Turn the request into an acceptance contract.
User value, scope boundaries, testable behavior, risk, owner, and release evidence.
Human gate
Confirm the behavior and failure modes before an agent touches the repository.
ROLE DOSSIER / SPECIFY × BUILD × VERIFY × SHIP
Software engineer membership stack.
See plan cost, the Lean route, and the human gate for every stage.
PURCHASE SIZE / ROLE TEAM
1 operatorPer-member plans scale with the team; account, site, usage, and one-time plans stay fixed until checkout.
SPECIFY × BUILD × VERIFY × SHIP
Software engineer
Use agents to implement under a human release review.Software engineers define acceptance criteria, supervise agent changes, review protected branches, test previews, check security, and release through reversible controls.
Recommended stack$74/ month · 1 person
Lean route$40/ month · 1 person
Annual difference$408/ year
MEMBERSHIP ROUTE / 5
Recommended memberships
01
GitHubSource, review, and merge controls
Team1 seat · Per member · Per user, billed monthly$4/mo02
LinearProduct intent + delegated work
Basic1 seat · Per member · Per user, billed yearly$10/mo03
CursorRepository-native implementation
Pro1 seat · Per member · Billed monthly; on-demand usage can cost extra$20/mo04
ChatGPTArchitecture + general technical research
Plus1 seat · Per member · Billed monthly$20/mo05
VercelCommercial previews + production
Pro1 seat · Per member · Per developer seat; usage extra$20/moPLAN DELTA / PROFESSIONAL → LEAN
What changes in Lean.
| Tool | Professional | Decision | Lean | Monthly delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub | Team$4/mo | Change plan | Free$0/mo | Save $4 |
| Linear | Basic$10/mo | Change plan | Free$0/mo | Save $10 |
| Cursor | Pro$20/mo | Keep plan | Pro$20/mo | No change |
| ChatGPT | Plus$20/mo | Remove | Not included | Save $20 |
| Vercel | Pro$20/mo | Keep plan | Pro$20/mo | No change |
FRONTIER WORKFLOW / HUMAN IN LOOP
The work, step by step.
Give the coding agent repository truth, constraints, and tests.
A small implementation plan tied to current code, tests, permissions, and rollback.
Human gate
Review the plan for secret exposure, destructive actions, and scope expansion.
Implement on a branch with required checks and review.
Focused commits, automated tests, dependency review, code-owner feedback, and a traceable pull request.
Human gate
Require passing checks and resolve material review findings before merge.
Turn every pull request into a production-shaped preview.
Isolated preview URL, scoped environment, browser QA, performance evidence, and stakeholder sign-off.
Human gate
Test critical paths, data boundaries, and the visual happy path in the preview.
Promote only a reviewed, observable, reversible artifact.
Protected production merge, deployment record, health checks, release notes, and rollback route.
Human gate
A named owner approves production and watches the first real-user signals.
RESEARCH SIGNALS / OFFICIAL SOURCES
What is changing now.
01
Agents are becoming delegated teammates with visible owners.
Linear keeps the human as the primary issue owner while an agent works through a delegated activity thread and explicit status.
linear.app02Merge policy is becoming executable product governance.
GitHub rules and protected branches can require reviews, status checks, signed commits, and controlled merge behavior before code reaches the release line.
docs.github.com03The pull request is now a live release candidate.
Vercel creates a unique preview deployment for every pull request, separating local, preview, and production environments for deliberate promotion.
vercel.com04Agent quality starts with a reviewable plan and test target.
Cursor’s current guidance centers repository research, editable plans, tests, diff review, and evidence-led debugging before code reaches the release line.
cursor.com