| name | change-impact-analyzer |
| description | Analyze the impact surface, regression paths, and additional validation points for a change or diff. Use it to quickly understand which surrounding areas also need attention. |
Change Impact Analyzer
Purpose
Explain structurally which areas may be affected by a change.
Core Principles
- Do not just list changed files; explain the impact path.
- Separate direct impact from indirect impact.
- Evaluate user, data, and operational impact separately.
- Prioritize paths with the highest regression risk.
- Distinguish confirmed impact from inferred impact.
Inputs
- Change summary
- Diff or list of changed files
- Related feature or user flow
- Recent issue or bug context, if available
Workflow
- Summarize the core intent of the change in one line.
- Describe the directly modified areas and their responsibilities.
- Trace callers, consumers, related state, configuration, and contract changes.
- Identify likely impact points across user flows and operational flows.
- Prioritize the paths that need testing or validation.
- Record assumptions or hidden coupling that still needs confirmation.
Output Format
Change Summary
- What is changing
- Why it is changing
Direct Impact
- Directly modified modules or features
- Behavior that changes immediately
Indirect Impact
- Related callers or consumers
- Contracts, state, or configuration that may also be affected
User Impact
- User-visible changes
- Problems users may see if the change fails
Operational Impact
- Logging, monitoring, deployment, configuration, or rollback impact
Regression Risk Points
- Paths that should be checked first
- Scenarios that need extra testing
Open Questions
- Assumptions that are not confirmed yet
- Code paths that still need inspection
When Information Is Missing
- Start with the direct impact you can confirm.
- Mark indirect impact as "possible" when it is inferred.
- Limit follow-up questions to three.
