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Context Management

Why Context Matters

  • Reduces ramp-up time
  • Prevents repeated mistakes
  • Enables informed decisions
  • Facilitates collaboration

Context Types

Project Context

  • What the project does
  • Why it exists
  • Who uses it
  • Key constraints

Technical Context

  • Architecture decisions (ADRs)
  • Technology choices
  • Coding conventions
  • Known issues

Historical Context

  • Why decisions were made
  • What was tried before
  • Lessons learned

Context Capture

Decision Log

## Decision: [Title]
**Date**: [Date]
**Context**: [Why this came up]
**Decision**: [What was decided]
**Rationale**: [Why this choice]
**Consequences**: [What changed]

Knowledge Base

  • README for project overview
  • ADRs for architecture
  • CONTRIBUTING for development
  • CHANGELOG for history

Code Comments

// CONTEXT: This retry logic exists because the external API
// has intermittent failures. See incident-123 for details.
// We chose exponential backoff after testing showed it
// reduces error rate by 80%.

Context Sharing

New Team Member

  1. Start with README
  2. Review key ADRs
  3. Pair on first task
  4. Introduce to stakeholders

Handoff

  1. Document current state
  2. List open questions
  3. Identify risks
  4. Warm handoff meeting

Best Practices

  1. Write it down: Don't rely on memory
  2. Keep it current: Update as things change
  3. Make it findable: Organize logically
  4. Be specific: Include the "why"
  5. Review regularly: Remove stale info