M1.15 – Developer Documentation & Contribution Guide

[karkra911]

Overview

Create the developer documentation and contribution guide needed for engineers and AI coding agents to work on SystemPulse safely and consistently.

Objectives

• Establish the foundational developer documentation capability for SystemPulse.
• Keep the implementation modular, testable, and suitable for future milestones.
• Document conventions so contributors can extend the area consistently.

Scope

Included:

• Core implementation patterns and repository artifacts for this foundation task.
• Documentation required for future contributors to use or extend the work.
• Tests or validation hooks appropriate for the implemented surface.

Out of scope:

• Product features assigned to later milestones.
• Final UX polish beyond foundation readiness.
• Cloud services, telemetry upload, or release packaging unless explicitly required.

Functional Requirements

• Write a README that explains the project purpose, technology stack, and current status.
• Document prerequisites including Windows version, Visual Studio, CMake, Windows App SDK, and dependency tooling.
• Document clone, restore, configure, build, run, and test commands.
• Document repository layout and module responsibilities.
• Add a CONTRIBUTING guide with branch, commit, issue, and pull request expectations.
• Document code formatting and static analysis commands.
• Document CI expectations and how to reproduce failures locally.
• Document logging, configuration, and crash artifact locations.
• Add guidance for adding new dependencies.
• Add guidance for adding settings and resources.
• Add issue and PR template recommendations if not implemented elsewhere.
• Document security-sensitive behavior expectations for system monitoring code.
• Provide troubleshooting steps for common build and launch problems.
• Keep documentation concise but complete enough for a first-time contributor.

Technical Considerations

• Keep WinUI 3 concerns separated from C++ core services unless the issue is explicitly UI-focused.
• Prefer explicit interfaces, narrow responsibilities, and dependency direction that matches the architecture plan.
• Use Windows API boundaries carefully so platform behavior can be tested or mocked.
• Integrate with logging, configuration, CMake, and CI where relevant.
• Avoid introducing global mutable state or feature-specific shortcuts that future milestones must undo.

Dependency Policy

• Prefer scratch implementations over third-party libraries whenever practical.
• Do not introduce Python or pip dependencies.
• Do not introduce unnecessary external runtime dependencies.
• Prefer the C++ Standard Library, Windows SDK, Win32 APIs, and WinUI 3.
• Any proposed external dependency must include a written technical justification explaining why an in-house implementation is not practical.
• Keep all components modular so future internal replacements remain straightforward.

Deliverables

• Source files, configuration files, or documentation implementing this foundation area.
• Tests, examples, or validation scripts where applicable.
• README or docs updates explaining usage and extension points.
• Integration with existing build and repository conventions.

Acceptance Criteria

• A new contributor can identify required tools from documentation.

• A new contributor can build the project using documented commands.

• A new contributor can run tests using documented commands.

• Contribution expectations for PRs and reviews are documented.

• Formatting and static analysis workflows are documented.

• Architecture and repository layout documentation are linked from README.

• Troubleshooting covers at least the most likely setup failures.

• Documentation avoids claiming incomplete features are implemented.

• No Python or pip dependency introduced.

• No unnecessary third-party runtime dependency introduced.

• Solution primarily relies on C++ Standard Library and Windows APIs.

• Any external dependency is fully documented and technically justified.

Dependencies

• M1.1 - Initialize Repository Structure
• M1.2 - Configure CMake Build System
• M1.8 - Dependency Management
• M1.9 - GitHub Actions Continuous Integration
• M1.10 - Code Formatting & Static Analysis

Suggested Labels

• enhancement
• foundation
• documentation
• developer-experience