For AI agents: the complete documentation index is available at /llms.txt, the full documentation bundle is available at /llms-full.txt, and this page is available as Markdown at /packs/shared/engineering/change-discipline.md.
Quick start

Change discipline

Define the outcome before editing. Keep the patch understandable and reversible.

Scope and preservation

Why

A selection fix should not also replace a source adapter. Focused changes make regressions attributable to one behavior.

Rules

  • MUST connect changed code to the requested outcome. [review]
  • MUST inspect existing work before replacing it. [review]
  • MUST preserve unrelated behavior, names, and formatting. [review]
  • MUST separate policy changes, enforcement changes, and source migrations into reviewable stages. [review]
  • MUST record incidental findings as follow-up work unless the requested scope includes them. [review]
  • MUST apply the governing standards to new code without treating older code as permission to repeat a violation. [review]

[review]

Review establishes scope and behavior preservation. Behavioral tests verify the contracts affected by the change.

Enforcement

Review establishes scope and behavior preservation. Behavioral tests verify the contracts affected by the change.