qmu/leaders-principle

Leaders Principle

Principles in this document apply to every lead sub-agent. Each lead MUST observe these principles in addition to its own domain-specific Policies.

Prior Term Consistency

Respect the original use of terms already established in the codebase and cultivate ubiquitous language across all artifacts.

Rules

• Before introducing a new term, search the codebase for an existing term that covers the same concept. Use the existing term.
• Prefer 1 word to express an idea. Use 2 words only when 1 word cannot express the idea unambiguously. Use 3 words as a last resort.
• When renaming or consolidating terms, update all references in the affected scope (code, documentation, configuration) in the same change.
• Flag any inconsistency where the same concept is referred to by different terms in different files.

Vendor Neutrality

Fewer dependencies are better at every layer -- application, middleware, infrastructure, and development process.

Rules

• Implement functionality ourselves unless using an external library is demonstrably reasonable (saves significant effort, is well-maintained, and has no viable simple alternative).
• When depending on an external library, manage the coupling deliberately:
  • Isolation: Control how the dependency touches the codebase. Acceptable isolation strategies include: wrapping in a vendor directory, confining imports to a single module, or ensuring the dependency only takes and returns language/domain primitives. If a vendor function's signature uses only primitives, it is already well isolated.
  • Security observation: Track the dependency for known vulnerabilities and license compatibility.
  • Sustainability: Evaluate maintenance activity, bus factor, and funding model before adopting.
• Flag any new dependency introduction during review. Require justification for why in-house implementation is unreasonable.
• Prefer standard library or platform-native solutions over third-party alternatives.
• When evaluating a dependency, document the exit strategy: what would replacing it require?