Nw Finalize

NW-FINALIZE: Feature Completion and Archive

Wave: CROSS_WAVE Agent: @nw-platform-architect (default) or specified agent

Overview

Finalize a completed feature: verify all steps done|create evolution document|migrate lasting artifacts to permanent directories|clean up temporary workspace. Agent gathers project data|analyzes execution history|writes summaries|migrates|cleans up.

docs/feature/{feature-id}/ is a temporary workspace — it exists during active nWave waves (DISCUSS through DELIVER). At finalize, artifacts with lasting value migrate to permanent directories; the rest is discarded.

Usage

/nw-finalize @{agent} "{feature-id}"

Context Files Required

The completion-evidence files are docs/feature/{feature-id}/deliver/roadmap.json (the original project plan) and docs/feature/{feature-id}/deliver/execution-log.json (step execution history).

Pre-Dispatch Gate: All Work Complete

Before dispatching, verify all work is done — prevents archiving incomplete features.

1. Parse execution log — Read docs/feature/{feature-id}/deliver/execution-log.json. Gate: file readable.
2. Verify completeness — Check every step has status DONE. Gate: all steps DONE.
3. Block or proceed — If any step is not DONE, list incomplete steps with current status and halt. If all DONE, proceed to dispatch. Gate: zero incomplete steps before dispatch.

Phases

Phase A — Evolution Document

1. Gather source data — Read execution-log.json + roadmap.json (the step log and plan), and all */wave-decisions.md files. Gate: source files read.
2. Extract key decisions — Pull decisions, issues, and lessons from wave-decisions files. Gate: decisions list assembled.
3. Write evolution doc — Create docs/evolution/YYYY-MM-DD-{feature-id}.md with: feature summary, business context, key decisions, work completed (from execution-log.json), lessons learned, issues encountered, links to migrated permanent artifacts. Gate: file written.

Phase B — Migrate Lasting Artifacts

1. Scan workspace — List all files under docs/feature/{feature-id}/. Gate: file list produced.
2. Match against destination map — For each file, apply the destination map below. Gate: migration plan assembled.
3. Create destination directories — Create any missing permanent directories. Gate: directories exist.
4. Copy files — Copy each matched file to its permanent destination. Gate: all copies verified.
5. Log skipped files — Note any files from the discard list (not migrated). Gate: discard list documented.

Destination Map

Research docs (docs/research/) are already in a permanent location — no migration needed.

What NOT to Migrate (Discard)

These are process scaffolding — valuable during delivery, disposable after:

Phase C — Cleanup Workspace

1. List remaining files — List all files still in docs/feature/{feature-id}/ after migration. Gate: list produced.
2. Present for approval — Show the exact list to the user and request approval. Gate: user explicitly approves.
3. Preserve workspace — docs/feature/{feature-id}/ is NOT deleted. The wave matrix derives status from this directory. Removing it would make finalized features disappear from the matrix. The evolution doc in docs/evolution/ is the summary; the feature directory is the history. Gate: directory preserved, session markers removed.
4. Clean session artifacts only — Remove .nwave/des/deliver-session.json, .develop-progress.json, and any temp files. Do NOT remove wave artifacts (discuss/, design/, distill/, deliver/). Gate: session markers removed, wave artifacts intact.

NEVER delete without user approval. Show exactly what will be removed.

Phase D — Post-Cleanup Verification

1. Verify migrated files — Confirm every file copied in Phase B exists at its destination. Gate: all destinations present.
2. Update architecture doc statuses — Change any "FUTURE DESIGN" labels to "IMPLEMENTED" in migrated architecture docs. Gate: no stale FUTURE DESIGN labels.
3. Optionally generate reference docs — Invoke /nw-document unless --skip-docs flag provided. Gate: docs generated or skipped.
4. Commit evolution doc and artifacts — Commit 1: evolution doc + migrated artifacts. Gate: commit created.
5. Commit workspace cleanup — Commit 2: workspace removal. Gate: commit created and pushed.

Agent Invocation

@{agent}

Finalize: {feature-id}

Key constraints:

1. Follow the 4-phase process (A → B → C → D) in order.
2. Create evolution document BEFORE migration (needs source files).
3. Migrate BEFORE cleanup (preserves artifacts).
4. Show cleanup list and wait for user approval before removing anything.
5. Commit and push after approval.

Success Criteria

• All steps verified DONE before dispatch
• Evolution document created in docs/evolution/
• Architecture docs migrated to docs/architecture/{feature}/
• ADRs migrated to docs/adrs/ (if any)
• Scenario docs migrated to docs/scenarios/{feature}/ (if any)
• UX journeys migrated to docs/ux/{feature}/ (if any)
• User approved cleanup before workspace removal
• Workspace directory removed: docs/feature/{feature-id}/
• Architecture docs updated to "IMPLEMENTED" status
• Committed and pushed

Permanent Directory Structure

docs/
  adrs/                  # ADR-NNN-{slug}.md (flat, cross-feature)
  architecture/          # Design docs by feature
    {feature}/
      architecture-design.md
      component-boundaries.md
      data-models.md
      technology-stack.md
  decisions/             # Product decisions by feature (optional)
    {feature}/
  evolution/             # Post-mortem summaries
    YYYY-MM-DD-{feature-id}.md
  research/              # Research docs (flat, cross-feature)
  scenarios/             # Acceptance test documentation by feature
    {feature}/
      walking-skeleton.md
  ux/                    # UX specs and journeys by feature
    {feature}/
      journey-*.yaml
      journey-*-visual.md

Error Handling

Examples

Example 1: Standard finalization

/nw-finalize @nw-platform-architect "auth-upgrade"

Verifies all steps done. Creates evolution doc. Migrates design/architecture-design.md → docs/architecture/auth-upgrade/, ADRs → docs/adrs/, test-scenarios → docs/scenarios/auth-upgrade/. Shows remaining files, user approves, removes workspace. Commits.

Example 2: Blocked by incomplete steps

/nw-finalize @nw-platform-architect "data-pipeline"

Pre-dispatch gate finds step 02-03 status IN_PROGRESS. Returns: "BLOCKED: 1 incomplete step - 02-03: IN_PROGRESS. Complete all steps before finalizing."

Next Wave

Handoff To: Feature complete - no next wave Deliverables: docs/evolution/YYYY-MM-DD-{feature-id}.md, migrated artifacts, cleaned workspace

Expected Outputs

docs/evolution/YYYY-MM-DD-{feature-id}.md
docs/architecture/{feature}/ (migrated design docs)
docs/adrs/ADR-*.md (migrated ADRs)
docs/scenarios/{feature}/ (migrated test scenarios)
docs/ux/{feature}/ (migrated UX journeys, if any)
Removed: docs/feature/{feature-id}/

Source: nWave-ai/nWave → nWave/skills/nw-finalize/SKILL.md