Adjust Level of Planning according to task complexity

[jaycangel]

I’d like to propose an enhancement to spec-kit’s planning process: the ability to assess the complexity of a requested feature and adjust the effort level accordingly.

For example, I recently asked spec-kit to add Mermaid and table rendering to a markdown field on my site, spec-kit spent about 45 minutes generating a detailed plan and multiple tasks, but none of it worked and it introduced thousands of new errors. In the end, the fix was just a quick addition of a couple of plugins to my existing markdown renderer (which Claude managed first time with a simple prompt).

It seems that for very simple features, spec-kit can sometimes over-engineer the solution rather than generating a simple task. It would be helpful if spec-kit could:

• Estimate the complexity and effort of a feature request - KISS Principle.
• Cross-reference existing functionality before proposing a plan and conducting research.
• Offer a lightweight, minimal change option when appropriate.

This would make spec-kit faster, more accurate, and less prone to over-complication for straightforward tasks.

I think it's important that spec-kit can manage a variety of complexity of user features. If it cannot the user will have to make a gut decision if somethint id "big enough" for a spec, or should be handled directly by Claude/Gemini/codex etc.

[jeremy-schaab]

I am experiencing this as we speak. Trying to determine at what point should I use spec-kit based on task complexity. I am trying to break things down into smaller changes, inherently less complex, but still should be 'spec'd' out and documented. I want to use the great features of spec-kit but have it be more efficient based on stated or analyzed complexity.