development-workflow

Development Workflow

Scope: This document describes development workflows for AI agents (Claude + superpowers plugin) and automated code review. Human developers should adapt these TDD, parallel-execution, and review principles to their tooling and IDE.

Skill Usage Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before responding to ANY task, complete this checklist:

1. Check for relevant skills - Does any skill match this request?
2. If skill exists → Use Skill tool to load and run it
3. Announce usage - "I'm using [skill] to [action]"
4. Follow skill exactly - Don't adapt away the discipline

Checklist Tracking Rule

If a skill has a checklist, create TodoWrite todos for EACH item. Never:

• Work through checklists mentally
• Skip todos "to save time"
• Batch multiple items into one todo

Common Rationalizations (RED FLAGS)

If you think any of these, STOP and check for skills:

• "This is just a simple question"
• "Let me gather information first"
• "This doesn't need a formal skill"
• "The skill is overkill for this"
• "I'll just do this one thing first"

Why: Skills document proven techniques. Not using available skills = repeating solved problems.

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Test-Driven Development (MANDATORY - BLOCKING)

ALL code changes MUST follow TDD. No exceptions. This is BLOCKING.

The Iron Law of TDD

TESTS MUST BE WRITTEN AND FAIL BEFORE ANY IMPLEMENTATION CODE EXISTS

This is non-negotiable. Implementation code written before tests is a violation.

The TDD Cycle

1. Write the test first - Before writing any implementation code
2. Watch it fail - Run the test to verify it fails for the right reason
3. Write minimal code - Implement just enough to make the test pass
4. Refactor - Clean up while keeping tests green
5. Repeat - For each new behavior

Enforcement Gate

Before writing ANY implementation code, you MUST have:

• A test file created for the new functionality
• At least one failing test that exercises the code path
• Verification that the test fails for the expected reason (not a syntax error)