AirSDLC

The AI-Responsible Software Development Lifecycle

A comprehensive framework specification for AI-driven software development that bridges the gap between business requirements and production code.

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Quick Navigation

• 📖 Get Started

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  New to AirSDLC? Start here to understand the framework.

  → Read Overview

• 🧠 Core Philosophy

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  Learn the foundational AI-DLC principles behind AirSDLC.

  → Explore Philosophy

• 🔄 Three Phases

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  Understand Inception, Design, and Construction phases.

  → View Lifecycle

• 📄 Artifacts

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  Complete specifications for DAA, ADR, TIP, RFC, and more.

  → Browse Artifacts

• ✅ Workflow Guide

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  Step-by-step process from PRD to production.

  → Follow Workflow

• ⚡ Operations

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  Context-aware incident response and monitoring.

  → Learn Operations

• 🧩 Extensibility

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  Adapt the framework to your team's unique needs.

  → Extend Framework

• 💻 Examples

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  See real-world artifacts in action.

  → View Examples

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What is AirSDLC?

AirSDLC (AI-Responsible Software Development Lifecycle) is not a tool—it is a framework specification that provides:

• Core Principles: AI-driven execution with human oversight
• Artifact Definitions: Structured specifications for all lifecycle artifacts
• Lifecycle Phases: Sequential knowledge handoff from business to code
• Workflow Patterns: Repeatable, validated processes
• Extension Guidelines: Adapt to your team's needs

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The Three Phases

graph LR
    A[Business Intent] --> B(Inception)
    B --> C[AI-DAA]
    C --> D(Design)
    D --> E[AI-ADR]
    E --> F(Construction)
    F --> G[Production Code]

1. Inception (The "WHAT") - Business intent → Domain model
2. Design (The "HOW") - Domain model → Architecture decisions
3. Construction (The "BUILD & RUN") - Decisions → Production code

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Framework vs. Implementation

Important Distinction

• AirSDLC (this repository): The framework specification
• Implementation Tools: Concrete software that implements the framework

This separation ensures multiple tools can implement the same standard.

Framework Origins

AirSDLC is an open-source implementation of the AI-Driven Development Lifecycle (AI-DLC) framework developed by Amazon Web Services. See AI-DLC Attribution for details.

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For Different Audiences

Teams Adopting AirSDLCTool ImplementersArchitects & Leads

Getting Started:

1. Read Overview for the big picture
2. Study Philosophy for core principles
3. Follow Workflow for practical guidance
4. Explore Examples to see artifacts

Best Practices:

• Start with Lightweight Workflow for simple features
• Use Full Workflow for complex/high-risk features
• Maintain Knowledge Repository as single source of truth
• Validate AI outputs at every phase

Implementation Guide:

1. Review Artifacts for data structures
2. Study Lifecycle for phase requirements
3. Check Extensibility for conformance criteria
4. Build tools that implement this specification

Conformance Requirements:

• ✅ Implement core artifacts (PRD, DAA/TIP, ADR)
• ✅ Support sequential phases with validation gates
• ✅ Maintain traceability chain
• ✅ Store artifacts in Knowledge Repository

Strategic Adoption:

• Evaluate Philosophy against team values
• Customize Extensibility for your context
• Build Architectural Playbook
• Define workflow paths for your complexity matrix

Key Decisions:

• Full vs Lightweight workflow thresholds
• Custom artifact types for compliance
• Validation ceremony cadence
• Tool selection criteria

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Ready to Start?

🚀 Get Started

📦 View on GitHub

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