engineering

name	engineering
description	Senior engineering guidance on implementation, code quality, and maintainability. Use when reviewing code for R1-R6 standards violations (dead code, bare panics, magic values, swallowed errors, unbounded ops, god functions) or getting cross-cutting implementation advice. NOT for architecture decisions (use the architecture skill) or debugging (use the debugging skill).
phase_relevance	["design","build"]
archetype_relevance	["*"]

Engineering Skill

Provide senior engineering guidance on code quality, architecture, and implementation.

What This Skill Does

1. Implementation Planning - Guide on how to build features with quality
2. Code Review - Assess quality, patterns, maintainability
3. Architecture Guidance - Evaluate structure and design decisions
4. Best Practices - Share knowledge on conventions and patterns

Key Principles

Code Quality

• Clear naming and organization
• DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself)
• SOLID principles
• Consistent style

Architecture

• Design patterns
• Separation of concerns
• Component boundaries
• Dependency management

Maintainability

• Easy to understand and modify
• Easy to test
• Well-documented
• Error handling

Performance

• Efficient algorithms and data structures
• Resource management
• Caching strategies

Review Process

Use comprehensive checklists covering:

• Structure (patterns, abstractions, dependencies)
• Quality (naming, duplication, style)
• Error handling (recovery, messages)
• Maintainability (clarity, configuration)
• Performance (queries, data structures)
• Agent overstepping (unnecessary changes, commented-out code, scope creep)

See refs/checklists.md for detailed review checklists and severity guidelines.

Output Formats

Provide structured guidance for:

• Implementation planning with approach and steps
• Code reviews with strengths, issues, and recommendations

See refs/templates.md for output templates and focus areas.

Integration with Specialists

Dispatch specialist agents via Task(subagent_type=...):

• wicked-garden:engineering:frontend-engineer — React, CSS, browser-specific concerns
• wicked-garden:engineering:backend-engineer — APIs, databases, server-side patterns
• wicked-garden:engineering:debugger — Error investigation and root cause analysis

Integration with wicked-crew

Engaged during:

• Build Phase: Implementation guidance and pattern recommendations
• Review Phase: Code quality and architecture review
• Error Recovery: When issues are encountered during development

Notes

• Always explain the "why" behind recommendations
• Be constructive, not critical
• Offer alternatives with tradeoffs
• Encourage questions and discussion