A pull request can contain working code and still leave a reviewer with too many unanswered questions. What was supposed to change? Which behavior must stay the same? What evidence supports the result?
Before your next AI-assisted task, write a short agreement about the change. Keep it close to the work so the person implementing it and the person reviewing it can refer to the same boundaries.
1. Describe one observable outcome
For an illustrative example, imagine a settings page that should preserve a user's chosen display preference after a reload.
“Improve settings” gives the implementer many possible directions. A narrower outcome is: “After saving a display preference, reloading the page shows that preference.”
That outcome gives the reviewer something concrete to inspect. It also makes unrelated cleanup easier to recognize.
2. Name what belongs in a separate change
For that example, a short scope note could say:
- Change the settings form and its existing persistence path.
- Preserve existing preferences for returning users.
- Keep authentication, billing, and unrelated navigation outside this change.
- If a schema migration or a new dependency becomes necessary, explain why before expanding the work.
Treat this as a proposed scope to agree on, not a universal file limit. Some changes legitimately span several areas. The useful boundary is whether those areas serve the same outcome.
Written instructions also need appropriate permissions and review controls in the tools you use. A sentence in a document does not enforce an access boundary.
3. Put the review questions in the pull request
A compact change summary can cover:
- Intended outcome.
- Main files changed and why.
- Evidence for the new behavior.
- Existing behavior checked for regressions.
- Known limitations or checks not performed.
- How the change could be reverted.
For the settings example, evidence might include the save-and-reload path, an existing preference being preserved, and the behavior when persistence fails. Record what was actually checked. If a check was not performed, leave that visible.
These are suggested review questions for the example, not claims that any particular implementation has passed them.
4. Refresh the plan when the implementation changes it
Suppose the implementer discovers that two screens store the same preference differently. That is new information. Update the plan and explain the options before quietly expanding the pull request into a storage rewrite.
For the next task, leave a brief handoff: what changed, what remains open, and which decision is needed next. Keep the handoff specific enough that a new session does not have to infer the current state from an old conversation.
A useful stopping point
The change is ready for a merge decision when the reviewer can connect the original outcome to the proposed diff and the available evidence. Passing checks alone do not answer whether the scope is appropriate or the behavior is what the project needs.
You can try this structure with your existing issue and pull-request workflow. Start with one change and notice which questions still require a separate explanation.
Where Founder Repo OS fits
Founder Repo OS, a product by SUPPE LABS, provides a maintained repository operating foundation around project context, agent rules, and reviews. Its guided setup presents the proposed changes before creating an approved setup branch and draft pull request.
For a broader look at your repository, try the free Repo Scorecard: 15 questions, no account or form, with answers staying in your browser.
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