturday sentence to no source and removing it. The export contains the task definition, source, first brief, finding, correction, final brief, and unresolved questions.
It cannot show commercial demand, uptime, broad compatibility, or performance with customer material. Those claims require different evidence.
Check fit before expanding
A specification earns its cost when a job has several steps, more than one decision point, or an artifact that another person must understand. A disposable wording experiment may not need this structure.
Avoid expanding the first specification into every future use case. Prove one bounded job, then record the next distinct requirement separately.