Workflows

Workflows are step-by-step multi-phase instruction files. Each workflow step has a clear goal, a set of tasks, and exit criteria. Run them in order to move a project through a defined cycle.

Dev Cycle

Quality assurance and continuous improvement of an existing codebase.

Step File Purpose
1 Test the Project Run tests, verify build, check dependencies, populate TODO.md with issues
2 Test the UI Test interface components, check browser compatibility and accessibility
3 Code Review Analyse code quality, security, performance, and best practices

Scope Cycle

Used at the start of a new project or phase to define what needs to be built.

Step File Purpose
1 Define Product Scope Analyse the codebase and write a comprehensive SCOPE.md
2 Actionable Plan → TODO Break the scope into developer-ready tasks and populate TODO.md

Feature Cycle

Full lifecycle for delivering a single feature from idea to production.

Step File Purpose
1 Define Feature Write a complete spec with acceptance criteria before any code is written
2 Design and Review Technical design covering data, services, API, security, and performance
3 Implement Execute the design task-by-task with verification after each change
4 Test Verify acceptance criteria, edges, security, and performance
5 Release Pre-release checklist, deployment, smoke test, rollback plan

Bug Cycle

Systematic process for finding, fixing, and preventing bugs.

Step File Purpose
1 Reproduce Establish an on-demand reproduction and write a failing regression test
2 Diagnose Find the exact root cause using hypothesis-driven investigation
3 Fix and Verify Apply a minimal targeted fix, verify tests pass, commit with full context

Release Cycle

Prepare and ship a production release safely.

Step File Purpose
1 Pre-Release Check Tests, security scan, changelog, docs, migration safety — go/no-go gate
2 Release Version tag, changelog, deploy, migrations, health check
3 Post-Release 30-minute monitoring, cleanup, stakeholder communication, follow-up tasks

Refactor Cycle

Disciplined, behaviour-preserving code improvement.

Step File Purpose
1 Assess Identify code quality issues, establish test safety net, risk assessment
2 Plan Map current state, define target state, sequence atomic steps
3 Execute One step at a time, test after every change, commit each step

Incident Cycle

Detect, resolve, and learn from production incidents.

Step File Purpose
1 Detect and Triage Confirm the incident, assess severity, assemble the response team
2 Investigate and Resolve Form hypotheses, gather evidence, apply fix, confirm resolution
3 Post-Mortem Blameless review, timeline reconstruction, action items to prevent recurrence

Data Cycle

Model, migrate, and validate database and data pipeline changes.

Step File Purpose
1 Model and Design ERD review, schema design decisions, index strategy, migration plan
2 Migrate and Apply Zero-downtime migration execution and rollback readiness
3 Validate and Monitor Data integrity checks, query performance, pipeline monitoring

Onboarding Cycle

Bring a new contributor to productivity in a structured, verifiable way.

Step File Purpose
1 Environment Setup Local dev environment, tooling, credentials, verify the build runs
2 Explore the Codebase Architecture tour, key concepts, domain model, flow through the system
3 First Contribution Pick a starter issue, implement, PR, and get it merged

Security Cycle

Audit, remediate, and harden the application against security threats.

Step File Purpose
1 Audit OWASP Top 10 review, dependency CVE scan, secret detection, header check
2 Remediate Fix all findings — patch CVEs, fix injection/auth bugs, rotate secrets
3 Harden CSP, HSTS, rate limiting, least-privilege, security scanning in CI

Deploy Cycle

Build, validate, and ship a production deployment safely.

Step File Purpose
1 Prepare Deployment Artefact build, env config validation, migration review, rollback plan
2 Deploy and Verify Execute deploy, smoke tests, error rate monitoring, rollback if needed

How to Use a Workflow

  1. Open the workflow step file.
  2. Give it to Copilot as your system prompt or reference it in chat.
  3. Copilot follows the instructions and populates TODO.md with results.
  4. Hand off to the AutoDev agent to execute the tasks.
  5. Move to the next workflow step when exit criteria are met.