POSE

Doc type: Explanation  ·  Applies to: POSE ≥ 0.9.0

Spec-driven development that closes the loop.

POSE (Project Operating Standard for Engineering) is a repository-owned governance framework for agentic software engineering. It complements SDD authoring tools by governing the full delivery cycle with deterministic gates:

spec → execution → evidence → follow-ups → recurrence → knowledge
  ▲                                                        │
  └────────────── the loop closes back into planning ──────┘

Why POSE

Capability	What it means
Definition of Ready gate	A spec cannot enter execution without intent, requirements with stable acceptance-criteria IDs and a technical plan (pose lint-spec --ready-check).
Closeout gate	A spec cannot be marked done until its completion date is stamped and every follow-up is explicitly dispositioned (pose lint-spec --strict).
Deterministic validation	A per-stack/per-module matrix runs real commands (test, lint, typecheck, build) and produces versionable reports with append-only JSONL history.
Recurrence detection	pose recurrence-check mines that history for repeated failures and escalates them into systemic fixes instead of endless re-fixing.
Operational memory	.pose/knowledge/ captures handoffs and decision logs with TTL governance — context survives between executions and agents.
Portfolio graph	Specs declare dependencies and priorities, organized into governed roadmaps with milestone DAGs, validated on every pose check.
Native MCP surface	27 governance tools (read, deterministic gates and an identity-gated validate-orchestration state machine) expose specs, readiness, requirement traces, amendment history, roadmaps, knowledge, reports, insights and changelogs to MCP-capable agents — frozen against a golden catalog fixture — plus 3 optional Conductor run reporters (30 total).

How POSE compares

GitHub Spec Kit provides a rich SDD lifecycle and extension model; OpenSpec focuses on lightweight, agent-neutral change proposals and spec deltas; Kiro integrates specs, steering and hooks into an agentic development service. POSE's focus is the repository-wide operating contract around those planning artifacts: entry and exit gates, module-aware validation, versioned evidence, follow-up disposition, recurrence and expiring operational knowledge.

Read the technical architecture for the complete component and mechanism model. Use the capability assessment for evidence-based maturity and benchmark gaps, then use the governed product roadmaps for implementation order, milestones and release gates.

License

Apache-2.0. POSE is developed as part of the Harne8 platform and runs entirely offline in your repository — the governance layer is free, forever.