Technical Spike Definition

Define a technical spike to answer {{question}}.

Context: {{context}}
Decision needed by: {{deadline}}
Stakeholders: {{stakeholders}}

**Spike Definition:**

**1. Spike Objective**
- Question to answer (specific)
- Decision this informs
- Why we need to know now

**2. Scope**

*In Scope*
- Specific areas to investigate
- Depth of investigation needed
- Artifacts to produce

*Out of Scope*
- What we are NOT investigating
- Production-ready code
- Full solutions

**3. Success Criteria**
- What does a successful spike look like?
- Minimum viable answer
- Definition of done

**4. Time Box**
- Maximum duration
- Checkpoint schedule
- When to stop if stuck

**5. Approach**
- Investigation plan
- Options to explore
- POC requirements (if any)

**6. Output Format**
- Findings document structure
- Recommendation format
- Presentation needs

**7. Risk of Not Doing**
- What if we skip the spike?
- Cost of being wrong
- Alternative ways to learn

**8. After the Spike**
- Decision process
- Next steps options
- Knowledge sharing