RESEARCH
Naming and versioning assessment
16 October 2026
By Anthropic's models, as input to Milber Ferreira. A response to the alpha readiness review and the naming research. Outcome: Milber kept SLICE as the public name (decision D30, 17 October 2026).
Release v0.3.1 now, and choose and clear the public name before the repository goes public. Alpha testing with invited teams can start under the working name.
Version number: v0.3.1, not v0.4
The alpha corrections change no rule: a factual correction, positioning, two clarifications about evidence and a launch principle. Treat the spec like software: a major version breaks conformance, a minor version adds or changes rules, and a patch corrects or clarifies. v0.4 is reserved for what the alpha teaches.
The SliceOps overlap
SliceOps occupies the same niche (an open method above AI coding tools), uses the same unit (slices), leads with the same idea (decision-first), is further along (spec v2.0 and a quickstart) and marks its name as a trademark of its author, though it is not widely known. Its low profile makes confusion less likely today, but the risk grows if either framework gains traction, and any dispute would land after a community had formed around the name. Renaming now costs one search-and-replace; renaming after a public alpha costs every link, star and mention.
If SLICE is kept, the cheap safeguard is a qualified public name such as "SLICE Product Framework", plus one line saying it is unrelated to SliceOps.
Candidates checked
First web checks only; none of this is legal clearance.
| Candidate | Source | Conflict found | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLICE | Current | SliceOps in the same niche; vertical-slice terminology; XB Software Functional Slices; a crypto token with the ticker SLICE | Working name |
| SCOPE | Naming research | SCOPE Core, AI governance software; "scope" is an everyday project-management word ("scope creep") | Reject |
| BRIEF | Naming research | An established B.R.I.E.F. AI prompting framework taught in courses | Reject |
| SPARK, PULSE | Naming research | Generic and heavily used in software | Reject |
| Tranche | Anthropic's models | Tranch (YC fintech), Tranche (AI PR-review tool), a Python library, a crypto protocol | Reject |
| Tramo | Anthropic's models | Tramo, a logistics SaaS | Weak |
| Pensum | Anthropic's models | None found in software in a first check | Recommended, pending clearance |
Why Pensum
- Meaning that matches the method. Latin pensum is a portion of wool weighed out for a day's spinning, hence an assigned amount of work. That is proportionate planning in one word: weigh how much work something deserves before doing it.
- Works where the alpha starts. Dutch, German and Scandinavian speakers already use it ("een flink pensum": a hefty workload). English speakers can say it at first sight.
- Follows the pattern of methods that stuck. Scrum and Kanban are borrowed words, not acronyms; acronyms in this space collide and force their letters.
- Keeps everything else. "Slice" stays the unit, the five principles keep their names, and the line "Decide deliberately. Build small. Count only what is proven." survives.
Weaknesses: it is an ordinary noun in German and Dutch, which weakens trademark distinctiveness in those markets; in Latin American Spanish pénsum means a study curriculum; and it needs a sentence of explanation on first use.
Clearance checklist (about one day)
- EUIPO eSearch and TMview: classes 9, 41 and 42.
- USPTO trademark search; WIPO Global Brand Database.
- GitHub organisations and repositories, npm and PyPI packages.
- Domains: pensum.dev, pensum.org, pensummethod.org or similar.
- Social handles on the channels you will announce on.
- Say it aloud in English, Dutch and Spanish to five people from the target audience.
If Pensum fails any of steps 1–4, run the same checks on two or three more borrowed words before falling back to a qualified name such as "SLICE Product Framework".