Knowledge Contribution & Continuous Improvement

knowledge/retros, knowledge/patterns, knowledge/prompts/dev — what you learn this sprint is what the next dev inherits.

GATE → VERIFY → RETRO → NEXT

Module Overview

This is the Dev Track's equivalent of Module 7. The core program closes each project with a Sprint 1 Readiness gate and a team retro committed to knowledge/retros/. In nexus, /validate's last step already nudges every task toward this habit — this module is where you make it a deliberate, sprint-level practice instead of an occasional afterthought.

At a glance
Covers	Verifying `knowledge/` is populated and not just scaffolded; running a sprint retro; `nexus doctor` as a health check; what to commit vs. what stays in `docs/`
When it runs	End of every sprint
Builds on	Everything — the full EPAV cycle and whatever you built in Dev 6
Leads into	Dev 8, or the next sprint's Dev 2

What you'll produce

A verified, non-empty knowledge/ directory, a clean nexus doctor run, and a retro document in knowledge/retros/ that the next sprint's facilitator reads first.

Verify knowledge/ Is Populated, Not Just Present

nexus init scaffolds empty folders. A healthy sprint fills them. Check each one honestly at sprint close:

knowledge/
├─ rules/       # coding standards + rationale — did this sprint add any?
├─ patterns/    # reusable implementation patterns — real examples: cli-doctor-checks.md,
│               #   rich-markup-escaping.md, version-check-banner.md
├─ prompts/dev/ # task prompt templates — refined /evaluate arguments worth reusing
└─ retros/      # one file per sprint, dated

Item	Check
Rules	Added to `AGENTS.md` or `knowledge/rules/`. Specific, verifiable. Tested in a fresh session (Dev 6).
Patterns	Has a real example input/output, not just a description.
Agents/skills	Named distinctly from the built-ins so `nexus sync` never overwrites them.
Quality over quantity	A few peer-reviewed, tested contributions beat many untested ones — same bar as the core program's Module 7.

nexus doctor as the Sprint Health Check

nexus doctor

Run it at sprint close the same way the core program runs the Sprint 1 Readiness checklist — a fast, mechanical pass before the human retro conversation starts. It reports which graph backend is active, flags a dual-backend conflict, and confirms the project structure nexus expects is intact.

The Retro, Unchanged

The core program's retro template applies exactly as written — nexus doesn't change what a retro is, only how much there is to talk about, since a sprint of EPAV runs leaves a clear trail of /validate BACKLOG items and Dev 6 rule candidates to draw from.

# knowledge/retros/{sprint-date}-retro.md

## Sprint
[dates, epics worked, team]

## What Worked
- [specific EPAV skill, rule, or agent + which tasks it helped]

## What Didn't Work
- [where /plan or /validate needed repeated correction — and what it cost]

## What We'd Do Differently
- [change] — Owner: [name]

## Top 3 Reusable Assets
[rules, agents, skills, or patterns from this sprint worth every dev inheriting]

## Top 3 Pitfalls
[what to avoid next sprint]

BACKLOG items are retro material

Every [BACKLOG] item /validate logged this sprint is already sitting in knowledge/retros/ or waiting to be triaged. The retro conversation is where the team decides which backlog items become next sprint's rules, agents, or Dev Tasks — not where they get silently dropped.

Sprint Gate Checklist

Artifact chain intact: BRD → PRD → Architecture → Dev Tasks still trace to the code merged this sprint
Every merged PR references a Dev Task ID
Every Dev Task has a test derived from its acceptance criteria, and all tests pass
nexus doctor reports clean
knowledge/ has at least one new, peer-reviewed contribution
Retro committed to knowledge/retros/

Self-Check

I can tell the difference between a scaffolded, empty knowledge/ and a populated one.
I run nexus doctor before every sprint retro, not just at project setup.
I can turn a sprint of /validate BACKLOG items into concrete retro material.
I know what "quality over quantity" means for a knowledge contribution.
I've committed a retro to knowledge/retros/ this sprint.