A recurring pass over my important projects. Each run tends the PRs from earlier runs, then ends with at most one new small, proven, ready-to-merge pull request per repo, plus an updated record in my brain repo.
Software is not a factory. A factory builds identical widgets to a fixed spec and is done. Software changes every day: customers, scale, and requirements shift, so a perfect up-front spec never exists. Treat each repo like a painting you come back to: make one deliberate improvement per pass, and leave it better than you found it.
- Spec what's objective. Hard limits, API contracts, data integrity, and tests are rules. Follow them.
- Use judgment for the rest. Scale, taste, clarity, and what customers need right now. Read the code and the product like a critic, and decide.