Improvements

Each subfolder is one improvement — a single, self-contained unit of work that doesn't warrant a full Feature Set. No Inception phase, no concept.md, no fan-out into sub-Features — just one spec.md.

The filter against ../feature-sets/: if this needs the schema-first gate, belongs in feature-sets/ instead — even a single Feature earns that wrapper when it touches schema. This folder is for entries with no schema impact (or a trivial one) and no broader theme, regardless of how the work was initially framed.

Same root-is-truth model as ../feature-sets/: root (../schema/, ../adrs/, ../product/) is what's true now, and an improvement's spec.md is a diff against it, carrying the same delta-file frontmatter convention. Context is lighter than a Feature Set, though — no business-case writeup, no dedicated ADR folder unless the improvement genuinely introduces a new architectural decision.

Owned jointly by PM and EL (Engineering Lead): PM frames the problem and value, EL scopes and signs off on the change.

Schema gate

Improvements don't touch ../schema/ by default and don't require the schema-first gate. If an improvement does propose a schema change, say so explicitly in its spec.md and add a schema-changes.md alongside it, following skills-product/.claude/skills/nova-feature-set/templates/schema-changes.md — that file still needs the gate signed and status: applied before root is updated to match.

improvements/<improvement-slug>/
  spec.md               # problem, value, proposed change, acceptance
  schema-changes.md      # only if explicitly noted — see above

Delta file status

spec.md (and schema-changes.md, if present) carry frontmatter:

---
improvement: <slug>
status: proposed | applied | superseded
applied_date: <date or null>
supersedes: [<file>, ...]   # optional, if this delta revises an earlier one
---

These files are a permanent record — never deleted or moved once applied. proposed means not yet true; applied means it's live and safe to treat as historical confirmation of current state; superseded means a later delta replaced it.

See skills-product/templates/improvements/spec.md for a starting skeleton — this is a PM-owned holding area, not yet generated by a skill.

Historical entries

None yet — this folder starts empty. Absence of a record here is not evidence that no improvement was ever shipped against nova-timenattend-agent or nova-timenattend-sn-app; it just means nothing has been backfilled into this convention yet.