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MVP Overview#

Overview#

This planning document outlines the systematic approach to creating detailed requirements files for the Gardening Application MVP. These requirements will follow the template at docs/templates/requirements-template.md and serve as inputs for specification generation using the established SDD workflow:

Requirements → Specifications → Architecture Diagrams → Threat Models → TDD Implementation

Key Principles#

  1. Specification-Driven: All code will be generated from formal specifications
  2. Security-First: CodeGuard rules integrated from the start
  3. Incremental Delivery: Components built in priority order based on value and dependencies
  4. Systems Design Methodology: Formal requirements analysis following Cornell's approach
  5. Traceability: Complete tracking from requirements → specs → code → tests

Current State Analysis#

Existing Requirements Documentation (REQ-000 Series)#

These files contain high-level systems design artifacts (status is estimated and may be flexible depending on stage of completion):

File Content Purpose Status
REQ-000a_General.md Project description, stakeholders, context System overview Complete
REQ-000b_Scope.md Context diagrams, scenarios, scope trees System boundaries Complete
REQ-000c_UseCases.md Actor-based use case table (23+ scenarios) User interactions Complete
REQ-000d_UCBDs.md Use Case Behavior Diagrams Behavioral flows Complete
REQ-000e_Requirements.md Centralized requirements table Requirement specs Started (25 provisional data mgmt reqs added)
REQ-000f_FBDs.md Functional Flow Block Diagrams Functional architecture Complete
REQ-000g_Decisions.md Decision diagrams Design decisions Complete

Recent Updates (2025-12-27):

  • Added 25 provisional data management requirements to REQ-000e (OR3.N - OR7.N) covering:
  • Plant data CSV loading and validation
  • PlantLinks management
  • Nursery data management
  • Companion plant relationships
  • Data integrity and canonical sources
  • Enhanced REQ-000b Plant Database section with detailed, categorized data needs
  • Updated REQ-000a with high-level data seeding capabilities

Key Finding: The REQ-000 series provides excellent high-level systems design but lacks the detailed, implementable requirements needed to generate specifications following requirements-template.md.

Gap Analysis#

What We Have:

  • System context and boundaries (REQ-000a, REQ-000b)
  • High-level scope trees (REQ-000b)
  • User roles and scenarios (REQ-000c)
  • Behavioral flows (REQ-000d)

What We Need:

  • Detailed requirements files for each component/module/feature following the template structure:

  • Context (purpose, role, users, scenarios)

  • Functional requirements (core features, business logic, state management)
  • UI/UX requirements (layout, visual design, responsive behavior, accessibility)
  • Data requirements (models, schemas, validation, API specs)
  • Integration requirements (dependencies, data flow, external services)
  • Constraints (technical stack, performance, security, design standards)
  • Success criteria (validation checklists)

System Architecture Summary#

Based on REQ-000b_Scope.md, the system has three primary deliverables:

  1. GeneralUser (highest priority) - Core plant database and gardening tools
  2. CommunityMember (medium priority) - Community garden collaboration (which requires ability to create roles and elevate community garden privileges)
  3. AdminAccess (lowest priority, currently de-prioritized) - System administration