SDPF — Software Development Prompting Framework

The Three Core Principles

Every SDPF-governed system is governed by three co-equal, non-negotiable structural requirements — not guidelines.

Principle I

Specification First

No implementation begins until the contract is complete, locked, and TVG-verified. The specification is the single source of truth.

Principle II

Facts Before Execution

The Technical Verification Gate (TVG) verifies every technical fact in the specification against live output before any code is generated.

Principle III

Verification Always

No release is permitted without a complete Verification Closure Record signed by a valid provenance key.

The SDPF Lifecycle

Two phases and seven stages. Phase 0 must be completed before Phase 1 begins.

Phase 0

Problem Identification

Observe Measure the current state against the desired state

Define Write and validate the problem statement

Own Confirm the problem owner

Phase 1

Specification & Delivery

Draft Write the specification from validated problem statement

Lock TVG verified, conflicts resolved, REQ-IDs assigned

3–4

Test Generate and lock tests

5–6

Build Generate implementation, run verification gate

Evidence Export signed evidence package

Key Terms

The essential vocabulary of the SDPF language

TVG: Technical Verification Gate — verifies every technical fact in the specification against live output before implementation begins.
Phase 0: The mandatory first phase producing a validated problem statement. No Phase 1 begins without it.
TSP: Technical Specification Prompt — the complete SDPF document submitted to an AI model as a locked, verified contract.
REQ-ID: A unique identifier (R-001, R-002, etc.) assigned to every requirement when the specification is locked.
Bounded Stochasticity: The principle that AI outputs are constrained by structural invariants, not surface form.
[CRITICAL] / [REQUIRED] / [OPTIONAL]: Priority tags governing automated conflict resolution and traceability requirements.

The 17 SDPF Styles

Formally defined dialects optimised for specific classes of systems

Style 1

Technical Specification

APIs, data pipelines, deterministic systems

Style 2

Exploratory Problem-Solving

Novel algorithms, research, optimisation

Style 3

User Experience-Centered

Web and mobile UI, interactive applications

Style 4

Creative Scaffolding

Games, generative applications, content tools

Style 5

Iterative Refinement

Agile development, prototypes, evolving requirements

Style 6

System Architecture

Distributed systems, microservices

Style 7

Test-Driven Specification

Libraries, shared APIs, critical infrastructure

Style 8

Constraint-Based

Embedded systems, real-time, performance-critical

Style 9

Maintenance / Refactor

Legacy code modernisation, technical debt

Style 10

Compliance-Driven

HIPAA, SOX, PCI-DSS, security-critical

Style 11

Meta-Hypercomputer

Universal recursive computation engines

Style 12

Sovereign Structural Ledger

Immutable audit ledgers, chain-of-custody

Style 13

Hybrid System Composition

Multi-module, multi-team architectures

Style 14

Dynamic Criticality

Safety-critical systems with runtime escalation

Style 15

Cross-System Verification

Formal verification, proof-generating pipelines

Style 16

Prompt-Driven Documentation

Auto-generated documentation, self-documenting code

Style 17

Domain-Specific Template

Clinical, legal, financial, infrastructure

Version History

The evolution of the SDPF Language Specification

Version	Date	Key Changes	Classification
1.0	Jan 2026	First draft — initial formal specification	—
1.1	Feb 2026	TVG elevated to Core Principle II. Automated Conflict Resolution Protocol added.	BREAKING
1.2	Mar 2026	Phase 0 added as mandatory lifecycle gate.	BREAKING
1.3	Mar 2026	Unified edition — all normative content consolidated.	MINOR
1.3.1	Apr 2026	Key Terms Quick Reference added. Human Escalation Justification added.	MINOR