speckit-scope-budget

name	speckit-scope-budget
description	Generate a time budget showing estimated hours per phase, requirement, and risk buffer
compatibility	Requires spec-kit project structure with .specify/ directory
metadata	{"author":"github-spec-kit","source":"scope:commands/speckit.scope.budget.md"}

Scope Budget

Generate a structured time budget that allocates estimated hours across phases, requirements, and overhead categories. Designed for sprint planning, resource allocation, and stakeholder communication — turns a spec into a project plan with time allocations.

User Input

$ARGUMENTS

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty). The user may specify:

• Available hours (e.g., "we have 40 hours this sprint")
• Team size (e.g., "2 developers")
• Priority constraints (e.g., "must ship auth first")
• Budget format (e.g., "sprint plan", "gantt-style", "summary")

Prerequisites

1. Confirm you are inside a git repository.
2. Verify .specify/ directory exists with at least spec.md.
3. Read spec.md to extract requirements and scenarios.
4. If plan.md exists, read it for technical complexity and architecture decisions.
5. If tasks.md exists, read it for phase structure and task breakdown.
6. Run complexity estimation on spec artifacts.

Outline

1. Calculate Total Budget: Estimate total effort from spec complexity.

   • Use complexity scoring methodology (same as /speckit.scope.estimate)
   • Produce base estimate range
   • Add risk buffer

2. Allocate by Phase: Distribute hours across implementation phases.

   ## Phase Budget
   
   | Phase | Tasks | Hours | % of Total | Priority |
   |-------|-------|-------|------------|----------|
   | Phase 1: Setup | 4 | 5h | 10% | P1 — blocking |
   | Phase 2: Core Auth | 6 | 18h | 36% | P1 — core feature |
   | Phase 3: Admin | 4 | 12h | 24% | P2 — enhancement |
   | Testing & QA | — | 8h | 16% | P1 — quality gate |
   | Buffer & Review | — | 7h | 14% | — risk buffer |
   | **Total** | **14** | **50h** | **100%** | |
   

3. Allocate by Requirement: Show hours per individual requirement.

   ## Requirement Budget
   
   | Requirement | Hours | Phase | Dependencies |
   |-------------|-------|-------|-------------|
   | REQ-001: Signup | 5h | Phase 2 | None |
   | REQ-002: Login | 4h | Phase 2 | REQ-001 |
   | REQ-003: JWT | 5h | Phase 2 | REQ-002 |
   | REQ-004: Rate limiting | 5h | Phase 2 | REQ-002 |
   | REQ-005: Admin dashboard | 8h | Phase 3 | REQ-001, REQ-002 |
   

4. Overhead Allocation: Budget non-feature work.

   ## Overhead Budget
   
   | Category | Hours | Justification |
   |----------|-------|---------------|
   | Environment setup | 2h | Docker, CI config, env variables |
   | Code review | 3h | 2 rounds of review estimated |
   | Documentation | 2h | API docs, README updates |
   | Risk buffer | 7h | 14% buffer for unknowns |
   | **Total Overhead** | **14h** | **28% of budget** |
   

5. Sprint Fit Analysis: Check if the spec fits available time.

   ## Sprint Fit
   
   | Metric | Value |
   |--------|-------|
   | Available hours | 40h (user-specified) |
   | Required hours | 50h (realistic estimate) |
   | Deficit | -10h (25% over budget) |
   | Status | 🔴 Does NOT fit |
   
   ## Options to Fit Sprint
   | Option | Cut | New Total | Fits? |
   |--------|-----|-----------|-------|
   | Defer Phase 3 (admin) | -12h | 38h | ✅ Yes |
   | Defer rate limiting | -5h | 45h | 🟡 Tight |
   | Reduce testing to unit only | -4h | 46h | 🟡 Risky |
   | Add 1 developer (split work) | — | 25h/person | ✅ Yes |
   

6. Visual Budget: Show allocation as a visual chart.

   ## Budget Visualization
   
   Setup      ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  5h (10%)
   Core Auth  ██████████████████░░░░ 18h (36%)
   Admin      ████████████░░░░░░░░░░ 12h (24%)
   Testing    ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  8h (16%)
   Buffer     ███████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  7h (14%)
   
   Total: 50h | Available: 40h | Gap: -10h
   

7. Output: Deliver the complete budget report.

Rules

• Read-only — never modify any files, only analyze and report
• Additive — all phase budgets must sum to the total budget exactly
• Buffer-explicit — always include a visible risk buffer (10-25% depending on complexity)
• Sprint-aware — if user provides available hours, always check if the spec fits
• Options-oriented — if scope exceeds budget, suggest concrete trade-offs to fit
• Dependency-ordered — show which requirements block others to guide sequencing
• Overhead-honest — always budget for setup, review, and documentation, not just feature work
• Visual — include bar chart visualization for quick comprehension