Feature Development Workflow

Complete workflow for developing new features from design to deployment.

Phases

1. Architecture Design

Define:

• •Component structure
• •Data models
• •API contracts
• •Integration points
• •Dependencies

Output: Architecture diagram, component list, API specs

Agent: architect-review for complex features

2. Implementation Planning

Break down into:

• •Discrete tasks (< 2 hours each)
• •Dependencies between tasks
• •Parallel workstreams

Output: Task list with estimates

3. Implementation

Guidelines:

• •Write tests alongside code (TDD optional but helpful)
• •Commit frequently (atomic commits)
• •Follow existing patterns in codebase
• •Document as you go

Run parallel workstreams:

• •Core implementation
• •Tests
• •Documentation

4. Code Review

Checklist:

• • Code follows project conventions
• • No obvious bugs or edge cases missed
• • Performance acceptable
• • Error handling complete
• • Tests meaningful (not just coverage)

Agent: code-reviewer

5. Security Review

Check:

• •Input validation
• •Auth/authz on new endpoints
• •Sensitive data handling
• •No secrets in code

Agent: security-auditor (if auth-related)

6. Testing

Required:

• •Unit tests (80%+ coverage on new code)
• •Integration tests for API endpoints
• •E2E tests for critical paths

Agent: test-automator or debugger

7. Performance Check

Verify:

• •Response times acceptable
• •No memory leaks
• •Bundle size impact (frontend)

Agent: performance-engineer (if perf-sensitive)

8. Documentation

Update:

• •API docs (OpenAPI/Swagger)
• •User guide (if user-facing)
• •Changelog entry
• •README if needed

9. Deployment Prep

Checklist:

• • Version bumped
• • Changelog updated
• • Migration scripts (if DB changes)
• • Rollback plan documented
• • Feature flags (if gradual rollout)

Success Criteria

• • All tests pass
• • Security review clean
• • Performance within limits
• • Documentation complete
• • Code reviewed and approved

Review Gate

# Run before marking complete
cortex review -c feature

Quick Start Template

## Feature: [Name]

### Requirements
- [ ] Requirement 1
- [ ] Requirement 2

### Tasks
- [ ] Task 1
- [ ] Task 2
- [ ] Tests
- [ ] Docs

### API Changes
- `POST /api/v1/resource` - Create resource
- `GET /api/v1/resource/:id` - Get resource

### Rollback Plan
1. Revert commit
2. Run down migration
3. Clear cache