We need more detailed specifications

“We need more detailed specifications.” This is what every PM says when features keep getting built wrong.

More user stories. More acceptance criteria. More documentation.

And yet: scope creep continues. Features miss the mark. Teams stay frustrated.

The problem isn’t documentation depth. It’s verification absence.

Here’s what I mean: You write a 10-page spec. Designer reads it and visualizes solution A. Developer reads it and envisions solution B. Product owner expects outcome C.

Everyone read the same document.
And everyone has different mental models.

The spec didn’t fail because it lacked detail. It failed because nobody verified they were aligned before building.

I watched a team spend 3 sprints building a feature that technically matched the spec - but completely missed the user need.

The PM said: “Why did you build it this way?”
The dev said: “This is what the spec said.”

They were both right.

The fix isn’t longer specs. It’s shared understanding loops.

Before any development starts:

1. Designer explains the workflow to development
2. Developer walks through their interpretation
3. PM verifies against user need
4. Misalignments surface immediately

This takes 30 minutes. It prevents 3 weeks of wrong-direction development.

Documentation is necessary, but documentation without verification is just expensive theater.

So, stop writing longer specs, and start verifying shared understanding before code is written.

Have you ever built something perfectly to spec that was completely wrong?