# Implement Changes in Verifiable Increments

Large changes become difficult to test, review, and reverse. This skill divides implementation into focused slices with verification, commits, flags, and final checks.

## Install

```bash
npx skillstore add addyosmani/incremental-implementation
```

## Metadata

- Status: approved
- Slug: addyosmani-incremental-implementation
- Skillstore revision: r1
- Version status: missing
- Tree hash: da864dd9891d9bfe3f879503410fe1eb6c3f15879b8f13dd1a241aebb62ee1d2
- Author: addyosmani
- GitHub username: addyosmani
- License: MIT
- Repository: https://github.com/addyosmani/agent-skills/tree/be4e44a9fbc5e8df0beaefadbb28bd22ee61cc39/skills/incremental-implementation
- Ref: 5526951beaeca22519572a471618555839b53b05
- Supported tools: Claude, Codex, Claude Code
- Audit status: complete
- Agent install advisory: allowed
- Manual install advisory: allowed
- Artifact signature: available
- Audit attestation: unavailable
- Human verification: not\_verified
- Risk factors: scripts, external\_commands, filesystem, env\_access
- Quality score: 77
- Quality tier: bronze
- Public page: https://skillstore.pages.dev/skills/addyosmani-incremental-implementation
- Manifest: https://skillstore.pages.dev/api/skills/addyosmani-incremental-implementation/manifest

## Capabilities

- Divides multi-file features into small, complete vertical slices.
- Selects vertical, contract-first, or risk-first slicing strategies.
- Requires relevant tests, builds, type checks, and lint checks after changes.
- Keeps each increment focused, compilable, and independently reversible.
- Uses disabled-by-default feature flags for incomplete features.
- Records out-of-scope improvements without changing unrelated code.

## Use Cases

- Deliver a Multi-File Feature: Break a feature into complete paths that remain testable and reviewable after every increment.
- Coordinate Frontend and Backend Work: Define contracts first, then develop compatible backend and frontend slices before integration.
- Reduce Refactoring Risk: Sequence focused changes with tests and reversible commits to isolate failures quickly.

## Prompt Templates

### Plan the First Slice

```
Review this task and propose the smallest complete first slice. Define scope, excluded work, verification steps, and a completion condition.
```

### Implement One Planned Increment

```
Implement the next approved slice only. Run relevant project checks, report results, and note unrelated issues without changing them.
```

### Choose a Slicing Strategy

```
Compare vertical, contract-first, and risk-first approaches for this feature. Recommend one and produce ordered, independently verifiable increments.
```

### Design a Controlled Rollout

```
Create an incremental rollout plan for this high-risk change. Include safe defaults, feature flags, migrations, rollback steps, verification gates, and commit boundaries.
```

## Limitations

- Does not replace a project-specific plan, test suite, or build process.
- Provides little value for an already minimal single-file or single-function change.
- Does not supply repository-specific implementation details without project context.
- Relies on the repository toolchain and available agent permissions for verification.

## Best Practices

- Define one observable outcome and explicit exclusions for every increment.
- Run relevant verification after each meaningful change and record the result.
- Keep commits focused so each increment can be reviewed or reverted independently.

## Anti Patterns

- Do not combine feature work, unrelated cleanup, and broad refactoring in one increment.
- Do not defer all testing until the complete feature is implemented.
- Do not expose unfinished behavior without a disabled-by-default control.

## Security Audit

- Audited at: 2026-09-12T11:54:32.695\+00:00
- Summary: All 28 static findings are false positives caused by Markdown formatting, safe documentation examples, or ordinary prose. The skill contains no executable scripts, prompt injection, secret access, or malicious behavior.

## Stats

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- Favorites: 0
- Popularity score: 0