Units

Cohesive, self-contained work elements derived from Intents

What is a Unit?

A Unit is a cohesive, self-contained work element derived from an Intent. Units are loosely coupled and can be developed independently.

Unit Characteristics

Example: Authentication Intent → Units

An “User Authentication System” intent might decompose into:

Intent: User Authentication System
├── Unit: User Registration
│   ├── Registration form
│   ├── Email validation
│   └── Account creation
├── Unit: User Login
│   ├── Login form
│   ├── Session management
│   └── Remember me
├── Unit: Password Management
│   ├── Password reset
│   ├── Password change
│   └── Password policies
└── Unit: Session Management
    ├── Token handling
    ├── Session expiry
    └── Logout

Unit Structure

Each unit lives in its own directory:

memory-bank/intents/{intent}/units/{unit-name}/
├── unit-brief.md        # Unit definition and scope
├── stories/             # User stories for this unit
│   ├── story-001.md
│   └── story-002.md
└── bolts/               # Bolt execution records
    ├── bolt-001/
    └── bolt-002/

Unit Brief

The unit-brief.md defines the unit:

# Unit: User Registration

## Purpose
Enable new users to create accounts in the system.

## Scope

### In Scope
- Email/password registration
- Email validation
- Account creation in database
- Welcome email

### Out of Scope
- Social login (separate unit)
- Profile management (separate unit)

## Dependencies
- Email Service (external)
- User Database (shared)

## Interfaces

### Inputs
- Registration form data (email, password)

### Outputs
- User account created
- Confirmation email sent

## Stories
- US-001: User Registration Form
- US-002: Email Validation
- US-003: Welcome Email

Decomposing into Units

The Inception Agent helps decompose intents:

/specsmd-inception-agent units

The agent will:

Unit Dependencies

Units should be loosely coupled, but some dependencies are natural:

Best Practices

Next Steps