Work Archiving Skill

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill at Stage 6 (Archive) of the workflow when:

• Code review is approved and all changes are merged
• Need to finalize and document completed work
• Time to close out the change package
• Asked to "archive", "finalize", "close out this work"
• Completing the 6-stage workflow cycle

Prerequisites

Before archiving:

• Code review completed (05-review.md exists with approval)
• All changes committed and pushed
• Tests passing (if applicable)
• Documentation updated

Archiving Workflow

Step 1: Review Change Package Status

Check the change package folder (

changes/<YYYY-MM-DD>-<slug>/

) for completeness:

• 01-brainstorm.md

  — Initial requirements and risk assessment

• 02-decision-log.md

  — Key decisions made

• 03-spec.md

  — Specification (if standard path)

• 04-plan.md

  — Implementation plan

• 05-review.md

  — Code review results

Step 2: Create Archive Summary

Create

changes/<YYYY-MM-DD>-<slug>/99-archive.md

:

# Archive: [Feature Name]

**Date Completed**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Status**: ✅ Completed / ⚠️ Completed with Known Issues

## Summary
Brief description of what was implemented.

## Key Outcomes
- Outcome 1
- Outcome 2

## Commits
- [commit-hash] commit message
- [commit-hash] commit message

## Related Issues/PRs
- Closes #123
- Related to #456

## Known Issues / Technical Debt
- Issue 1 (tracked in #789)
- Issue 2 (documented in decision log)

## Lessons Learned
- What went well
- What could be improved
- Recommendations for future work

Step 3: Update CHANGELOG

If

CHANGELOG.md

exists, add entry:

## [Version] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- Feature description

### Changed
- Change description

### Fixed
- Fix description

### Security
- Security improvement description

If no CHANGELOG exists, consider creating one following Keep a Changelog format.

Step 4: Commit and Tag (if applicable)

# Commit archive document
git add changes/<YYYY-MM-DD>-<slug>/99-archive.md
git commit -m "docs: archive change package for <feature-name>"

# Optional: Create release tag
git tag -a v1.2.3 -m "Release version 1.2.3"
git push origin v1.2.3

Step 5: Close Related Issues/PRs

If using GitHub:

• Close related issues with reference to commits
• Update project boards
• Link PRs to completed work

Step 6: Clean Up (Optional)

• Remove temporary files or branches
• Archive old change packages (if many exist)
• Update team documentation

Output Format

Archive Document (

99-archive.md

)

Section	Required	Description
Summary	Yes	Brief description of completed work
Key Outcomes	Yes	Bullet list of deliverables
Commits	Yes	List of Git commits with hashes
Related Issues/PRs	If applicable	References to GitHub issues/PRs
Known Issues	If applicable	Technical debt or limitations
Lessons Learned	Recommended	Retrospective notes

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Change package incomplete	Review missing files and complete them before archiving
Commits not yet pushed	Push changes to remote before finalizing
Review not approved	Return to Stage 5 (Review) to address feedback
No CHANGELOG exists	Create one or document in 99-archive.md

Integration with Workflow

This skill completes the 6-stage workflow:

1. Brainstorm → 2. Specification → 3. Planning → 4. Implementation → 5. Review → 6. Archive

After archiving, the change package serves as:

• Audit trail for regulatory/compliance needs
• Knowledge base for future similar work
• Onboarding material for new team members
• Reference for technical decisions

Related Resources

• WORKFLOW.md — Complete workflow documentation
• Specification Skill — Stage 2
• Implementation Planning Skill — Stage 3
• TDD Workflow Skill — Stage 4
• Code & Security Review Skill — Stage 5

Security Considerations

• Never commit secrets, credentials, or sensitive data in archive documents
• Redact customer/user information from examples
• If archiving includes security fixes, coordinate disclosure timing
• Ensure compliance with data retention policies