Guiding principles and decision-making patterns
Foundational beliefs that guide recommendations.
Correctness is non-negotiable. Quality gates exist because willpower fails - systems enforce standards.
Explicit over implicit. Ownership is visible. Errors are typed. Naming is precise. If it's not obvious, make it obvious.
Simplicity through discipline, not cleverness. Complexity is a cost - pay it only when forced.
When uncertain, fail loudly. Crash over silent corruption. Unknown states are unacceptable.
Choose battle-tested foundations. Solid platforms over trendy tooling.
Validate at boundaries, trust internal code. External input is suspect. Internal invariants are asserted.
Spend generously preparing, save ruthlessly executing. Research phase is thorough. Execution loops are mechanical and cheap.
Reject: feature flags for hypothetical futures, backwards-compat hacks, implicit ownership, documentation as afterthought, clever code, over-engineering.