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Feature Coverage Workflow

Track feature implementation, documentation, and testing status

Overview

The Feature Coverage system helps you track the completeness of your features across three dimensions:

  1. Implementation - Which Milestones and Stories implement this feature?
  2. Documentation - Which Documents document this feature?
  3. Testing - Are there test references for this feature?

This workflow is essential for: - Release planning - Identify which features are ready to ship - Gap analysis - Find features missing implementation, docs, or tests - Progress tracking - Monitor feature completion across tiers and phases - Quality assurance - Ensure all features are properly documented and tested

Feature Entity Structure

Features are tracked as entities with the following classification:

Tier (OSS vs Premium)

  • OSS - Open source features available to all users
  • Premium - Premium features for paid users

Phase (Roadmap Timeline)

  • MVP - Minimum viable product features
  • 0-5 - Numbered phases for roadmap planning

Status (Implementation State)

  • Planned - Not yet started
  • In Progress - Currently being implemented
  • Complete - Fully implemented
  • Deferred - Postponed to future phase

Using the Feature Coverage View

Opening the View

Via Command Palette: 

Cmd/Ctrl+P → "Project Canvas: Open Feature Coverage"

The view opens in the right sidebar and shows a table of all features with their coverage status.

View Components

1. Filters

Filter features by: - Tier - OSS, Premium, or All - Phase - MVP, 0-5, or All - Status - Planned, In Progress, Complete, Deferred, or All - Show only with gaps - Only show features missing impl/docs/tests

2. Summary Statistics

Shows aggregate metrics: 

Total: 24
With Implementation: 18 (75%)
With Docs: 15 (63%)
With Tests: 12 (50%)
Complete: 10 (42%)

3. Coverage Table

ID Title Tier Phase Status Impl Docs Tests
F-001 User Auth OSS MVP Complete 2 1 ✓
F-002 API Keys OSS 0 In Progress 1 0 ✗
F-003 Premium UI Premium 1 Planned 0 0 ✗

Column Meanings: - Impl - Number of implementing entities (Milestones/Stories) - Docs - Number of documenting entities (Documents) - Tests - ✓ if test_refs field is populated, ✗ otherwise

Gap Highlighting: - Cells with 0 or ✗ are highlighted in red (gaps) - Click on Feature ID to open the feature file

AI-Driven Feature Coverage

Using the MCP Tool

AI assistants can query feature coverage using the get_feature_coverage tool:

Example Query: 

"Show me all OSS features in MVP phase that are missing tests"

MCP Tool Call: 

{
  "tool": "get_feature_coverage",
  "parameters": {
    "tier": "OSS",
    "phase": "MVP",
    "include_tests": true
  }
}

Response: 

{
  "summary": {
    "total": 8,
    "implemented": 6,
    "documented": 5,
    "tested": 3,
    "gaps": {
      "missing_implementation": ["F-005"],
      "missing_docs": ["F-002", "F-007"],
      "missing_tests": ["F-001", "F-003", "F-006", "F-008"]
    }
  },
  "features": [
    {
      "id": "F-001",
      "title": "User Authentication",
      "tier": "OSS",
      "phase": "MVP",
      "status": "Complete",
      "implementation": {
        "milestones": ["M-001"],
        "stories": ["S-015", "S-016"],
        "progress_percent": 100
      },
      "documentation": {
        "specs": ["DOC-003"],
        "guides": [],
        "coverage": "partial"
      },
      "testing": {
        "test_refs": [],
        "has_tests": false
      }
    }
  ]
}

Common Workflows

1. Find Features Missing Implementation

Human (via Plugin): 1. Open Feature Coverage view 2. Check "Show only with gaps" 3. Look for features with Impl = 0

AI (via MCP): 

{
  "tool": "get_feature_coverage",
  "parameters": {
    "summary_only": false
  }
}
Then filter gaps.missing_implementation array.

2. Track MVP Readiness

Human: 1. Filter by Phase: MVP 2. Filter by Status: Complete 3. Check that all have Impl > 0, Docs > 0, Tests = ✓

AI: 

{
  "tool": "get_feature_coverage",
  "parameters": {
    "phase": "MVP",
    "include_tests": true
  }
}
Check summary.implemented, summary.documented, summary.tested vs summary.total.

Scenario: You've implemented a feature but haven't linked it yet.

Steps: 1. Create Feature entity (F-XXX) 2. Create/update implementing entities (Milestones/Stories) 3. Add implements: ["F-XXX"] to entity frontmatter 4. Feature Coverage view automatically shows the link

AI Workflow: 

1. create_entity (type: feature, data: {...})
2. update_entity (id: "S-015", add_to: {implements: ["F-001"]})
3. get_feature_coverage (feature_ids: ["F-001"]) - verify link

4. Document Features

Scenario: Feature is implemented but not documented.

Steps: 1. Create Document entity (DOC-XXX) 2. Add documents: ["F-XXX"] to document frontmatter 3. Feature Coverage view shows Docs count increase

AI Workflow: 

1. get_feature_coverage (show_gaps_only: true) - find undocumented features
2. create_entity (type: document, data: {documents: ["F-001"], ...})
3. get_feature_coverage (feature_ids: ["F-001"]) - verify documentation

5. Add Test References

Scenario: Feature is implemented and documented but not tested.

Steps: 1. Open Feature file (F-XXX.md) 2. Add test_refs field to frontmatter: 

test_refs:
  - tests/auth/test_login.py
  - tests/auth/test_logout.py
3. Feature Coverage view shows Tests = ✓

AI Workflow: 

1. get_feature_coverage (include_tests: true, show_gaps_only: true)
2. update_entity (id: "F-001", data: {test_refs: ["tests/auth/test_login.py"]})
3. get_feature_coverage (feature_ids: ["F-001"]) - verify tests

Coverage Metrics Explained

Implementation Coverage

Tracks which Milestones and Stories implement the feature.

Relationship: - Feature has implemented_by: ["M-001", "S-015"] - Milestone/Story has implements: ["F-001"]

Progress Calculation: 

progress_percent = (completed_entities / total_entities) * 100

Where: - completed_entities = Stories/Milestones with status "Complete" - total_entities = All Stories/Milestones in implemented_by

Example: 

# F-001.md
implemented_by:
  - M-001  # Complete
  - S-015  # Complete
  - S-016  # In Progress
Progress: 66% (2 of 3 complete)

Documentation Coverage

Tracks which Documents document the feature.

Coverage Levels: - Full - Has both specs and guides - Partial - Has either specs or guides - None - No documentation

Document Types: - Specs - Technical specifications (DOC-XXX) - Guides - User guides (DOC-XXX)

Relationship: - Feature has documented_by: ["DOC-003"] - Document has documents: ["F-001"]

Testing Coverage

Tracks whether the feature has test references.

Test References: - File paths to test files - Test suite names - Test case identifiers

Example: 

# F-001.md
test_refs:
  - tests/auth/test_login.py
  - tests/auth/test_logout.py
  - tests/auth/test_session.py

Coverage: - has_tests: true if test_refs is non-empty - has_tests: false otherwise

Feature Lifecycle

1. Planning Phase

Status: Planned Coverage: 0% implementation, 0% documentation, 0% testing

Actions: - Create Feature entity - Define user story - Set tier and phase - Identify acceptance criteria

2. Implementation Phase

Status: In Progress Coverage: Partial implementation, 0-50% documentation, 0% testing

Actions: - Create implementing Milestones/Stories - Link via implements field - Track progress in Feature Coverage view

3. Documentation Phase

Status: In Progress Coverage: 50-100% implementation, Partial documentation, 0% testing

Actions: - Create specification documents - Create user guides - Link via documents field

4. Testing Phase

Status: In Progress Coverage: 100% implementation, Full documentation, Partial testing

Actions: - Write tests - Add test_refs to feature - Verify all acceptance criteria covered

5. Complete

Status: Complete Coverage: 100% implementation, Full documentation, 100% testing

Criteria: - All implementing entities are Complete - Has both specs and guides - Has test references - All acceptance criteria met

Best Practices

✅ DO

Feature Creation: - Create features early in planning phase - Define clear user stories - Set realistic phases - Link features to implementing entities as you create them

Coverage Tracking: - Review Feature Coverage view weekly - Filter by "Show only with gaps" to find work - Use AI to bulk-link features to implementations - Keep test_refs up to date

Documentation: - Create specs before implementation - Create guides after implementation - Link documents to features immediately - Use consistent document naming

❌ DON'T

Avoid: - Creating features without user stories - Implementing features without linking them - Marking features Complete without full coverage - Deferring features without updating status

Performance: - Don't create hundreds of features without phases - Don't leave features in "In Progress" indefinitely - Don't skip documentation for "small" features

Integration with Other Workflows

With Visual Canvas

  1. Create Features Canvas (tier/phase grid)
  2. Populate with features
  3. Auto-layout by tier and phase
  4. Visual overview of roadmap

Commands: - Project Canvas: Create Features Canvas - Project Canvas: Populate Features Canvas - Project Canvas: Auto-Layout Features

With AI Workflows

  1. AI queries feature coverage
  2. AI identifies gaps
  3. AI creates implementing entities
  4. AI links entities to features
  5. Human reviews in Feature Coverage view

Example AI Session: 

Human: "What features are missing implementation?"
AI: [calls get_feature_coverage with show_gaps_only]
AI: "F-005 and F-012 have no implementation. Should I create stories for them?"
Human: "Yes, create stories for F-005"
AI: [calls batch_update to create stories with implements: ["F-005"]]
AI: "Created S-042 and S-043 implementing F-005"

With Notion Sync

Features can be synced to Notion for external tracking:

  1. Enable Notion integration
  2. Sync features to Notion database
  3. Update in Notion (status, phase, etc.)
  4. Sync back to Obsidian
  5. Feature Coverage view reflects changes

Troubleshooting

Feature not showing in Coverage view

Causes: - File doesn't match F-XXX pattern - Frontmatter type is not "feature" - File is in wrong folder

Solution: 1. Check filename matches F-001.md format 2. Verify frontmatter has type: feature 3. Click "Refresh" button in Coverage view

Implementation count is 0 but entities exist

Causes: - Entities don't have implements field - Feature doesn't have implemented_by field - Relationship not bidirectional

Solution: 1. Add implements: ["F-XXX"] to entity frontmatter 2. Run "Reconcile All Relationships" command 3. Refresh Feature Coverage view

Documentation count is wrong

Causes: - Documents don't have documents field - Feature doesn't have documented_by field

Solution: 1. Add documents: ["F-XXX"] to document frontmatter 2. Run "Reconcile All Relationships" command 3. Refresh Feature Coverage view

Next Steps