Step-by-step DevSpeak tutorial that converts an informal stakeholder request into a formal technical specification. Covers the four translation parameters (target audience, tech context, output format, verbosity tone), running a translation and verifying the generated output against a checkpoint, and refining that output in plain language in the Iterate & Refine panel, which is included from the VIBECODER plan.

Your First Translation with DevSpeak

DevSpeak converts an informal request such as "we need users to log in with Google" into a formal, audience-specific technical specification. This tutorial walks through one complete translation and explains what each control does.

What You'll Learn

Configure the four translation parameters that shape every output

Run a translation and read the generated specification

Refine the result without starting over (VIBECODER or the 30-day trial)

Prerequisites

A DevSpeak account — the FREE tier covers Steps 1–3; Step 4 (refinement) requires VIBECODER, which includes the 30-day trial

A rough feature idea written in plain language

Time Estimate

~6 minutes

Step 1 — Set the Four Parameters

Every translation is shaped by four controls. They are not cosmetic: each one changes what the generated document contains and how it reads.

| Control | Purpose |

| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |

| Target Audience | Who reads the output — Junior Dev through Data Engineer |

| Tech Context | Which domain the work sits in — Backend, Frontend, Mobile, Data/ML, DevOps |

| Output Format | The document shape — Technical Spec, Jira Tickets, API Design, RFC, Data Model, Prompt, Optimize |

| Tone | Verbosity, 0–100, with a hard behavioural split at 50 |

The tone slider is the one people misread. Below 50 DevSpeak rewrites and tightens your input. At 50 and above it produces a full technical document with sections you did not explicitly ask for.

Step 2 — Write the Input

Keep it informal. That is the point.

``text


We need users to be able to sign in with their Google account
instead of making another password. Should work on mobile too.

`Step 3 — Translate`

Select Senior Dev, Backend, Technical Spec, and a tone of 70. Run the translation.

`Checkpoint`

At this point you should have:

[ ] A generated document with numbered sections


[ ] Explicit acceptance criteria you did not write yourself
[ ] At least one edge case called out — typically account linking
If the output reads like a lightly edited version of your input, your tone slider is below 50. Raise it and run again.
Step 4 — Refine Instead of Rewriting
Refinement is included from the VIBECODER plan (the 30-day trial counts). On the FREE plan the Iterate & Refine panel shows a PRO badge and opens the pricing modal instead of running, so skip this step or start the trial first.
Refinement modifies the generated output, not your original input. Ask for a change in plain language:

`text

Add a section covering what happens when a user already has a


password account with the same email address.

Each refinement returns a complete replacement document rather than a diff, so the result stays internally consistent.

Troubleshooting

The output is shorter than my input

Your tone is below 50, which puts DevSpeak in rewrite mode. Anything at or above 50 generates a full document.

The specification targets the wrong layer

Tech Context, not Target Audience, controls the technical domain. A Senior Dev + Frontend translation will discuss component state, not database schemas.

Summary

You've learned how to:

Configure audience, context, format, and tone

Generate a formal specification from informal input

Refine generated output without losing structure

Next Steps

Explore the other six output formats, especially Jira Tickets

Read the [API reference](/docs/api-reference) to automate translations