TAMM
The Time, Autonomy, Mastery and Machine framework for spec risks.
TAMM (Time, Autonomy, Mastery, Machine) is the framework /theway:engineering uses, with or without --light, to find the obstacles a change can hit. It is installed as the prompt <home>/prompts/tamm-framework.md (~/.theway by default), which the scaffold and scaffold-light steps read first.
The four dimensions
| Dimension | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Time | Timeline pressure, dependencies and blocking, the critical path, competing priorities |
| Autonomy | Decision constraints, approval bottlenecks, organizational and policy dependencies, stakeholder alignment |
| Mastery | Skill gaps, unfamiliar technology, learning curves, knowledge transfer, key-person dependencies |
| Machine | Performance and scalability limits, infrastructure, legacy systems, security constraints, integration, technical debt |
Some risks span several dimensions, for example learning while delivering (Time and Mastery) or an architecture decision that needs approval (Autonomy and Machine).
Risk levels
- Low: clear countermeasures exist, the team has experience, no blockers are expected.
- Medium: some uncertainty, limited experience, possible blockers that can be managed.
- High: unclear countermeasures, no experience, likely blockers or critical dependencies.
The hardpoints table
Every spec /theway:engineering writes (from the spec-template or fix-spec-template prompt) has a "Hardpoints (TAMM Analysis)" section; a light spec, fix- included, has none. It lists only Medium and High risks; Low risks are left out.
Columns: Category (one of the four dimensions), Risk (Medium or High), Impact, and numbered Countermeasures.
Countermeasures must be specific to the change, not generic. When a risk appears during implementation that the spec did not foresee, it goes into this table.