Spec-Driven Development and Prompt Engineering: New Terms, Same Foundations?

In recent years, terms like "spec-driven development" and "prompt engineering" have gained popularity alongside the rise of AI-assisted coding tools. They are often presented as new paradigms that redefine how software is built. However, a closer look reveals that these concepts are not entirely new---they are, in many ways, a continuation of long-established practices under different names. The Core Idea Has Always Existed At the heart of software development has always been a simple principle: Define what the system should do before deciding how to implement it. This principle is embodied in: Requirements engineering Software design methodologies Model-driven development The idea of writing structured specifications and refining them iteratively is not new. It has been a foundational part of software engineering for decades. What Has Actually Changed? The real shift is not in the methodology, but in execution. Traditionally: Human → Requirements → Code → Software Today, with AI: Huma