CensusChat Git Branching Strategy

Overview

This document defines the git branching strategy for CensusChat that aligns with the BMAD B2B Data Products methodology. Our approach supports systematic development through data asset assessment, service layer design, platform development, and ecosystem growth phases.

Core Branching Model

Main Branches

main (production-ready code)
├── develop (integration branch for ongoing development)
├── release/v* (release preparation branches)
└── hotfix/* (critical production fixes)

BMAD Phase Branches

Each BMAD phase has dedicated long-running branches that merge into develop:

develop
├── phase/data-asset-assessment (Week 1-2)
├── phase/service-layer-design (Week 3-4)  
├── phase/platform-development (Month 2-3)
└── phase/ecosystem-growth (Month 4+)

Feature Branch Structure

Feature branches follow BMAD agent ownership patterns:

feature/[agent-type]/[bmad-phase]/[specific-feature]

Examples:
feature/data-product-strategist/data-asset/market-analysis
feature/data-ops-engineer/platform-dev/duckdb-optimization
feature/data-services-designer/service-layer/training-modules
feature/data-ecosystem-builder/ecosystem-growth/partner-integrations

Branch Naming Conventions

Phase Branches

  • phase/data-asset-assessment - Weeks 1-2: Market validation, data value assessment
  • phase/service-layer-design - Weeks 3-4: Service catalog, community strategy
  • phase/platform-development - Months 2-3: MVP development, architecture implementation
  • phase/ecosystem-growth - Month 4+: Partnerships, scaling, optimization

Feature Branches

Format: feature/[agent]/[phase-short]/[feature-name]

Agent Prefixes:

  • dps - data-product-strategist
  • dva - data-value-analyst
  • dma - data-monetization-architect
  • doe - data-ops-engineer
  • dts - data-trust-specialist
  • dsd - data-services-designer
  • deb - data-ecosystem-builder
  • dcl - data-commercial-lead

Phase Codes:

  • asset - data-asset-assessment
  • service - service-layer-design
  • platform - platform-development
  • ecosystem - ecosystem-growth

Examples:

feature/dps/asset/competitive-analysis
feature/doe/platform/census-api-integration
feature/dsd/service/training-curriculum
feature/deb/ecosystem/github-community-setup

Support Branches

  • bugfix/[issue-number]-[description] - Non-critical bug fixes
  • hotfix/[issue-number]-[description] - Critical production fixes
  • docs/[section]-[topic] - Documentation updates
  • chore/[maintenance-task] - Maintenance and refactoring

Workflow by BMAD Phase

Phase 1: Data Asset Assessment (Weeks 1-2)

Primary Branches:

  • phase/data-asset-assessment (main phase branch)
  • Feature branches for market research, competitive analysis, user interviews

Key Features:

feature/dps/asset/market-opportunity-analysis
feature/dva/asset/census-data-value-assessment  
feature/dcl/asset/customer-discovery-interviews
feature/dps/asset/competitive-positioning

Merge Strategy:

  • Feature branches → phase/data-asset-assessment → develop (weekly)
  • Phase completion → merge to develop with comprehensive review

Phase 2: Service Layer Design (Weeks 3-4)

Primary Branches:

  • phase/service-layer-design (main phase branch)
  • Feature branches for service catalog, community strategy, pricing models

Key Features:

feature/dsd/service/professional-services-catalog
feature/dma/service/freemium-pricing-strategy
feature/deb/service/community-engagement-platform
feature/dts/service/security-compliance-framework

Merge Strategy:

  • Feature branches → phase/service-layer-design → develop (weekly)
  • Service designs require cross-agent review before merge

Phase 3: Platform Development (Months 2-3)

Primary Branches:

  • phase/platform-development (main phase branch)
  • Feature branches for core platform components, integrations, testing

Key Features:

feature/doe/platform/duckdb-census-integration
feature/doe/platform/mcp-natural-language-interface
feature/dts/platform/sql-injection-prevention
feature/doe/platform/performance-optimization
feature/dcl/platform/user-dashboard-interface

Merge Strategy:

  • Feature branches → phase/platform-development → develop (bi-weekly)
  • All platform features require technical review + security validation
  • Performance benchmarks must pass before merge

Phase 4: Ecosystem Growth (Month 4+)

Primary Branches:

  • phase/ecosystem-growth (main phase branch)
  • Feature branches for partnerships, integrations, scaling improvements

Key Features:

feature/deb/ecosystem/github-community-management
feature/deb/ecosystem/bi-tool-integrations  
feature/dma/ecosystem/enterprise-pricing-tiers
feature/dcl/ecosystem/content-marketing-automation

Merge Strategy:

  • Feature branches → phase/ecosystem-growth → develop (weekly)
  • Ecosystem features require business impact validation

Agent-Specific Workflows

Data Product Strategist (DPS)

Primary Responsibilities: Market analysis, competitive positioning, strategic planning Branch Pattern: feature/dps/[phase]/[strategy-component] Review Requirements: Business stakeholder approval, market validation data

Data Ops Engineer (DOE)

Primary Responsibilities: Technical architecture, data processing, performance optimization Branch Pattern: feature/doe/[phase]/[technical-component] Review Requirements: Technical lead approval, performance benchmarks, security scan

Data Services Designer (DSD)

Primary Responsibilities: Service catalog, training programs, customer success Branch Pattern: feature/dsd/[phase]/[service-component]
Review Requirements: Customer feedback integration, pricing validation

Data Ecosystem Builder (DEB)

Primary Responsibilities: Community building, partnerships, open source governance Branch Pattern: feature/deb/[phase]/[ecosystem-component] Review Requirements: Community stakeholder input, partnership legal review

Data Trust Specialist (DTS)

Primary Responsibilities: Security, compliance, data governance, privacy Branch Pattern: feature/dts/[phase]/[security-component] Review Requirements: Security audit, compliance checklist completion

Data Commercial Lead (DCL)

Primary Responsibilities: Sales, marketing, customer acquisition, user experience Branch Pattern: feature/dcl/[phase]/[commercial-component] Review Requirements: User testing results, conversion metric validation

Data Value Analyst (DVA)

Primary Responsibilities: Data analysis, insights generation, value measurement Branch Pattern: feature/dva/[phase]/[analysis-component] Review Requirements: Statistical validation, methodology peer review

Data Monetization Architect (DMA)

Primary Responsibilities: Pricing strategy, revenue optimization, business model design Branch Pattern: feature/dma/[phase]/[monetization-component] Review Requirements: Financial model validation, competitive pricing analysis

Release Management

Release Branch Strategy

main
├── release/v0.1.0-alpha (MVP release)
├── release/v0.2.0-beta (Community launch)  
├── release/v1.0.0 (Production launch)
└── release/v1.1.0 (Ecosystem features)

Version Numbering

  • Major.Minor.Patch (semantic versioning)
  • Alpha/Beta/RC suffixes for pre-release versions
  • Phase alignment: Major versions align with BMAD phase completions

Release Criteria by Phase

v0.1.0-alpha (End of Phase 2):

  • Market validation complete
  • Service catalog defined
  • Technical architecture documented
  • Security framework designed

v0.2.0-beta (End of Phase 3):

  • MVP platform functional
  • Core Census data queries working
  • Basic natural language interface
  • Community platform ready

v1.0.0 (Community Launch):

  • Full feature set implemented
  • Performance targets met
  • Security audit passed
  • Documentation complete
  • Community governance established

v1.1.0+ (Ecosystem Growth):

  • Partnership integrations
  • Advanced features
  • Scaling optimizations
  • Enterprise capabilities

Branch Protection Rules

Main Branch

  • Require pull request reviews (2+ reviewers)
  • Require status checks to pass
  • Require branches to be up to date
  • Restrict pushes (admin only)
  • Require signed commits

Develop Branch

  • Require pull request reviews (1+ reviewer)
  • Require status checks to pass
  • Allow force pushes (maintainers only)

Phase Branches

  • Require pull request reviews (1+ phase lead reviewer)
  • Require agent-specific validation
  • Require BMAD methodology compliance check

Release Branches

  • Require pull request reviews (2+ reviewers including release manager)
  • Require all automated tests to pass
  • Require manual QA sign-off
  • Require security scan approval

Integration with BMAD Methodology

Decision Point Gates

Each BMAD decision point requires specific branch merge approvals:

Market Validation Gate (Phase 1 → Phase 2):

  • All phase/data-asset-assessment features merged and validated
  • Market research data committed to repository
  • Customer interview results documented
  • Competitive analysis complete

Technical Feasibility Gate (Phase 2 → Phase 3):

  • All phase/service-layer-design features merged
  • Technical architecture reviewed and approved
  • Security framework validated
  • Performance requirements confirmed

MVP Quality Gate (Phase 3 → Phase 4):

  • All phase/platform-development features merged
  • Core functionality tested and working
  • Performance benchmarks achieved
  • Security vulnerabilities resolved

Launch Readiness Gate (Phase 4 Launch):

  • All phase/ecosystem-growth launch features merged
  • Community platform operational
  • Documentation complete
  • Launch marketing prepared

Agent Collaboration Points

Branches that require multi-agent collaboration:

Strategy + Technical Integration:

feature/dps+doe/platform/technical-architecture-alignment
feature/dts+doe/platform/security-performance-optimization

Services + Commercial Integration:

feature/dsd+dcl/service/customer-success-automation
feature/dma+dcl/service/pricing-conversion-optimization

Ecosystem + Community Integration:

feature/deb+dcl/ecosystem/community-growth-strategy
feature/deb+dsd/ecosystem/partner-services-integration

Automation and Tooling

GitHub Actions Integration

  • Branch Creation: Automated setup of phase branches with BMAD templates
  • Agent Validation: Automated checks for agent-specific requirements
  • BMAD Compliance: Validation that commits align with methodology requirements
  • Cross-Agent Reviews: Automated assignment of reviewers based on branch patterns

Commit Hook Integration

  • Agent Identification: Commit messages must identify responsible BMAD agent
  • Phase Tracking: Commits tagged with current BMAD phase
  • Methodology Compliance: Links to BMAD tasks and deliverables required

Branch Analytics

  • Agent Contributions: Track contributions by BMAD agent type
  • Phase Progress: Monitor completion status of each BMAD phase
  • Collaboration Metrics: Measure cross-agent collaboration effectiveness
  • Quality Metrics: Track review cycles, bug rates, and performance by phase

This branching strategy ensures systematic development aligned with BMAD methodology while supporting the open source community nature of CensusChat. Each branch serves specific strategic purposes while maintaining code quality and collaboration standards.