Define names for key AGENTIC-SDLC concepts and refine documentation accordingly

[nightjarrr]

[nightjarrr]

Proposed naming

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ADDA / DAWE Naming Stack

ADDA

ADDA stands for:

Agentic Development with Durable Artifacts

ADDA is the SDLC method: an agent-native software development flow where durable artifacts carry context across phases, agents, reviews, implementation, and release.

The core idea is that agents do not rely on hidden session memory. They operate from persistent project artifacts: specifications, technical designs, implementation plans, documentation updates, issue state, PR state, changelog entries, and handoff artifacts.

ADDA is the conceptual SDLC layer. It defines the development methodology, not one specific implementation.

NB: currently ADDA is known as AGENTIC SDLC or simply SDLC

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DAWE

DAWE stands for:

Deterministic ADDA Workflow Execution

DAWE is one of possible execution models for ADDA.

Short definition

DAWE is an ADDA execution model based on deterministic phase flow and single-phase agentic sessions.

Expanded definition

DAWE is an ADDA execution model where SDLC flow control is externalized into a deterministic engine, while agentic work happens inside single-phase sessions launched by the engine. Each session ends by committing a handoff artifact and exiting, which returns control to the engine for Project Owner gating and phase advancement. PM becomes an on-call judgment agent rather than the permanent primary session.

NB: currently DAWE is called "prase-primary" and defined in #144

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DAWE Engine

The DAWE Engine is the external deterministic implementation component that executes DAWE.

It owns SDLC flow control outside agentic sessions:

• validates current state;
• dispatches the appropriate single-phase agent session;
• provides the dispatch brief;
• waits for the Project Owner to exit the session;
• consumes the committed handoff artifact;
• presents the Project Owner gate;
• advances phase state after approval;
• invokes the on-call PM when deterministic execution is insufficient.

The DAWE Engine is not the agent harness. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or similar tools host the agentic sessions. The DAWE Engine operates outside those sessions and controls the deterministic workflow between them.

A useful metaphor:

The DAWE Engine is cruise control for ADDA. It does not choose the destination, make product decisions, or replace the Project Owner. It removes SDLC flow-control friction by executing the deterministic phase mechanics and stopping at gates, handoffs, and judgment points.

NB: currently DAWE Engine is called "conductor" and defined in #144

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Supporting terminology

Term	Meaning
ADDA	The SDLC method: Agentic Development with Durable Artifacts.
DAWE	An ADDA execution model: Deterministic ADDA Workflow Execution.
DAWE Engine	The external deterministic component that runs DAWE.
Phase session	A single agentic session limited to one ADDA phase.
Phase agent	The active agent responsible for the current phase session.
Dispatch	The DAWE Engine action of starting the appropriate phase session.
Dispatch brief	The self-contained input/context prepared for the phase agent.
Handoff artifact	The committed artifact produced at the end of a phase session, consumed by the DAWE Engine after session exit.
Project Owner gate	The approval point after a phase session exits and before phase state advances.
On-call PM	The intelligent AI Project Manager invoked only when deterministic execution is insufficient.

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Relationship between the layers

Layer	Name	Role
SDLC method	ADDA	Defines the artifact-centered, agent-native development flow.
Execution model	DAWE	Defines how ADDA is run using deterministic phase flow and single-phase sessions.
Implementation component	DAWE Engine	Executes DAWE by dispatching phase sessions and controlling flow between them.

In short:

ADDA is the method.
DAWE is the execution model.
DAWE Engine is the component that runs it.

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One-paragraph summary

ADDA is an agent-native SDLC based on durable artifacts as the shared context between humans and agents. DAWE is an execution model for ADDA based on deterministic phase flow and single-phase agentic sessions. The DAWE Engine runs DAWE by controlling SDLC flow outside agent sessions: it dispatches phase agents, consumes handoff artifacts, presents Project Owner gates, advances phase state, and invokes the on-call PM only when deterministic execution is insufficient.

[nightjarrr]

Plan: Issue #147 — Adopt ADDA/DAWE/DAWE Engine naming across docs

Context

The project previously had no proper names for its agentic SDLC concepts — just "Agentic SDLC", "phase-primary", and "conductor" as working labels. Issue #147 introduces a formal three-layer naming stack:

• ADDA (Agentic Development with Durable Artifacts) — the methodology
• DAWE (Deterministic ADDA Workflow Execution) — the execution model
• DAWE Engine — the external deterministic component that runs DAWE

This plan renames all affected files and updates all terminology references across docs and CLAUDE.md.

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Files changed

Action	From	To
Rename + full rewrite	docs/claude-sdlc/phase-primary-proposal.md	docs/claude-sdlc/dawe-proposal.md
Rename + content update	docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md	docs/adda-sdlc.md
Content update only	docs/CLAUDE-DEV-ENVIRONMENT.md	—
Content update only	docs/CURRENT-STATE.md	—
Content update only	docs/claude-sdlc/relay-protocol.md	—
Content update only	CLAUDE.md	—

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Work breakdown

1. Feature branch

gh issue develop 147
git checkout <branch>

2. Rename and rewrite dawe-proposal.md

Use git mv to rename, then rewrite content:

• Title: # Phase-Primary: Concept Proposal → # DAWE: Concept Proposal
• Opening paragraph: reframe as capturing the ideation that produced the DAWE proposal
• Add new section ## DAWE definitions (immediately after the title/opening paragraph, before the core concept section) capturing from the issue comment:
  • Short definition: "DAWE is an ADDA execution model based on deterministic phase flow and single-phase agentic sessions."
  • Extended definition: "DAWE is an ADDA execution model where SDLC flow control is externalized into a deterministic engine, while agentic work happens inside single-phase sessions launched by the engine. Each session ends by committing a handoff artifact and exiting, which returns control to the engine for Project Owner gating and phase advancement. PM becomes an on-call judgment agent rather than the permanent primary session."
• ## The conductor section heading → ## The DAWE Engine
• All 17 occurrences of "conductor" → "DAWE Engine"
• All 3 occurrences of "phase-primary" → "DAWE"
• Adopt richer vocabulary from the issue comment terminology table where it fits naturally:
  • "handoff document" → "handoff artifact"
  • "PO gate" / "PO gates" → "Project Owner gate"
  • "phase session" for individual agent sessions (where currently just "session")
  • "phase agent" for the agent active in a given phase
  • "on-call PM" (already used in proposal — confirm consistent)
  • "dispatch brief" (already used — no change needed)
• Any residual "SDLC" references in context of the methodology → "ADDA"

3. Rename and update adda-sdlc.md

Use git mv docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md docs/adda-sdlc.md, then:

• Line 1: # Agentic SDLC → # ADDA — Agentic Development with Durable Artifacts
• Immediately after the title, add a single opening sentence unpacking the acronym and setting the stage — analogous in function to DAWE's extended definition. Example: "ADDA is an agent-native software development flow where durable artifacts — specifications, technical designs, implementation plans, handoff artifacts, and issue state — carry context across phases, agents, reviews, implementation, and release, so that no phase relies on hidden session memory."
• Line 320: AGENTIC-SDLC.md → adda-sdlc.md
• Line 654: docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md → docs/adda-sdlc.md
• Line 658: AGENTIC-SDLC.md → adda-sdlc.md

4. Update docs/CLAUDE-DEV-ENVIRONMENT.md

• Line 5: [AGENTIC-SDLC.md](AGENTIC-SDLC.md) → [adda-sdlc.md](adda-sdlc.md)

5. Update docs/CURRENT-STATE.md

• Line 31: docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md → docs/adda-sdlc.md

6. Update docs/claude-sdlc/relay-protocol.md

• Line 174: docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md → docs/adda-sdlc.md

7. Update CLAUDE.md

• Line 34: Proto-SDLC (until full Agentic SDLC implemented) → Proto-SDLC (until full ADDA implemented)
• Line 184: Agentic SDLC → ADDA, docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md → docs/adda-sdlc.md

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Verification

• git diff --stat to confirm only expected files changed
• grep -r "Agentic SDLC\|AGENTIC-SDLC\|phase-primary\|conductor" docs/ CLAUDE.md — should return zero matches
• Confirm docs/adda-sdlc.md and docs/claude-sdlc/dawe-proposal.md exist
• Confirm old filenames AGENTIC-SDLC.md and phase-primary-proposal.md are gone
• Spot-read dawe-proposal.md to confirm terminology is consistent and the richer vocab is adopted naturally

[nightjarrr]

Status: complete

Implemented:

• [Step 1] Branch was already checked out per PO — no action needed.
• [Step 2] Renamed docs/claude-sdlc/phase-primary-proposal.md → docs/claude-sdlc/dawe-proposal.md via git mv; rewrote content with: new title, opening paragraph, ## DAWE definitions section, ## The DAWE Engine section heading, all 17 "conductor" → "DAWE Engine" replacements, all 3 "phase-primary" → "DAWE" replacements, and richer vocabulary throughout (handoff artifact, Project Owner gate, phase agent, dispatch brief, on-call PM, ADDA).
• [Step 3] Renamed docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md → docs/adda-sdlc.md via git mv; updated title to # ADDA — Agentic Development with Durable Artifacts; added opening ADDA definition sentence; updated all three self-references within the file (adda-sdlc.md in repository structure tree, docs/adda-sdlc.md in the project context table, and the closing self-reference sentence).
• [Step 4] Updated docs/CLAUDE-DEV-ENVIRONMENT.md line 5: companion link updated to adda-sdlc.md.
• [Step 5] Updated docs/CURRENT-STATE.md line 31: docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md → docs/adda-sdlc.md.
• [Step 6] Updated docs/claude-sdlc/relay-protocol.md line 174: docs/AGENTIC-SDLC.md → docs/adda-sdlc.md.
• [Step 7] Updated CLAUDE.md: "Proto-SDLC (until full ADDA implemented)" and "ADDA" / docs/adda-sdlc.md in the Ongoing initiatives section.

Quality Gates: N/A — docs-only change; no Python source files modified; pre-commit hooks ran and skipped (no files to check). Commit succeeded.

Commits:

• 59a08a3 Added ADDA/DAWE/DAWE Engine naming across docs (Define names for key AGENTIC-SDLC concepts and refine documentation accordingly #147) — pushed

Deviations:

• None. All changes follow the impl-plan exactly. One note: the ## PM's revised role section in dawe-proposal.md describes PM as an "on-call PM" — the impl-plan lists "on-call PM" as already-used vocabulary requiring no change, which is confirmed; the prose was kept as-is.

Additional findings:

• None.

Escalations:

• None (after PO resolved the two initial blockers from the previous session).

Deferred / open:

• None.