Development Process

This document defines the software development process for the Flowstate application, covering the complete lifecycle from ideation to deployment.

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Spec-Driven Development
3. User Stories
4. Feature Tracking
5. Estimation
6. Bug Tracking
7. Enhancement Requests
8. Product Roadmap
9. Security Review
10. Release Process

Overview

The development process follows an iterative, spec-driven approach that emphasizes clarity, traceability, and quality at every stage.

Process Flow

┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
│   Ideation  │───▶│    Spec     │───▶│   Design    │───▶│   Develop   │
└─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘
                                                               │
┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐          │
│   Deploy    │◀───│   Release   │◀───│    Test     │◀─────────┘
└─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘

Key Principles

• Spec First: No development without approved specifications
• Traceability: Every change traces to a requirement
• Quality Gates: Automated and manual checkpoints
• Continuous Feedback: Regular stakeholder involvement
• Documentation: Comprehensive documentation at every stage

Spec-Driven Development

Specification Process

Every feature begins with a specification document that defines:

1. Problem Statement: What problem are we solving?
2. User Impact: Who benefits and how?
3. Requirements: Functional and non-functional requirements
4. Acceptance Criteria: How do we know it's done?
5. Technical Approach: High-level implementation strategy

Specification Template

# Feature Specification: [Feature Name]

## Metadata
- **Author**: [Name]
- **Created**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **Status**: Draft | Review | Approved | Implemented
- **Priority**: Critical | High | Medium | Low
- **Estimated Effort**: [Story Points or Hours]

## Problem Statement
[Clear description of the problem being solved]

## User Impact
### Target Users
- [User type 1]
- [User type 2]

### Benefits
- [Benefit 1]
- [Benefit 2]

## Requirements

### Functional Requirements
| ID | Requirement | Priority |
|----|-------------|----------|
| FR-001 | [Requirement description] | Must Have |
| FR-002 | [Requirement description] | Should Have |

### Non-Functional Requirements
| ID | Requirement | Target |
|----|-------------|--------|
| NFR-001 | Performance | < 2s load time |
| NFR-002 | Accessibility | WCAG 2.1 AA |

## User Stories
[Links to associated user stories]

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Criterion 1
- [ ] Criterion 2
- [ ] Criterion 3

## Technical Approach
[High-level technical design]

## Dependencies
- [Dependency 1]
- [Dependency 2]

## Risks and Mitigations
| Risk | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|--------|------------|
| [Risk] | High | [Mitigation strategy] |

## Timeline
| Phase | Duration | Dates |
|-------|----------|-------|
| Design | 1 week | MM/DD - MM/DD |
| Development | 2 weeks | MM/DD - MM/DD |
| Testing | 1 week | MM/DD - MM/DD |

## Approvals
- [ ] Product Owner: [Name]
- [ ] Tech Lead: [Name]
- [ ] Design Lead: [Name]

Specification Workflow

┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐
│  Draft   │───▶│  Review  │───▶│ Approved │───▶│Implemented│
└──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘
     │               │
     │               ▼
     │          ┌──────────┐
     └─────────│ Revision │
               └──────────┘

User Stories

Story Format

As a [user type],
I want [functionality],
So that [benefit].

User Story Template

# User Story: [Short Title]

## Story
As a [user type],
I want [functionality],
So that [benefit].

## Acceptance Criteria
Given [context]
When [action]
Then [expected result]

## Technical Notes
[Implementation considerations]

## Dependencies
- [Dependency 1]

## Estimation
- Story Points: [X]
- T-Shirt Size: S | M | L | XL

## Links
- Spec: [Link to specification]
- Design: [Link to designs]
- Epic: [Link to parent epic]

Story Breakdown

Large features are broken into smaller stories:

Definition of Ready

A story is ready for development when:

• [ ] Story is clearly written
• [ ] Acceptance criteria are defined
• [ ] Dependencies are identified
• [ ] Design mockups are available
• [ ] Story is estimated
• [ ] Story is prioritized

Definition of Done

A story is complete when:

• [ ] Code is written and reviewed
• [ ] Unit tests pass (80%+ coverage)
• [ ] Integration tests pass
• [ ] E2E tests pass (if applicable)
• [ ] Documentation is updated
• [ ] Accessibility verified
• [ ] Product Owner accepts

Feature Tracking

Feature States

┌─────────┐   ┌─────────┐   ┌─────────┐   ┌─────────┐   ┌─────────┐
│ Backlog │──▶│ Planned │──▶│In Progress│──▶│ Review │──▶│  Done   │
└─────────┘   └─────────┘   └─────────┘   └─────────┘   └─────────┘

Tracking Board Structure

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Sprint Board                              │
├────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┤
│  Backlog   │   To Do    │In Progress │   Review   │    Done    │
├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ ┌────────┐ │ ┌────────┐ │ ┌────────┐ │ ┌────────┐ │ ┌────────┐ │
│ │Story 1 │ │ │Story 3 │ │ │Story 5 │ │ │Story 7 │ │ │Story 8 │ │
│ └────────┘ │ └────────┘ │ └────────┘ │ └────────┘ │ └────────┘ │
│ ┌────────┐ │ ┌────────┐ │ ┌────────┐ │            │ ┌────────┐ │
│ │Story 2 │ │ │Story 4 │ │ │Story 6 │ │            │ │Story 9 │ │
│ └────────┘ │ └────────┘ │ └────────┘ │            │ └────────┘ │
└────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘

Progress Metrics

Estimation

Estimation Methods

Story Points (Fibonacci)

T-Shirt Sizing

Estimation Process

1. Planning Poker

   • Present story
   • Discuss questions
   • Everyone votes simultaneously
   • Discuss outliers
   • Reach consensus

2. Reference Stories

   • Maintain calibration stories
   • Compare new work to completed work
   • Adjust based on team velocity

Hours Tracking

## Time Tracking

| Task | Estimated | Actual | Variance |
|------|-----------|--------|----------|
| Development | 8h | 10h | +2h |
| Code Review | 2h | 1.5h | -0.5h |
| Testing | 4h | 4h | 0h |
| Documentation | 2h | 2.5h | +0.5h |
| **Total** | **16h** | **18h** | **+2h** |

### Variance Analysis
[Explanation of any significant variance]

Bug Tracking

Bug Report Template

# Bug Report: [Short Title]

## Summary
[One-line description]

## Environment
- Browser: [Chrome 120, Firefox 121, etc.]
- OS: [Windows 11, macOS 14, etc.]
- Version: [v2.1.0]
- User Role: [Admin, Editor, Viewer]

## Steps to Reproduce
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]

## Expected Behavior
[What should happen]

## Actual Behavior
[What actually happens]

## Screenshots/Videos
[Attach visual evidence]

## Console Errors

[Paste any error messages]

## Severity
- [ ] Critical - System unusable
- [ ] High - Major feature broken
- [ ] Medium - Feature impaired
- [ ] Low - Minor issue

## Workaround
[If any workaround exists]

Bug Severity Matrix

Bug Lifecycle

┌────────┐   ┌────────┐   ┌────────┐   ┌────────┐   ┌────────┐
│  New   │──▶│ Triage │──▶│Assigned│──▶│In Progress│──▶│ Fixed  │
└────────┘   └────────┘   └────────┘   └────────┘   └────────┘
                │                                        │
                ▼                                        ▼
           ┌────────┐                              ┌────────┐
           │Won't Fix│                             │Verified│
           └────────┘                              └────────┘
                                                        │
                                                        ▼
                                                   ┌────────┐
                                                   │ Closed │
                                                   └────────┘

Enhancement Requests

Enhancement Request Template

# Enhancement Request: [Title]

## Category
- [ ] Performance Improvement
- [ ] Usability Enhancement
- [ ] New Capability
- [ ] Technical Debt
- [ ] Accessibility
- [ ] Other

## Current Behavior
[How it works now]

## Proposed Enhancement
[What should be improved]

## Business Justification
- User Impact: [Number of users affected]
- Time Savings: [Estimated time saved]
- Business Value: [Revenue, efficiency, etc.]

## Success Metrics
[How we measure success]

## Priority Assessment
- User Value: [High/Medium/Low]
- Implementation Effort: [High/Medium/Low]
- Strategic Alignment: [High/Medium/Low]

## Proposed Timeline
[Suggested implementation window]

Enhancement Prioritization Matrix

                    User Value
                 Low    Med    High
              ┌──────┬──────┬──────┐
         Low  │  P4  │  P3  │  P2  │
Effort   Med  │  P4  │  P3  │  P1  │
         High │  P5  │  P4  │  P2  │
              └──────┴──────┴──────┘

P1 = Immediate (this sprint)
P2 = Soon (next 2 sprints)
P3 = Planned (this quarter)
P4 = Backlog
P5 = Reconsider

Product Roadmap

Roadmap Structure

# Product Roadmap 2026

## Q1 2026 (Jan - Mar)

### Theme: Foundation & Performance

#### January
- [ ] Dashboard redesign launch
- [ ] Performance optimization
- [ ] Mobile responsive updates

#### February
- [ ] Event filtering enhancements
- [ ] Report generation v2
- [ ] Accessibility audit

#### March
- [ ] User management improvements
- [ ] API v2 migration
- [ ] Documentation update

## Q2 2026 (Apr - Jun)

### Theme: Collaboration & Integration

#### April
- [ ] Real-time notifications
- [ ] Collaborative editing
- [ ] Integration framework

...

Roadmap Categories

Roadmap Review Cadence

Security Review

Security Review Process

Every feature undergoes security review:

┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
│   Design     │───▶│   Security   │───▶│  Development │
│   Review     │    │    Review    │    │              │
└──────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘
                           │
                           ▼
                    ┌──────────────┐
                    │   Findings   │───▶ Address before development
                    └──────────────┘

Security Review Checklist

Authentication & Authorization

• [ ] Authentication required for protected resources
• [ ] Authorization checks for all actions
• [ ] Session management is secure
• [ ] Password/credential handling is appropriate

Data Protection

• [ ] Sensitive data is encrypted
• [ ] PII is properly handled
• [ ] Data validation on all inputs
• [ ] Output encoding prevents XSS

API Security

• [ ] Rate limiting implemented
• [ ] Input validation on endpoints
• [ ] Error messages don't leak information
• [ ] CORS configured correctly

Infrastructure

• [ ] HTTPS enforced
• [ ] Security headers configured
• [ ] Dependencies are up to date
• [ ] No secrets in code

Security Findings Template

# Security Finding: [Title]

## Severity
- [ ] Critical
- [ ] High
- [ ] Medium
- [ ] Low
- [ ] Informational

## Description
[Detailed description of the vulnerability]

## Impact
[What could happen if exploited]

## Location
- File: [file path]
- Line: [line number]
- Component: [component name]

## Recommendation
[How to fix the issue]

## References
- [OWASP link]
- [CWE reference]

Release Process

Release Types

Release Checklist

## Release Checklist: v[X.Y.Z]

### Pre-Release
- [ ] All stories completed
- [ ] All tests passing
- [ ] Code freeze announced
- [ ] Release notes drafted
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] Security review complete
- [ ] Performance verified

### Release Day
- [ ] Final smoke tests
- [ ] Backup created
- [ ] Deployment executed
- [ ] Health checks passed
- [ ] Monitoring verified
- [ ] Release notes published

### Post-Release
- [ ] Stakeholder notification
- [ ] User announcement
- [ ] Monitor for issues
- [ ] Gather feedback
- [ ] Retrospective scheduled

Release Schedule

Week 1: Development
Week 2: Development + Code Freeze (Thursday)
        QA Testing (Friday)
Week 3: Bug fixes, Release (Tuesday)
        Monitoring

Rollback Plan

Every release includes a rollback plan:

## Rollback Plan for v[X.Y.Z]

### Trigger Conditions
- Critical bug affecting > 10% users
- Data integrity issues
- Security vulnerability discovered
- Performance degradation > 50%

### Rollback Steps
1. Notify stakeholders
2. Switch traffic to previous version
3. Verify previous version health
4. Investigate root cause
5. Document incident

### Rollback Time Target
- Detection to rollback: < 15 minutes
- Full recovery: < 30 minutes

Ceremonies

Sprint Ceremonies

Meeting Templates

Daily Standup

1. What did you complete yesterday?
2. What will you work on today?
3. Any blockers?

Sprint Retrospective

1. What went well?
2. What could be improved?
3. Action items for next sprint

Related Documents

• TDD.md - Test-driven development
• QUALITY.md - Code quality standards
• COMPLIANCE.md - Compliance requirements
• CHANGELOG.md - Change tracking
• SECURITY.md - Security standards