Professional Development Workflow

What You'll Learn

This module teaches professional practices: sprint planning, changelog management, and test requirements. Even though Claude Code does the implementation work, YOU need to manage the project professionally.

The Development Cycle

For every feature, follow this cycle:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  THE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  1. PLAN    → Define what you're building (sprint)     │
│  2. BUILD   → Prompt Claude Code to create it          │
│  3. TEST    → Prompt for tests, run them               │
│  4. LOG     → Update changelog with what was done      │
│  5. REVIEW  → Verify it matches your expectations      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Never skip steps. Each step exists for a reason.

Sprint Planning

A sprint is a focused work period where you complete a specific set of features. In traditional development, sprints run 1-2 weeks. With Claude Code, a sprint typically takes minutes to an hour since Claude handles the implementation while you guide the direction. Instead of trying to build everything at once:

1. Define what you'll build this sprint
2. Track progress as features are completed
3. Review what was done at the end

Changelog Management

A changelog is a running record of every significant change to your project. It answers: "What changed, when, and why?"

Why changelogs matter:

• History: Know what you built and when
• Debugging: Track when problems were introduced
• Communication: Share progress with stakeholders

Deliverable: Create Sprint Plan

Purpose: Define and track your first sprint.

Expert Role: Technical Project Manager

Tools to Use: File system (write), TodoWrite (track tasks)

Expected Output

• New file: docs/sprints/sprint-01.md
• Clear list of deliverables
• Acceptance criteria for each item

Prompt Template

Act as a technical project manager. I'm starting Sprint 1 of my website project. Help me create a sprint plan document.

**Project:** [Your project name]
**Sprint Duration:** [1 or 2 weeks]
**Goals for this sprint:** [List 3-5 goals]

Create a sprint plan at `docs/sprints/sprint-01.md` with:
- Sprint number and dates
- Goal summary (1 sentence)
- User stories or tasks (what we're building)
- Acceptance criteria (how we know it's done)

Use the TodoWrite tool to track each task as we work through them.

Deliverable: Initialize Changelog

Purpose: Create a changelog for tracking all project changes.

Expert Role: Technical Documentation Specialist

Tools to Use: File system (write)

Expected Output

• New file: CHANGELOG.md in project root
• Follows Keep a Changelog format

Prompt Template

Act as a technical documentation specialist. Create a CHANGELOG.md file following the Keep a Changelog format (keepachangelog.com).

Include:
- Header explaining the changelog purpose
- Version categories: [Unreleased], with sections for Added, Changed, Fixed, Removed
- Date format: YYYY-MM-DD
- First entry noting project initialization

After every significant change we make, remind me to update the changelog.