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Specification Quality Checklist: Policy Engine Comparison for Agentic AI Authorization

Purpose: Validate specification completeness and quality before proceeding to planning
Created: 2026-03-17
Updated: 2026-03-17 (added AgentGateway as fifth candidate)
Feature: spec.md

Content Quality​

  • No implementation details (languages, frameworks, APIs)
  • Focused on user value and business needs
  • Written for non-technical stakeholders
  • All mandatory sections completed

Requirement Completeness​

  • No [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers remain
  • Requirements are testable and unambiguous
  • Success criteria are measurable
  • Success criteria are technology-agnostic (no implementation details)
  • All acceptance scenarios are defined
  • Edge cases are identified
  • Scope is clearly bounded
  • Dependencies and assumptions identified

Feature Readiness​

  • All functional requirements have clear acceptance criteria
  • User scenarios cover primary flows
  • Feature meets measurable outcomes defined in Success Criteria
  • No implementation details leak into specification

AgentGateway Integration Validation​

  • AgentGateway is positioned as a distinct architectural option (integrated gateway vs standalone engine)
  • The build-vs-adopt trade-off is captured in User Story 6
  • FR-011 through FR-013 cover AgentGateway-specific evaluation dimensions (MCP/A2A protocol support, observability, integrated vs composed architecture)
  • SC-007 ensures the build-vs-adopt decision is clearly articulated
  • Edge cases cover AgentGateway-specific scenarios (MCP federation scoping, Cedar/CEL conflict resolution)
  • Cisco's contribution to AgentGateway is noted as an adoption consideration in Assumptions

Notes​

  • All items pass validation. The spec now covers five candidates across two architectural approaches: standalone policy engines (Cedar, CEL, Casbin, OPA/Rego) and an integrated agent-native gateway (AgentGateway).
  • AgentGateway bundles Cedar + CEL internally, so the comparison must address the layering: when to use AgentGateway's built-in Cedar/CEL vs deploying Cedar or CEL standalone.
  • AgentGateway's LLM routing and inference gateway features are explicitly scoped out (only evaluated for policy/observability relevance).
  • The spec is ready for /speckit.clarify or /speckit.plan.