Developer Guidelines

Uniformity Over Preference: Code should look like it was written by a single person, regardless of the team size. Enforcing style guides (naming conventions, folder structure) isn't pedantic; it reduces cognitive load when reading someone else's logic.

The "Why," Not Just the "How": Great guidelines explain the reasoning behind decisions (e.g., "Why we prefer Composition over Inheritance"). This transforms rules from arbitrary constraints into educational tools that align the team on architectural philosophy.

Living Documentation: Moving beyond stale Wikis. Guidelines must be embedded in the repository (README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md) where developers actually work, ensuring that instructions on setup, deployment, and testing stay in sync with the codebase.

Defensive Coding Standards: Establishing a non-negotiable baseline for error handling and logging. Guidelines must dictate how the application fails (gracefully), ensuring that when things break in production, there is a standardized trail of breadcrumbs for debugging.