experimental-pr-workflow

Experimental PR Workflow

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when:

• User mentions "founder mode" or references rapid experimentation
• User has made commits without associated tickets
• User asks to "formalize experimental work" or "create ticket for this"
• You detect commits on a feature branch without ticket references
• User asks to "clean up" or "properly document" exploratory work

This skill helps transition from rapid prototyping to proper workflow hygiene.

The Problem This Solves

Sometimes you need to move fast and experiment without the overhead of creating tickets and planning docs first. This is great for exploration, but eventually you need to:

1. Document what you built and why
2. Create a proper ticket for tracking
3. Get the work into a reviewable PR
4. Follow the team's standard workflow

This skill handles that transition retroactively.

Core Process

Step 1: Verify Commit Exists

Check recent commits:

git log --oneline -5

If no recent commits, help create one first or review current changes.

Step 2: Understand What Was Built

Gather context from the commit:

git show --stat HEAD
git show HEAD

Analyze the changes:

• What files were modified?
• What functionality was added/changed?
• What problem does this solve?
• What technical decisions were made?

Step 3: Create Ticket (if using a ticket system)

Create a ticket describing the work:

## Problem to Solve
[Describe the user need or pain point from a user perspective]

## Proposed Solution
[Describe what you implemented]
[Explain the technical approach taken]

## Implementation Notes
- [Key file/component modified]
- [Technical decision made]

## References
- Commit: [SHA]
- Branch: [current branch name]

Important: You MUST gather a "Problem to Solve" - don't just document implementation.

Step 4: Create Proper Git Branch

Ensure you're on main first:

git checkout main

Create the new branch with proper naming:

git checkout -b [TICKET-ID]-[description]