spike

A technical spike validates feasibility by decomposing an uncertain idea into high-risk questions, researching approaches, building a throwaway prototype, and delivering a clear VALIDATED or INVALIDATED verdict. This evidence-driven process prevents wasted effort building the wrong solution.

The best way to compare technical approaches is running a comparison spike that builds parallel variants, tests observable output, and delivers a head-to-head winner. This method uses evidence-driven recommendations to decide which integration approach works best.

Identify high-risk unknowns through feasibility decomposition, which breaks a goal into 2–5 independent, observable questions ordered by risk. Testing these unknowns first ensures the most critical technical research is validated before building the full system.

Use a disposable prototype when facing uncertain technical feasibility, such as web parsing or integration-heavy tasks where observable output matters. It produces throwaway builds that end with a clear PARTIAL or INVALIDATED recommendation, guiding whether the real build should proceed.

Yes, this approach applies to parsing and integration-heavy tasks where observable output matters. It researches real docs, targets feasibility questions, and builds interactive prototypes to validate whether the proposed parsing or integration solution works before implementation.