ai-sdlc-claude

You have an idea, a pain point, or a ticket

Read time: 3 minutes. You need no technical background and no Git.

What this is

When you describe a problem to Claude, it asks the questions an analyst would and writes the result as a short file called intent.md: the problem, what better looks like, who is affected, constraints, what is out of scope, open questions. That file, in your words and with your name on it, is what the product owner reads and what engineering eventually builds from. No backlog grooming, no story points, no refinement meeting.

What you type

• In claude.ai or Cowork: describe the problem, then say “write this up as an intent”, and when it looks right, “commit it”.
• In Claude Code: /sdlc:intent "customers phone to ask where their claim is" (or /sdlc:intent CLM-123 to start from a ticket).

What happens, step by step

1. You describe the problem however you like. Numbers help (“about a third of call time”).
2. Claude asks a few questions: who is affected, what does better look like, which systems, what is non-negotiable, what is out of scope. Answer what you know; say “don’t know” for the rest.
3. Claude shows the draft. Correct anything it misunderstood. Repeat until it says what you mean.
4. Say “commit it”. Claude saves sdlc/changes/<date>-<name>/intent.md in the code repository and opens a pull request assigned to the product owner. Your name and the time are recorded automatically.
5. You are done. Ask Claude “where is my intent?” any time, or look at the pull request.

What you will see

A file like this (the example from the course):

# Intent: claims status self-service
Author: J. Ortiz (claims operations). Status: draft.
## Problem
Customers phone the contact center to ask where their claim is.
Handlers spend roughly a third of call time on status-only queries.
## Proposed outcome
Customers see claim status, next step and expected date in the portal.
## Constraints
No new PII in the portal session. Existing authentication only.
## Open questions
Do third-party loss adjusters need access too?

What only you can do

Say what the problem is and confirm the file says it. Claude will not invent numbers or stakeholders; anything unknown goes under “Open questions” for the product owner.

What you never have to do

Write requirements or solutions (that is the next stage), use Git, or chase status.

If something goes wrong

• Claude says it cannot commit: your claude.ai organisation may not have the GitHub/GitLab connector enabled. Copy the file text and send it to the product owner; they can save it at the path Claude names.
• The product owner closes the pull request: that is a recorded “no” with a reason in the comments. Ask them.

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