Design Document Standards

Purpose

Design documents provide the technical blueprint for implementing requirements. They should be comprehensive, well-organized, and easy to navigate.

Structure

Table of Contents

Place after Overview.

## Table of Contents
- [Overview](#overview)
- [Architecture](#architecture)
- [Components and Interfaces](#components-and-interfaces)
- [Data Models](#data-models)
...

Visual Diagrams

Use Mermaid for diagrams.

• Flowcharts: Process flows.
• Sequence Diagrams: Component interactions.
• Class Diagrams: Data models.

flowchart TD
    A[Start] --> B{Decision?}

External References

Create a section for tools, libraries, and specs.

## External References
### Tools and Libraries
- **Actionlint**: [Link](...)

Content Guidelines

Tables

Use tables for structured info (inputs, outputs, config).

Code Examples

Include examples for config files, API usage, and data structures. Specify the language.

Components

For each component, define:

• Purpose
• Inputs/Outputs
• Responsibilities
• Interactions

Best Practices

• Context-First: Before designing, Query project-knowledge to understand existing patterns.
• Contract-First: The FIRST deliverable of any design must be the Interface Definition (e.g., types.ts, interfaces.go). This allows parallel work.
• Clarity: Be precise about how the system works.
• Traceability: Reference which requirements are satisfied by which design element.
• Completeness: Cover error handling, validation, security, and performance.