Agency Client Transparency Workflow

Use Spec Kitty's lane-based status output to provide development visibility to clients without exposing code.

Setup

# Human-readable lane board for the Mission
spec-kitty agent tasks status

# Machine-readable snapshot to paste into a report or shared doc
spec-kitty agent tasks status --json > status-report.json

The bundled local web dashboard has been removed. A read-only Mission Status Read API (#5528) is planned as the contract for a replacement UI, which will live in its own repository. Until then, share status output and spec artifacts directly.

2. What Client Sees

Lane board - Tasks grouped by lane
Mission summary - Titles and progress
Artifact links - Access to spec.md (requirements) and plan.md (architecture)
Agent assignments - Which developer/AI is working on what
No code - Only specifications and task status, not implementation

Client Meeting Patterns

Sprint Planning Meeting

Before Meeting:

/spec-kitty.specify

Build a customer dashboard showing:
- Recent order history
- Account settings management
- Support ticket submission
- Real-time order tracking

During Meeting:

Share screen showing kitty-specs/002-customer-dashboard/spec.md
Walk through user stories and acceptance criteria
Client feedback → Update spec.md live
Confirm scope → Resolve open questions directly in spec.md before planning
Show status → Client sees the new Mission appear in spec-kitty agent tasks status

After Meeting:

Client receives the next status report
Sees tasks appear in "planned" lane as you run /spec-kitty.tasks

Daily Standup (Async via Status Reports)

Client reviews the daily status report:

Morning: Sees tasks moved to "doing" lane
Afternoon: Watches progress (tasks moving to "review")
No email needed: Visual progress replaces status update requests

PM responsibilities:

Update spec.md if requirements change
Add notes to work package files explaining blockers
Move stuck tasks back to "planned" with client-friendly notes

Weekly Review Meeting

Agenda:

Review status for completed work (done lane)
Demo features from completed work packages
Show velocity - "We completed 8 work packages this week"
Review upcoming - Show "planned" lane for next week
Export evidence - Share spec.md and status reports

Trust-Building Workflow

Problem: "How do I know you're making progress?"

Traditional agency:

Weekly status emails
Client calls asking "are you done yet?"
Screenshots of code (client can't understand)

With Spec Kitty status reports:

Client sees task movement
Activity logs prove work is happening
Spec artifacts explain what's being built
No need to ask for updates

Example Timeline

Monday 9 AM:

/spec-kitty.specify
Create admin panel for content moderation...

Client sees: Mission "003-admin-panel" appears in the status report

Monday 11 AM:

/spec-kitty.plan
Use Next.js, PostgreSQL, AWS S3...

Client sees: plan.md artifact link appears

Monday 2 PM:

/spec-kitty.tasks

Client sees: 6 work packages appear in "planned" lane

Tuesday-Thursday:

/spec-kitty.implement (repeated)

Client sees: Tasks moving planned → doing → review → done

Friday:

/spec-kitty.accept
/spec-kitty.merge --push

Client sees: Feature marked complete, demo scheduled

Client Communication

Explaining the Status Report

To Client:

"We use Spec Kitty to give you regular visibility. Here's what you're seeing:

Blue (Planned): Work we'll do next

Yellow (Doing): What we're actively building

Orange (Review): What's done, pending our internal QA

Green (Done): Completed and merged

Each task has a work package file you can read - it explains what we're building in plain English. You'll never see code unless you want to."

Setting Expectations

What clients love:

"I can check progress anytime without bothering you"
"I finally understand what you're building"
"The transparency builds trust"

What to clarify:

Tasks in "doing" might sit there a while (complex work)
"Review" means internal QA, not client approval (unless you want that)
Status changes as work happens, which is often in bursts

Advanced: Client Collaboration

Allow Client to Review Work

Workflow:

Client gets GitHub access to spec files only (not code)
Client reviews work packages in tasks/for_review/
Client adds comments to work package markdown files
PM moves tasks back to "planned" or forward to "done" based on feedback

Script:

# PM shows client the work package file
cat kitty-specs/003-admin-panel/tasks/for_review/WP01-user-list.md

# Client adds feedback (via GitHub UI or shared doc)

# PM moves based on feedback
spec-kitty agent action implement WP01

Export these for client reports:

# 1. Mission state and WP lanes (machine-readable)
spec-kitty orchestrator-api mission-state --mission <slug>

# 2. Tasks completed this week
grep "lane=done" kitty-specs/*/tasks/done/*.md | wc -l

# 3. Velocity trend
# Count work packages completed per week from activity logs

Client Success Stories

"Before Spec Kitty:"

Client called daily asking for updates
Developer spent 2 hours/week writing status emails
Client surprised by deliverables not matching expectations

"After Spec Kitty:"

Client reads status reports independently
Zero status update requests
Spec.md alignment prevents scope surprises
Client references status reports in their own meetings

Tips for Agencies

Status automation - Post daily spec-kitty agent tasks status output to Slack/email
Spec.md templates - Standardize how you write specifications
Charter per client - Different quality standards for different clients
Status reports as sales tool - Show prospects how projects are tracked

Common Questions

Q: Can clients break anything through a status report? A: No, status output is read-only. They see status, can't change it.

Q: What if client wants to hide certain features? A: Use separate projects for client-visible vs internal work.

Q: Can multiple clients share a status report? A: Not recommended - use separate project instances per client.

Q: How do we bill based on tracked activity? A: Activity logs show timestamps - export for time tracking integration.