Minor refinements to the instructions and explanations. Extended the expected time to 75 minutes.

Author: ChrisHowd

Instructions/Labs/LAB_AK_14_get-started-spec-driven-development.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ GitHub Spec Kit is an open-source toolkit that enables Spec-Driven Development (
 
 In this exercise, you learn how to use the GitHub Spec Kit to develop a new greenfield application. You begin by initializing the GitHub Spec Kit for a new .NET project. You then use GitHub Spec Kit workflows to create the constitution, specification, plan, and tasks documents for the new application. Finally, you use GitHub Spec Kit's implementation workflow to implement an initial MVP version of the application.
 
-This exercise should take approximately **60** minutes to complete.
+This exercise should take approximately **75** minutes to complete.
 
 > **IMPORTANT**: To complete this exercise, you must provide your own GitHub account and GitHub Copilot subscription. If you don't have a GitHub account, you can <a href="https://github.com/" target="_blank">sign up</a> for a free individual account and use a GitHub Copilot Free plan to complete the exercise. If you have access to a GitHub Copilot Pro, GitHub Copilot Pro+, GitHub Copilot Business, or GitHub Copilot Enterprise subscription from within your lab environment, you can use your existing GitHub Copilot subscription to complete this exercise.
 
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ For help with configuring your lab environment, open the following link in a bro
 
 ## Exercise scenario
 
-You're a software developer working for a consulting firm that's moving to a spec-driven development (SDD) methodology using GitHub Spec Kit and GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code. You need to start using the SDD methodology and GitHub Spec Kit as soon as possible. One of your clients, Contoso Corporation, needs you to develop an RSS feed reader app for internal employees. You decide to use the SDD methodology for this greenfield project. Using a SDD methodology with GitHub Spec Kit ensures that an MVP version of the application is delivered quickly, and that additional features can be rolled out seamlessly.
+You're a software developer working for a consulting firm that's moving to a spec-driven development (SDD) methodology using GitHub Spec Kit and GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code. Your firm has asked you to start using the SDD methodology and GitHub Spec Kit as soon as possible. One of your clients, Contoso Corporation, needs you to develop an RSS feed reader app for internal employees. You decide to use the SDD methodology for this greenfield project. Using a SDD methodology with GitHub Spec Kit ensures that an MVP version of the application is delivered quickly, and that additional features can be rolled out seamlessly.
 
 Contoso's stakeholders documented the project goals, features, and technical requirements for the RSS feed reader app. This information can be used to help generate the constitution, specification, plan, and tasks documents.
 
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
 
     1. Select **Publish to GitHub private repository**.
 
-        > **IMPORTANT**: If prompted to sign in to GitHub, follow the sign-in process to authenticate your GitHub account.
+        If prompted to sign in to GitHub, follow the sign-in process to authenticate your GitHub account.
 
 1. Verify that the repository was created successfully.
 
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
 
     You can start a new session by selecting the **New Chat** button (the **+** icon at the top of the Chat panel). Starting a new Chat session ensures a clean context.
 
-    > **NOTE:** This lab exercise was tested successfully using the GPT-5.2, Claude Sonnet 4.5, and Claude Opus 4.5 models. The results generated by these models were similar, and relatively consistent. However, using older models such as GPT-4 and GPT-5 mini often produced inconsistent and unexpected results. If possible, we suggest using newer language models that are optimized for complex reasoning when running GitHub Spec Kit commands.
+    > **NOTE:** This lab exercise was tested successfully using the GPT-5.2, Claude Sonnet 4.5, and Claude Opus 4.5 models. The results generated by these models were similar, although the Claude models (especially Claude Opus 4.5) tended to generate a longer list of tasks in the tasks.md file. Testing with older models, such as GPT-4 and GPT-5 mini, often resulted in inconsistent and unexpected results. If possible, we suggest using newer language models that are optimized for complex reasoning when running GitHub Spec Kit commands.
 
 1. Take a moment to consider your options for running the /speckit.constitution command.
 
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
 
 1. Monitor GitHub Copilot's response.
 
-    It can take a minute or two for GitHub Copilot to analyze the project requirements and then update the constitution.md file.
+    It can take a few minutes for GitHub Copilot to analyze the project requirements and then update the constitution.md file.
 
 1. Once GitHub Copilot is finished updating the constitution.md file, take a minute to review the suggested edits.
 
@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
 
     GitHub Copilot analyzes the spec.md and plan.md files and generate tasks in the tasks.md file.
 
-    It can take 3-4 minutes for GitHub Copilot to generate the tasks.md file. Provide permission and assistance when required.
+    It can take 4-6 minutes for GitHub Copilot to generate the tasks.md file. Provide permission and assistance when required.
 
 1. Once the tasks workflow is complete, take a few minutes to review the **tasks.md** file.
 
@@ -629,11 +629,13 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
 
     ```plaintext
     **Phases**: Setup → Foundation → US1 only  
-    **Tasks**: T001 - T037 (37 tasks)  
+    **Tasks**: T001 - T057 (57 tasks)  
     **Deliverable**: Users can add a known-good feed URL; refresh; see items; restart and confirm persistence.
     ```
 
-1. In the Chat view, enter a command that starts the implement workflow for the MVP strategy:
+    The MVP First strategy isn't always limited to the first user story. Depending on the feature complexity, it might include several user stories. They should be listed sequentially after the foundational phase and clearly marked as part of the MVP implementation strategy.
+
+1. In the Chat view, enter a command that starts the implement workflow for the MVP First strategy:
 
     Create a command that specifies the range of tasks required to implement the MVP version of the feature. Use the task range specified in the Implementation Strategy section of the tasks.md file, or calculate it based on the tasks listed under each phase.
 
@@ -642,27 +644,27 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
     For example (referencing the MVP implementation example from the previous step), you might enter the following command:
 
     ```dotnetcli
-    /speckit.implement Implement the MVP strategy (Tasks: T001 - T037)
+    /speckit.implement Implement the MVP First strategy (Tasks: T001 - T057)
     ```
 
-    This command instructs GitHub Copilot to begin implementing the tasks required for the MVP version of the RSS Feed Reader app.
+    This command instructs GitHub Copilot to begin implementing the tasks required for the MVP First strategy of the RSS Feed Reader app.
 
-    In this exercise, we ask you to implement all of the tasks for the MVP strategy using a single /speckit.implement command. In part, this is because we can't predict how many tasks and phases will be associated with the MVP in your tasks.md file. Although the RSS reader scenario is relatively simple, it's still significant and can take 20+ minutes for the implementation to complete (quicker than manual coding but requiring patience while the AI debugs its work). In a production environment, you would probably follow a phased approach, such as implementing the tasks for the Setup and Foundational phases first, and then implementing the tasks for the User Story phases one at a time.
+    In this exercise, you implement all of the tasks for the MVP First strategy using a single /speckit.implement command. In part, this is because we can't predict how many tasks and phases will be associated with the MVP First strategy in your tasks.md file. Although the RSS feed reader scenario is relatively simple, it still include a significant task scope and can take 20-30 minutes for the implementation to complete (quicker than manual coding but it requires some patience while the AI debugs its work). In a production environment, you would probably follow a phased approach, such as implementing the tasks for the Setup and Foundational phases first, and then implementing the tasks for each User Story phase one at a time.
 
 1. Monitor GitHub Copilot's response and provide assistance in the Chat view.
 
     The agent builds the app incrementally, task by task, following the order defined in the tasks.md file.
 
-    > **NOTE**: GitHub Copilot is diligent about checking its work during the implementation, which is great. GitHub Copilot also keeps you involved during the implementation process. Requests for assistance occur frequently. The time required to complete the implementation can be affected by how quickly you respond to requests for assistance.
+    > **NOTE**: GitHub Copilot is diligent about checking its work during the implementation, which is great, but can be time-consuming. GitHub Copilot also keeps you involved during the implementation process. Requests for assistance occur frequently. The time required to complete the implementation can be affected by how quickly you respond to requests for assistance/permission.
 
 1. If manual testing is required to verify a task, perform the steps described in the Chat view, and then report the results back to GitHub Copilot.
 
     You might encounter issues during manual testing. For example:
 
-    1. GitHub Copilot tells you that manual testing is required to verify that Feed URLs are working correctly.
+    1. GitHub Copilot tells you that manual testing is required to verify that subscriptions can be added successfully.
     1. The backend application is already running locally on `http://localhost:5000`.
     1. You start the frontend application using Visual Studio Code's terminal. The frontend application starts successfully and is running on `http://localhost:5239`.
-    1. You open a browser and navigate to the frontend application (for example, `http://localhost:5239`).
+    1. You open a browser and navigate to the URL specified for the frontend application.
     1. When the page loads, it reports an error: "An unhandled error has occurred. Reload".
     1. You open the browser's developer tools to investigate further.
     1. In the developer tools console, you see the following error message:
@@ -689,9 +691,9 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
 
     Continue to provide assistance until the issue is resolved. Once the issue is resolved, GitHub Copilot should ask you to resume manual testing.
 
-1. Continue with the implementation workflow until all tasks required for the MVP application are complete.
+1. Continue with the implementation workflow until all tasks required for the MVP application are complete and the application is fully functional.
 
-    GitHub Copilot should notify in the Chat view when the MVP implementation is complete.
+    GitHub Copilot should notify in the Chat view when the backend and frontend applications are fully functional.
 
 1. Accept all changes made to the project files.
 
@@ -709,7 +711,7 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
 
 1. Use the launch configuration to run the backend and frontend applications.
 
-    If you encounter any errors, provide a detailed description of the error message and any relevant logs to GitHub Copilot for assistance.
+    If you encounter any errors, provide a detailed description of the error message and any relevant logs to GitHub Copilot for assistance. You can launch the backend and frontend separately if needed.
 
 1. Open a browser and navigate to the Subscriptions page of the frontend application.
 
@@ -727,7 +729,7 @@ Use the following steps to complete this task:
     - https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/feed/ (The Old New Thing)
     - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/shows/feed.xml (Microsoft Learn / Shows)
 
-    You can find the acceptance scenarios in the spec.md file. The acceptance scenarios listed under the **User Scenarios & Testing** section. The MVP application is usually associated with the first user story (US1) in the spec.md file.
+    You can find the acceptance scenarios in the spec.md file. The acceptance scenarios listed under the **User Scenarios & Testing** section.
 
     For example, the acceptance scenarios for the MVP application might be similar to the following example: