Feature Contract

Feature Contract

Generate an implementation contract that must be reviewed and approved before any code changes begin.

When to Use

• Before implementing any feature or bug fix.
• Before refactoring existing code.
• Before making any architecture changes.
• Always. No exceptions.

Steps

1. Gather Requirements

Ask or determine:

• What is the requested change?
• What is the expected behavior after the change?
• What board/target is this for?
• Are there hardware constraints?

2. Define Scope

Document:

• Summary: One-paragraph description of the change.
• Non-goals: What this change explicitly does NOT do.
• Affected files: List every file that will be created, modified, or deleted.
• APIs touched: Public functions or interfaces that will change.

3. Assess Risks

Evaluate:

• Concurrency risks: Shared state, race conditions, task interactions.
• Peripheral risks: Pin conflicts, bus contention, timing issues.
• Memory risks: Heap impact, stack requirements, DMA buffers.
• Boot risks: Changes that affect boot sequence or strapping pins.
• Backward compatibility: Breaking changes to APIs or protocols.

4. Define Test Plan

Specify:

• New tests to add: Unit tests, integration tests, or validation scripts.
• Existing tests to update: Tests affected by the change.
• Manual verification: Steps for hardware testing if applicable.
• Test evidence required: What output proves the change works.

5. Define Rollback Strategy

Document:

• How to revert the change.
• What state needs to be restored.
• Any data migration or NVS implications.

6. Generate Contract Document

Write the contract to the active mission file or as a standalone document using the template at missions/templates/implementation_contract.md.

Contract Template

# Implementation Contract

## Change Summary
[One-paragraph description]

## Non-Goals
- [What this does NOT include]

## Affected Files
| File | Action | Description |
|------|--------|-------------|
| path/to/file.c | MODIFY | [What changes] |
| path/to/new.h | CREATE | [Purpose] |

## APIs Touched
- `function_name()` — [How it changes]

## Risk Assessment
### Concurrency: [LOW/MED/HIGH]
[Details]

### Peripheral: [LOW/MED/HIGH]
[Details]

### Memory: [LOW/MED/HIGH]
[Details]

## Test Plan
- [ ] [Test case description]

## Rollback Strategy
[Steps to revert]

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] [Criterion]

Rules

1. Never skip the contract. Even small changes need a contract.
2. Get approval before coding. The contract must be accepted first.
3. Update the contract if scope changes. Scope creep must be documented.
4. Reference the contract in the PR. Link it for reviewers.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: agodianel
• Source: agodianel/esp32-claude-workbench
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.