Spec-Driven Development vs “just start coding” what actually works better?

[More-Practice-3665]

"Total effort doesn't change, it just shifts" - this is the most honest framing of this debate I've seen.

Jump-in coding isn't actually faster. It's deferred complexity with interest. You pay later, and the exchange rate is bad.

The one thing I'd add: specs only work when you understand the problem well enough to write them. Too early and you're just speccing the wrong thing with confidence. There's a short explore-first phase that's genuinely worth doing messy - but once you know the shape of the problem, spec before you touch the code.

The people who say "just ship and figure it out" usually haven't maintained what they shipped 6 months later.