Feature Setup

Feature Setup

Systematically set up new features from initial planning through implementation structure.

When to Use

• Starting a new feature
• Creating feature branches
• Planning technical approach
• Setting up project structure

Workflow

1. Define Requirements

Before writing code, clarify:

Scope & Goals

• What problem does this solve?
• What are the success criteria?
• What's explicitly out of scope?

User Stories

As a [user type]
I want to [action]
So that [benefit]

Acceptance Criteria

• Specific, testable requirement 1
• Specific, testable requirement 2
• Edge case handling

2. Create Feature Branch

# Fetch latest main
git fetch origin main

# Create branch from main
git checkout -b feature/feature-name origin/main

# Or with issue ID
git checkout -b username/ISSUE-123-feature-name origin/main

Branch Naming Conventions

3. Plan Architecture

Data Models

• What entities are needed?
• What are the relationships?
• What fields and types?

API Design

• What endpoints are needed?
• Request/response shapes
• Error handling approach

UI Components

• Component hierarchy
• State management
• User interactions

Testing Strategy

• Unit test coverage
• Integration tests
• E2E scenarios

4. Set Up Structure

Create the directory structure:

src/
├── features/
│   └── feature-name/
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── FeatureComponent.tsx
│       │   └── index.ts
│       ├── hooks/
│       │   └── useFeature.ts
│       ├── api/
│       │   └── featureApi.ts
│       ├── types/
│       │   └── index.ts
│       └── index.ts
└── ...

5. Configure Dependencies

# Install required packages
npm install package-name

# Or with specific version
npm install package-name@^1.0.0

Update configuration files as needed.

Feature Setup Checklist

Planning

• Requirements documented
• User stories written
• Acceptance criteria defined
• Technical approach planned

Setup

• Feature branch created
• Directory structure set up
• Dependencies installed
• Configuration updated

Ready to Develop

• Development environment works
• Can run tests
• Linting passes
• Team aligned on approach

Best Practices

• Start small: Begin with core functionality
• Document decisions: Record why, not just what
• Plan for testing: Consider testability early
• Keep scope tight: Avoid scope creep
• Communicate: Share approach with team

Output Artifacts

Consider creating:

• Technical spec: Architecture decisions
• Task breakdown: Implementation steps
• Changelog entry: For tracking progress
• Documentation draft: User-facing docs