Tracking Project State

Tracking Project State

Maintain a living document of current project status for AI agents.

When to use

• Starting or completing major tasks
• Changing project priorities
• Blocking issues arise
• Sprint or phase transitions

Project State Structure

# Project State

## Current Phase
[Development / Testing / Maintenance / etc.]

## Active Work

### In Progress
- [ ] Feature X - [brief status]
- [ ] Bug fix Y - [brief status]

### Blocked
- Issue Z - [reason] - [owner]

## Recent Completions
- ✅ Feature A (date)
- ✅ Bug fix B (date)

## Next Priorities
1. Priority task 1
2. Priority task 2

## Known Issues
- Issue description - [severity]

Update Frequency

Update project_state.md when:

• Starting significant work
• Completing features or fixes
• Encountering blockers
• Changing priorities
• Beginning new sprint/phase

Best Practices

✅ Do

• Keep it current (update same day)
• Be specific about status
• Include blockers and owners
• Date recent completions
• Limit to top priorities

❌ Avoid

• Stale information (>1 week old)
• Too much detail (link to issues instead)
• Historical log (keep only recent)
• Vague status updates

Integration with AI Agents

AI agents check project_state.md to:

• Understand what's being worked on
• Avoid conflicting changes
• Prioritize their suggestions
• Provide contextual help

File Location

project/
└── .context/
    └── project_state.md  # Current project state

Quick Update Template

When updating, use this format:

## Update [Date]

**Completed**: [what was finished]
**In Progress**: [what's being worked on]
**Next**: [upcoming priority]
**Blocked**: [any blockers] (if applicable)

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