atlas-iterative

# Atlas Iterative Workflow

## When to Use This Skill

**Perfect for:**
- Styling improvements that need validation
- Simple UI tweaks requiring quality checks
- Straightforward refactors
- Changes where you know what to do but want peer eyes
- Modifications that don't need research/planning

**Time estimate**: 15-30 minutes (including review cycles)

**Success criteria**:
- Change validated in < 30 minutes
- Peer review approved
- Tests pass
- No major refactoring needed

## The 3 Phases

```
Phase 1: Make Change           → Implement change
Phase 2: Peer Review (Cycle)   → Review → Fix → Repeat until pass
Phase 3: Deploy                → Test + deploy
```

---

## Phase 1: Make Change

**Goal**: Implement the change you know needs to happen.

### Steps:

1. **Understand what needs changing**
   - The requirement is clear (no research needed)
   - You know which file(s) to change
   - Approach is straightforward

2. **Make the change**
   - Implement the modification
   - Follow project conventions
   - Add comments if needed

3. **Self-verify**
   - Visual check (if UI)
   - Logic check (if code)
   - Convention check (project-specific rules)

### Implementation Checklist:

- [ ] Change implemented in 1-2 files
- [ ] Project conventions followed (see `.atlas/conventions.md` if available)
- [ ] Change verified locally
- [ ] No debug statements left behind
- [ ] Code formatting consistent with project style

### Examples:

**Example 1: Button spacing**
```css
/* Before */
.button {
  padding: 8px;
  margin: 4px;
}

/* After (better spacing) */
.button {
  padding: 16px;
  margin: 8px;
}
```

**Example 2: Extract helper function**
```javascript
// Before (validation inline)
const isValid = email.includes('@') && email.length > 5

// After (extracted for reusability)
const validateEmail = (email) => {
  return email.includes('@') && email.length > 5
}
const isValid = validateEmail(email)
```

---

## Phase 2: Peer Review (Iterative Cycle)

**Goal**: Get peer feedback,