Context Management
Why Context Matters
- •Reduces ramp-up time
- •Prevents repeated mistakes
- •Enables informed decisions
- •Facilitates collaboration
Context Types
Project Context
- •What the project does
- •Why it exists
- •Who uses it
- •Key constraints
Technical Context
- •Architecture decisions (ADRs)
- •Technology choices
- •Coding conventions
- •Known issues
Historical Context
- •Why decisions were made
- •What was tried before
- •Lessons learned
Context Capture
Decision Log
markdown
## Decision: [Title] **Date**: [Date] **Context**: [Why this came up] **Decision**: [What was decided] **Rationale**: [Why this choice] **Consequences**: [What changed]
Knowledge Base
- •README for project overview
- •ADRs for architecture
- •CONTRIBUTING for development
- •CHANGELOG for history
Code Comments
typescript
// CONTEXT: This retry logic exists because the external API // has intermittent failures. See incident-123 for details. // We chose exponential backoff after testing showed it // reduces error rate by 80%.
Context Sharing
New Team Member
- •Start with README
- •Review key ADRs
- •Pair on first task
- •Introduce to stakeholders
Handoff
- •Document current state
- •List open questions
- •Identify risks
- •Warm handoff meeting
Best Practices
- •Write it down: Don't rely on memory
- •Keep it current: Update as things change
- •Make it findable: Organize logically
- •Be specific: Include the "why"
- •Review regularly: Remove stale info