GenAI development techniques — comparison¶
A comprehensive, evidence-based comparison of techniques, methodologies, and frameworks for structured AI-assisted software development. The focus is on how humans organize and direct AI coding agents — not on the AI models or tools themselves.
Start here¶
Choosing Your Approach — Which technique fits your situation? Decision guide by team size, project type, industry, and development activity.
Overview and comparison matrix — Executive summary, full comparison table, and category analysis.
Deep-dive documents¶
Decision guide¶
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Choosing Your Approach | Which technique for which situation — by team size, project type, industry, methodology, and task type |
Spec-Driven Development¶
Star counts are snapshots observed on August 8, 2026. They are awareness signals, not adoption evidence.
| Technique | Description | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| GSD (Get Shit Done) | Spec-driven workflow continued as GSD Core after the original repository was archived | ~7.9K* |
| Spec Kit | GitHub's official toolkit for spec-driven development — specs → plans → tasks | ~126K |
| OpenSpec | Change-centric SDD with delta specs, broad multi-tool support, and a vendor-neutral skills target | ~64K |
* GSD migrated from an archived repository with ~64.7K stars to open-gsd/gsd-core; the successor repository started its own count.
Multi-Agent Orchestration¶
| Technique | Description | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Squad | Coordinator-based multi-agent orchestration with persistent memory, casting, and ceremonies | ~3.1K |
| BMAD | AI-driven agile framework with specialized roles, structured phases, and modular workflows | ~52K |
Skill-Based Development¶
| Technique | Description | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Superpowers | Mandatory skills methodology — TDD, subagent-driven development, and review enforcement | ~269K |
Autonomous Iteration¶
| Technique | Description | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph | Autonomous bash-loop methodology — tests as backpressure, git as memory, tool-agnostic | Community |
Enterprise AI-Native SDLC¶
| Technique | Description | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| HVE | Microsoft ISE's RPI workflow with constraint-based governance and a growing repository-level skills inventory | ~1.3K |
Cross-cutting¶
| Technique | Description |
|---|---|
| Context Engineering | The practice of structuring project context via rules files across an 8-layer model |
Skills ecosystem¶
This supporting market layer is not an eleventh Tier 1 technique or a sixth methodology category.
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Skills ecosystem | Agent Skills specification, mattpocock/skills, skills.sh, Anthropic reference skills, GitHub's Copilot channel, portability, provenance, and selection guidance |
Audience: Developers, tech leads, and engineering managers evaluating structured approaches to AI-assisted development.
What this is not: A ranking. Each technique serves different needs. The Decision Guide in the overview helps match techniques to situations.