finishing-a-development-branchlisted

# Finishing a Development Branch ## Overview Feature completion does not mean process completion. Final verification and risk assessment MUST occur before closing a branch to prevent pushing unverified changes to mainline. ## Pre-completion Verification - Re-sync with mainline to verify no conflicts or behavioral drift. - Execute minimal required tests + critical regression tests. - Verify documentation, migration scripts, and configuration changes are ready. ## Four Closure Options 1. **Merge now**: Verification is complete, risks are acceptable; merge directly. 2. **Open PR**: Requires reviewer or cross-team sync; open PR first. 3. **Keep branch**: Has remaining split work; keep branch active for continuation. 4. **Archive / Close**: Requirement canceled or strategy changed; archive and close branch. ## Decision Criteria - Determined by acceptance completion level and risk level. - Entering "Merge now" is PROHIBITED if evidence is insufficient. - For major uncertainties, prioritize "Open PR" for review. ## Common Mistakes - Rushing to merge before tests finish running. - Closing a branch without logging the decision. - Keeping a branch without context, causing a long-tail tech debt.