develop

Feature Development Workflow

Structured 8-phase process for building new features from requirement gathering through documentation. Each phase produces a concrete output that feeds the next.

Overview

1. Discover - Understand requirements and context
2. Explore - Analyze existing codebase patterns
3. Clarify - Resolve ambiguities with user input
4. Design - Create architecture with specialized agents
5. Implement - Build with TDD and quality practices
6. Review - Multi-agent quality review with confidence scoring
7. Validate - Run all verification hooks and summarize
8. Document - Write blog post announcing the feature

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Phase 1: Discover

Understand requirements and gather context

Objective: Establish clear understanding of what needs to be built and why.

1. Review the feature request:

   • What is the user-facing goal?
   • What problem does this solve?
   • What are the acceptance criteria?

2. Identify impacted areas:

   • Which parts of the codebase will change?
   • What existing features might be affected?
   • Are there related issues or PRs?

3. Check for similar features:

   # Search for similar implementations
   grep -r "similar_feature_name" .
   

4. Review project documentation:

   • Check CLAUDE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md for standards
   • Review architecture docs if available
   • Identify any constraints or requirements

Output: Clear problem statement and high-level approach.

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Phase 2: Explore (Parallel Agent Execution)

Analyze codebase with specialized agents

Objective: Understand existing patterns and identify integration points.

Launch multiple Explore agents in PARALLEL (single message with multiple Task calls):

1. Code Explorer: Map existing features

   • Find entry points and call chains
   • Identify data flow and transformations
   • Document current architecture

2. Pattern Analyzer: Identify conventions

   • How are similar features implemented?
   • What testing patterns are used?
   • What naming conventions exist?

3. Dependency Mapper: Understand relationships

   • What modules will be affected?
   • What are the integration points?
   • Are there circular dependencies to avoid?

Consolidation: Synthesize findings from all agents into a cohesive understanding.

Output: Comprehensive map of existing codebase patterns and integration points.

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Phase 3: Clarify (Human Decision Point)

Resolve ambiguities before implementation

Objective: Get user input on unclear requirements and design choices.

Use AskUserQuestion tool to resolve:

1. Architecture decisions:

   • Which approach should we take? (if multiple valid options)
   • What are the trade-offs? (performance vs. simplicity)

2. Scope clarifications:

   • Should this include X feature?
   • What's the priority if time is limited?

3. Integration choices:

   • Should we extend existing module or create new one?
   • How should this integrate with system Y?

IMPORTANT: Do not proceed with assumptions. Get explicit user answers.

Output: Clear, unambiguous requirements with user-approved approach.

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Phase 4: Design (Parallel Agent Execution)

Create architecture with specialized agents

Objective: Design the implementation before coding.

Select appropriate specialized agent(s) based on feature type:

• Frontend feature? → frontend:presentation-engineer
• Backend API? → backend:api-designer
• Database changes? → databases:database-designer
• Complex system? → architecture:solution-architect

Launch agents in PARALLEL for multi-disciplinary features:

• Frontend + Backend agents simultaneously
• Include security:security-engineer for sensitive features
• Include performance:performance-engineer for high-traffic features

Agent responsibilities:

• Define module structure and file organization
• Specify interfaces and contracts
• Identify testing strategy
• Document key decisions and trade-offs

Consolidation: Review all design proposals, resolve conflicts, select final approach.

Output: Detailed implementation plan with module structure and interfaces.

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Phase 5: Implement (TDD with Quality Enforcement)

Build the feature using test-driven development

Objective: Implement the designed solution with quality practices.

Apply TDD cycle (use tdd:test-driven-development skill):

For each component:
1. Write failing test (Red)
2. Implement minimum code to pass (Green)
3. Refactor for quality (Refactor)
4. Repeat

Implementation guidelines:

• ✅ Start with tests, not implementation
• ✅ Follow existing codebase patterns (from Phase 2)
• ✅ Apply SOLID principles (han-core:solid-principles skill)
• ✅ Keep it simple (KISS, YAGNI)
• ✅ Apply Boy Scout Rule - leave code better than found
• ❌ Don't over-engineer
• ❌ Don't skip tests
• ❌ Don't ignore linter/type errors

Integration:

• Integrate incrementally (don't build everything then integrate)
• Test integration points early
• Validate against acceptance criteria continuously

Output: Working implementation with comprehensive tests.

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Phase 6: Review (Parallel Multi-Agent Review)

Quality review with confidence-based filtering

Objective: Identify high-confidence issues before final validation.

Launch review agents in PARALLEL (single message with multiple Task calls):

1. Code Reviewer (han-core:code-reviewer skill):

   • General quality assessment
   • Confidence scoring ≥80%
   • False positive filtering

2. Security Engineer (security:security-engineer):

   • Security vulnerability scan
   • Auth/authz pattern verification
   • Input validation review

3. Discipline-Specific Agent:

   • Frontend: frontend:presentation-engineer (accessibility, UX)
   • Backend: backend:backend-architect (API design, scalability)
   • etc.

Review consolidation:

• Merge findings from all agents
• De-duplicate issues
• Filter for confidence ≥80%
• Organize by: Critical (≥90%) → Important (≥80%)

Present findings to user with options:

Found 3 critical and 5 important issues.

Options:
1. Fix all issues now (recommended)
2. Fix critical only, defer important
3. Review findings and decide per-issue

Output: Consolidated review with high-confidence issues only.

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Phase 7: Validate & Summarize

Final verification and change summary

Objective: Ensure all quality gates pass and document the change.

Run all validation hooks:

# All validation plugins automatically run on Stop
# Verify: tests, linting, type checking, etc.

Validation checklist:

• All tests pass
• Linting passes
• Type checking passes
• No security vulnerabilities introduced
• Documentation updated
• No breaking changes (or properly coordinated)

Generate change summary:

1. What changed: Files modified and why
2. How to test: Steps to verify functionality
3. Breaking changes: None, or list with migration guide
4. Follow-up tasks: Any deferred work or tech debt

Create TODO list (using TaskCreate tool):

• Document any follow-up tasks
• Track deferred improvements
• Note any tech debt introduced

Output: Ready-to-commit feature with comprehensive documentation.

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Phase 8: Document (Blog Post)

Write a blog post announcing the feature

Objective: Share the new feature with the community and explain its value.

Blog post creation:

1. Research context (optional):

   • Use reddit to find related community discussions
   • Identify pain points the feature addresses
   • Understand how users talk about this problem

2. Write the blog post:

   Location: website/content/blog/{feature-slug}.md

   ---
   title: "{Feature Name}: {Compelling subtitle}"
   description: "{One-line description of what problem this solves}"
   date: "{YYYY-MM-DD}"
   author: "The Bushido Collective"
   tags: ["{relevant}", "{tags}"]
   category: "Feature"
   ---
   
   {Opening hook - what problem does this solve?}
   
   ## The Problem
   
   {Describe the pain point this feature addresses}
   
   ## The Solution
   
   {Explain how the feature works}
   
   ### Key Capabilities
   
   {List main features with examples}
   
   ## Getting Started
   
   {How to use the feature}
   
   ## What's Next
   
   {Future improvements or related features}
   

3. Writing guidelines:

   • Technical but accessible
   • 500-1000 words for feature announcements
   • Include working code examples
   • Be honest about limitations
   • Make it actionable

IMPORTANT: Every significant feature should have a blog post. This is not optional.

Output: Published blog post in website/content/blog/.

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Best Practices

DO

• ✅ Follow all 8 phases in order
• ✅ Launch agents in parallel when independent
• ✅ Use AskUserQuestion to resolve ambiguities
• ✅ Apply confidence scoring to all reviews
• ✅ Run TDD cycle for all new code
• ✅ Pause for user input at decision points
• ✅ Write a blog post for every significant feature

DON'T

• ❌ Skip phases (especially Explore, Review, and Document)
• ❌ Start coding before design (Phases 1-4)
• ❌ Implement without tests
• ❌ Report low-confidence review findings
• ❌ Make architectural decisions without user input
• ❌ Commit without running validation hooks
• ❌ Ship features without documentation

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Example Workflow

User: /feature-dev Add pagination to user list API

Phase 1: Discover
- Feature: Add pagination to GET /api/users
- Acceptance: Support page/limit query params, return total count
- Impact: Backend API, database queries

Phase 2: Explore (parallel agents)
- Found existing pagination in products API
- Pattern: Uses offset/limit with total count in response
- Testing: Integration tests verify pagination logic

Phase 3: Clarify
Q: Should we use cursor-based or offset-based pagination?
A: [User selects offset-based for consistency]

Phase 4: Design
- Agent: backend:api-designer
- Design: Extend existing UserService with pagination
- Interface: getUsersPaginated(page, limit) -> { users, total }

Phase 5: Implement
- Write test for pagination
- Implement pagination logic
- Test passes ✅

Phase 6: Review (parallel agents)
- Code reviewer: No issues (confidence N/A)
- Security engineer: No issues (confidence N/A)
- Backend architect: No issues (confidence N/A)

Phase 7: Validate
- Tests: ✅ Pass
- Linting: ✅ Pass
- Types: ✅ Pass
- Ready to commit

Phase 8: Document
- Blog post: website/content/blog/user-list-pagination.md
- Title: "Pagination: Handling Large Data Sets Gracefully"
- Tags: [api, pagination, performance]

Summary: Added pagination to user list API
Files: services/user.service.ts, tests/user.service.test.ts, website/content/blog/user-list-pagination.md
Testing: Run GET /api/users?page=1&limit=10

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See Also

• /review - Multi-agent code review with confidence-based filtering
• /test - Write tests using TDD principles
• /fix - Debug and fix bugs
• /refactor - Restructure code without changing behavior