understanding-durable-map

To convert specs into permanent product documentation, you transform your backlog into a durable map by listing each spec with its intended outcome and the tests that prove it. This stops specs from being closed or archived like work items.

Durable-map governance is an outcome-driven approach where specs are treated as permanent product documentation. It shifts focus from delivery velocity to realized outcomes, ensuring proofs live alongside specs and status is derived from test results.

You derive spec status from test results by realizing each specification through tests within a Product Tree. This enforces that status reflects verified outcomes rather than manual or arbitrary completion markers.

You should stop archiving specs as backlog items when designing a new capability and instead define them permanently in the Product Tree. This prevents backlog confusion and ensures specifications persist as the product evolves.

Yes, durable-map governance applies directly to specification design and test-driven realization. It ensures specs are verifiable by enforcing that proofs and test results live alongside the permanent documentation.

Treating specs as work items causes backlog confusion because it applies temporary completion markers to enduring product requirements. Durable-map governance solves this by making specs permanent and deriving status from tests instead.