Dev Story Workflow

Dev Story Workflow

Goal: Implement a story by executing its tasks/​subtasks with comprehensive test coverage.

Agent: DEV (Amelia) Phase: 4 - Implementation

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CRITICAL RULES

These rules have NO EXCEPTIONS:

1. Execute ALL steps in exact order - do NOT skip
2. Only modify permitted story file sections: Tasks/​Subtasks checkboxes, Dev Agent Record, File List, Change Log, Status
3. DO NOT stop for "milestones" or "significant progress" - continue until COMPLETE or HALT condition
4. Follow red-green-refactor cycle: failing tests first, minimal code to pass, then refactor
5. NEVER mark a task complete unless tests actually exist and pass 100%
6. NEVER implement anything not mapped to a specific task/​subtask

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WORKFLOW STEPS

Step 1: Find and Load Story

If story path provided: Use directly

If sprint status exists:

1. Load implementation-artifacts/​sprint-status.yaml
2. Find first story with status ready-for-dev
3. Load complete story file

If no ready story:

• Offer to run create-story
• Or accept user-provided story path

Step 2: Load Project Context

1. Load project-context.md if exists
2. Parse story sections: Story, Acceptance Criteria, Tasks/​Subtasks, Dev Notes, Dev Agent Record, File List, Change Log, Status
3. Extract developer guidance from Dev Notes

Step 3: Detect Continuation

Check if resuming after code review:

• Look for "Senior Developer Review (AI)" section
• Count pending review follow-up tasks
• Prioritize review items before regular tasks

Step 4: Mark Story In-Progress

Update sprint status from ready-for-dev to in-progress

Step 5: Implement Task (Red-Green-Refactor)

For each task/​subtask:

RED Phase:

• Write FAILING tests first
• Confirm tests fail (validates correctness)

GREEN Phase:

• Implement MINIMAL code to pass tests
• Run tests to confirm pass
• Handle error conditions

REFACTOR Phase:

• Improve code structure
• Keep tests green
• Follow architecture patterns

Step 6: Author Comprehensive Tests

• Unit tests for business logic
• Integration tests for component interactions
• End-to-end tests for critical flows
• Edge cases and error handling

Step 7: Run Validations

• Run all existing tests (no regressions)
• Run new tests (implementation correctness)
• Run linting/​code quality checks
• Validate against acceptance criteria

Step 8: Mark Task Complete

Validation Gates (ALL must pass):

• Tests ACTUALLY exist and pass 100%
• Implementation matches task specification exactly
• All related acceptance criteria satisfied
• No regressions

Then:

• Mark task checkbox [x]
• Update File List
• Add completion notes
• Loop to Step 5 for next task

Step 9: Story Completion

• Verify ALL tasks marked [x]
• Run full regression suite
• Execute definition-of-done checklist
• Update Status to review

Step 10: Communication

• Summarize accomplishments
• Provide story file path
• Offer explanations based on user skill level
• Suggest next steps (code-review, etc.)

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HALT CONDITIONS

Stop execution if:

• 3 consecutive implementation failures
• Missing required configuration
• New dependencies need user approval
• Any validation fails and cannot be fixed
• User provides other instruction

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OUTPUTS

Story File Updates:

• Tasks/​Subtasks checkboxes marked [x]
• Dev Agent Record with implementation notes
• File List with all changed files
• Change Log with summary
• Status updated to review

Sprint Status Updates:

• Story status: ready-for-dev → in-progress → review

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INSTRUCTIONS FILE

For detailed step-by-step XML instructions, see: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/​skills/​dev-story/​instructions.xml