tf-domain-category

name	tf-domain-category
description	8 category ambiguity taxonomy for Terraform infrastructure specifications. Structured scan methodology, prioritization heuristics, and clarification question patterns. Use when scanning Terraform specifications for ambiguity, missing decision points, or underspecified requirements.
source	image

Terraform Specification Ambiguity Taxonomy

Purpose

Detect and reduce ambiguity or missing decision points in feature specifications. Each category is scanned and marked: Clear / Partial / Missing.

8-Category Taxonomy

1. Functional Scope & Behavior

• Core user goals & success criteria
• Explicit out-of-scope declarations
• User roles / personas differentiation

2. Domain & Data Model

• Entities, attributes, relationships
• Identity & uniqueness rules
• Lifecycle/state transitions
• Data volume / scale assumptions

3. Operational Workflows & Day-2 Operations

• Provisioning and deployment sequences
• Day-2 operations (scaling, patching, rotation)
• Failure recovery and rollback procedures

4. Non-Functional Quality Attributes

• Performance (latency, throughput targets)
• Scalability (horizontal/vertical, limits)
• Reliability & availability (uptime, recovery expectations)
• Observability (logging, metrics, tracing signals)
• Security & privacy (authN/Z, data protection, threat assumptions)
• Compliance / regulatory constraints

5. Integration & External Dependencies

• External services/APIs and failure modes
• Data import/export formats
• Protocol/versioning assumptions

6. Edge Cases & Failure Handling

• Negative scenarios
• Rate limiting / throttling
• Resource dependency failures and circular references
• Service quota/limit exhaustion
• State drift and import scenarios

7. Constraints & Tradeoffs

• Technical constraints (language, storage, hosting)
• Explicit tradeoffs or rejected alternatives

8. Terminology & Consistency

• Canonical glossary terms
• Avoided synonyms / deprecated terms

Bonus Categories (check but lower priority)

• Completion Signals: Acceptance criteria testability, measurable DoD indicators
• Misc / Placeholders: TODO markers, ambiguous adjectives ("highly available", "scalable", "secure") lacking quantification

Prioritization Heuristic

Rank by Impact x Uncertainty:

• High impact + high uncertainty → ask first
• Low impact regardless of uncertainty → skip or defer
• Categories already Clear → skip entirely

Question Constraints

• Maximum 6 questions per session, 10 across full session
• One question slot is mandatory and reserved for the security-defaults question: confirming which security defaults (encryption, IAM boundaries, logging) the user wants applied vs. customized. This counts toward the per-session maximum.
• Each question must be answerable with:
  • Multiple-choice (2-5 options), OR
  • Short answer (≤5 words)
• Only include questions whose answers materially impact: architecture, data modeling, task decomposition, test design, UX behavior, operational readiness, or compliance
• Cover highest-impact unresolved categories first

Question Exclusions

• Already answered in spec
• Trivial stylistic preferences
• Plan-level execution details (unless blocking correctness)

Terraform-Specific Focus Areas

When scanning Terraform infrastructure specs, pay special attention to:

• Network topology ambiguity (VPC layout, subnet strategy, connectivity)
• IAM permission scope (least privilege boundaries)
• Encryption requirements (at-rest, in-transit, key management)
• Multi-region/AZ strategy
• State management and backend configuration
• Environment promotion strategy