Load all retrospective files during story creation to carry forward
lessons learned, open action items, architecture corrections, and
deferred code review items. Fulfills Epic 2 retro action item A1.
Also includes Epic 2 retrospective and sprint status updates.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
1. **Context management across stories was excellent.** Rich story specs with "Previous Story Intelligence" sections meant each story started with full awareness of prior learnings. The `due_date` vs `deadline` gotcha was caught once in Story 2.1 and proactively avoided in all 3 subsequent stories.
2. **Strong foundations compound.** The `forUser()` scope built in Epic 1 (Story 1.5) made Worker scoping in Story 2.3 effortless — zero debug issues, zero backend query changes needed. The cleanest story in the epic.
3. **Incremental extension pattern worked perfectly.** All 4 stories cleanly extended the same `DashboardController` and `Cache::remember()` block. Story 2.1 built the foundation, 2.2 added alerts, 2.3 tweaked for Workers, 2.4 added the feed — no story broke a previous one.
4. **100% completion with zero blockers.** 4 stories in ~3 days, all acceptance criteria met, all tests passing, all code linted. Stories 2.1–2.3 shipped on the same day (March 20).
5. **Adversarial code review on Story 2.3 surfaced valuable deferred items.** 3 documented findings (D-1 nudge/reassign, D-2 assignee param, D-3 cache invalidation) — all correctly scoped to future epics rather than blocking current work.
6. **README cold-start guide and epic status discipline delivered.** Both commitments from Epic 1 retro were completed and proved their value during Epic 2.
---
## What Didn't Go Well
1. **15 pre-existing test failures surfaced in Story 2.4.** 14 Folder feature tests with missing routes/tables + 1 WorkerDashboardTest session edge case. These have been accumulating since Epic 0 and have now been flagged for THREE retrospectives. The number is growing, not shrinking.
2. **Architecture doc drift.**`deadline` vs `due_date` column name mismatch, non-existent `Declaration::workspace()` scope, undocumented `mise_en_demeure` status — flagged in 4/4 stories. Story specs compensated with "CRITICAL" notes, but source docs remain stale.
3. **Story 2.4 environment friction.** Windows Docker stdin hang, Vite manifest missing in tests, duplicate function name conflict — all infrastructure issues, not code logic. Cross-platform (Windows vs Linux) friction is an ongoing environmental challenge.
4. **`withoutVite()` global workaround.** Added to Pest.php to fix Vite manifest issue — works but could mask real Vite build problems in future tests. Documented as known debt.
5. **2 of 5 Epic 1 action items still unresolved.** A4 (pre-existing test failures) and A5 (withPivot documentation) were not addressed during Epic 2.
---
## Key Insights & Lessons Learned
1. **Context management is the team's superpower.** Investing in rich story context (Previous Story Intelligence, architecture constraints, code patterns) pays off exponentially across an epic. Small errors are expected — the system self-corrects when context is strong.
2. **Load retrospective files as context during story creation.** Saad's process fix: with Opus 4.6's 1M token window, loading a retro file during story creation is essentially free and organically carries forward lessons learned, action items, and architecture corrections into every new story spec.
3. **Pre-existing test failures must be resolved within the same epic.** No more carrying debt across retros. Three-retro flags indicate a systemic accountability gap.
4. **Strong foundations compound — invest early.** The `forUser()` scope, `Cache::remember()` pattern, and role-based shared props from Epics 0-1 made Epic 2 dramatically smoother. Each epic should leave foundations for the next.
5. **Cross-platform friction is environmental, not architectural.** Windows vs Linux differences cause occasional debugging overhead. Document workarounds and move on — don't over-engineer solutions.
---
## Previous Retrospective (Epic 1) Follow-Through
| # | Action Item | Status | Evidence |
|---|-------------|--------|----------|
| A1 | Create README.md with cold-start guide | ✅ Completed | README.md exists with Cold-Start Guide, Vite gotcha, verification checklist |
| A2 | Update epic-1 to done in sprint-status.yaml | ✅ Completed | sprint-status.yaml shows epic-1: done |
| A3 | Epic status update discipline | ✅ Completed | epic-2 correctly marked done after all stories done |
| A4 | Resolve pre-existing test failures | ❌ Not Addressed (3rd retro flag) | 15 pre-existing failures surfaced in Story 2.4 |
| A5 | Document pivot withPivot gotchas in project-context.md | ❌ Not Addressed | project-context.md does not mention withPivot |
**Score: 3/5 completed, 0/5 in progress, 2/5 not addressed.**
Key concern: A4 is now a THIRD retro flag. Made critical blocker for Epic 3.
---
## Deferred Code Review Items (from Story 2.3 Review)
| ID | Description | Severity | Affects |
|----|-------------|----------|---------|
| D-1 | Nudge/Reassign dropdown items unconditionally disabled | Medium | Epic 3, Story 3.2 |
| D-2 | StatCard `assignee` param not consumed by declarations index | Low (intentional) | Epic 4, Story 4.1 |
| D-3 | Cache not invalidated on role change (5-min TTL mitigates) | Low | Cross-cutting |
| A1 | Load retrospective file as context during every story creation | Bob (SM) | Critical | Every new story spec references latest retro and incorporates relevant lessons |
| A2 | Fix 15 pre-existing test failures (THIRD retro flag — BLOCKS Epic 3) | Quinn (QA) + Amelia (Dev) | Critical | All 222+ tests pass with zero failures |
| A3 | Document `withPivot` gotchas in project-context.md (carried from Epic 1) | Amelia (Dev) | Medium | project-context.md contains WorkspaceUser pivot field gotchas |
| A4 | Update architecture doc: correct `deadline` → `due_date` and other drift | Winston (Architect) | Medium | Architecture doc matches actual DB schema and scope names |
| A5 | Review `withoutVite()` global workaround compatibility with Epic 3 | Quinn (QA) | Low | Confirmed compatible or replaced with targeted fix |
| A6 | Maintain epic status update discipline (proven — keep enforcing) | Bob (SM) | Ongoing | No stale epic statuses |
---
## Team Agreements
- **Load retrospective file as context during every story creation** — non-negotiable new agreement
- Code review remains mandatory on every story — never skip it
- "Previous Story Intelligence" sections continue in every story spec
- Wayfinder routes remain the ONLY way to reference URLs in Vue
- **Pre-existing test failures must be resolved within the same epic** — no more carrying across retros (new agreement)
---
## Next Epic Preview — Epic 3: Collaboration, Nudge System & Notifications
**Dependencies on Epic 2:**
- D-1: Dashboard nudge/reassign dropdown actions need enabling in Story 3.2
- Activity feed Spatie Activity Log infrastructure (Story 2.4) — foundation for notification events
- Dashboard layout stability — notification bell goes in app header, not dashboard
- `forUser()` scope and role-based patterns — reused for notification scoping
| Infrastructure | ✅ Ready | Redis, queue worker, notifications, mail — all in place |
**Verdict:** Epic 2 is fully complete. Team is clear to proceed with Epic 3 after completing 2 critical path items (fix test failures + update story creation process to load retro).
---
## Next Steps
1. **Fix 15 pre-existing test failures** — critical blocker
2. **Update story creation workflow to load latest retro** — critical process fix
3. Review action items in next standup
4. Begin Epic 3 — start creating stories with SM agent's `create-story`
5. Epic will be marked as `in-progress` automatically when first story is created
---
## Team Performance
Epic 2 delivered 4 stories with outstanding velocity in ~3 days. 40 new tests added, zero blockers, zero production incidents. The "morning command center" dashboard received positive stakeholder feedback. The retrospective surfaced 4 key insights and 0 significant plan-changing discoveries. The team is well-positioned for Epic 3 success.
---
*Retrospective facilitated by Bob (Scrum Master) on 2026-03-24*
load_strategy:"SELECTIVE_LOAD"# Only load needed epic
retrospective:
description:"Latest retrospective for lessons learned, action items, and architecture corrections"
whole:"{implementation_artifacts}/*retro*.md"
load_strategy:"FULL_LOAD"# Load all retros — context window can handle it
Reference in New Issue
Block a user
Blocking a user prevents them from interacting with repositories, such as opening or commenting on pull requests or issues. Learn more about blocking a user.
