Context Everywhere

Unify decisions, designs, and code. Buildly Labs links Slack, Figma, and repos so the “why” travels with the “what.”

The Context Problem

In traditional development workflows, critical context gets scattered across multiple tools:

  • Design decisions are buried in Figma comments

  • Technical discussions happen in Slack threads that disappear

  • Code rationale exists only in PR descriptions (if you’re lucky)

  • Product requirements live in separate documents

  • User feedback is fragmented across support tickets

The Result: Developers waste hours hunting for context, leading to:

  • Duplicated effort

  • Inconsistent implementations

  • Poor technical decisions

  • Lost institutional knowledge

  • Slow onboarding for new team members

The RAD Approach: Context as Infrastructure

RAD treats context not as documentation, but as a first-class citizen of the development process.

Core Principle: Every decision, design, and line of code should carry its context—the “why” behind the “what.”

How Context Flows in Buildly Labs

Unified Context Layer

Buildly Labs creates a connected layer across your tools:

Slack Conversation
     ↓
Product Decision
     ↓
Figma Design
     ↓
Issue/Task in Buildly
     ↓
Code Commit
     ↓
Deployed Feature

At every step, context is preserved and accessible.

1. Chat → Decision Tracking

When important decisions happen in Slack:

  • BabbleBeaver detects decision-making conversations

  • Prompts team to capture the decision

  • Automatically links to relevant tasks/features

  • Makes decisions searchable and traceable

Example:

Slack Thread: "Should we use GraphQL or REST for the new API?"

↓ BabbleBeaver suggests:

"I detected an architecture decision. Should I:
- Create a decision record?
- Link to the API development task?
- Notify the team leads?"

2. Design → Implementation

Figma designs link directly to development tasks:

  • Design specs appear in task descriptions

  • Developers see latest mockups in context

  • Design changes trigger notifications

  • Implementation status visible to designers

Example:

Figma Update: "Login screen revised - added social auth buttons"

↓ Automatically updates:

Task: "Implement login screen"
- Linked design: ✅ Updated 2 hours ago
- Dev status: 🟡 In progress
- Notification sent to: @frontend-team

3. Code → Knowledge

Code commits carry context automatically:

  • Linked to originating task/feature

  • Connected to design decisions

  • Tagged with relevant discussions

  • Searchable by intent, not just keywords

Example:

Commit: "Implement exponential backoff for API retries"

↓ Context automatically attached:

- Task: "Improve API reliability"
- Discussion: Slack thread about timeout issues
- Decision: "Use exponential backoff pattern"
- Referenced by: 3 related tasks

Current Context Features

Available Now in Buildly Labs:

Intelligent Linking

  • Automatic detection of related items across tools

  • Bi-directional links between tasks, designs, and code

  • Context suggestions as you work

  • Smart search across all connected content

Decision Logs

  • Capture architectural and product decisions

  • Link decisions to affected code and features

  • Track decision outcomes and impact

  • Search historical decisions by topic

Integration Hub

Currently integrated:

  • ✅ GitHub/GitLab - Code and pull requests

  • ✅ Slack - Team communications

  • ✅ Figma - Design files and comments

  • ✅ Jira/Linear - External project management (import)

Context-Aware Search

Search by:

  • Natural language queries (“Why did we choose MongoDB?”)

  • Semantic similarity (finds related context)

  • Time ranges (“Decisions made last quarter”)

  • People (“What did Sarah decide about the API?”)

Context Visualization

  • Timeline view of related events

  • Dependency graphs showing connections

  • Context trails showing decision evolution

  • Impact analysis for changes

Practical Benefits

For Developers

  • Faster onboarding - New team members find context quickly

  • Better decisions - See past reasoning before making changes

  • Less interruption - Find answers without asking teammates

  • Clearer PRs - Context flows from task to code automatically

For Product Managers

  • Traceability - Track features from idea to deployment

  • Impact analysis - Understand ripple effects of changes

  • Status visibility - See progress without status meetings

  • Decision history - Reference past choices and outcomes

For Designers

  • Implementation tracking - Know what’s been built vs. designed

  • Context awareness - Understand technical constraints

  • Feedback loops - See how designs perform in production

  • Handoff clarity - Specs and context travel together

Context in Action: A User Story

Traditional Approach:

Week 1:
- PM: Creates ticket "Add dark mode"
- Designer: Creates Figma mockups
- Developer: Asks in Slack "Where are the specs?"

Week 2:
- Developer: Finds old Figma link in chat history
- Developer: Builds feature based on outdated mockup
- Designer: "Why didn't you use the new design?"

Week 3:
- Developer: Rebuilds with correct design
- QA: "Why does dark mode work this way?"
- Developer: "I don't remember, let me check..."

Total: 3 weeks, lots of frustration

RAD Approach with Context:

Day 1:
- PM: Creates feature "Add dark mode" in Buildly
- Designer: Links Figma file to feature
- BabbleBeaver: Suggests task breakdown with design context

Day 2:
- Developer: Opens task, sees current design specs inline
- Developer: Implements feature with full context
- Designer: Gets notification when implementation starts

Day 3:
- QA: Reviews feature, sees design rationale and decisions
- Developer: Ships feature with context preserved
- Future developer: Can easily understand the implementation

Total: 3 days, complete context trail

Coming Soon: Enhanced Context Features

🚀 In Development:

AI-Powered Context Synthesis

  • Automatic summarization of long discussion threads

  • Context suggestions based on code changes

  • Proactive linking of related decisions

  • Smart context recommendations in PRs

Video/Meeting Integration

  • Transcription of technical discussions

  • Key decision extraction from meetings

  • Automatic linking to affected tasks

  • Searchable meeting archives

Code → Documentation Generation

  • Auto-generate docs from code + context

  • Update docs when context changes

  • Maintain architecture decision records (ADRs)

  • Create knowledge base from past decisions

Context Analytics

  • Identify knowledge gaps in documentation

  • Detect missing context for tasks

  • Suggest when to capture decisions

  • Measure context quality over time

Note

See BabbleBeaver: Coming Soon Features for timelines on upcoming context features.

Best Practices for Context Management

1. Capture Decisions When They Happen

Don’t wait for documentation sprints:

  • Record decisions as they’re made

  • Include who, what, why, and alternatives considered

  • Link to affected code and designs

  • Tag for easy discovery later

2. Connect the Dots

Always link related items:

  • Tasks → Designs

  • Code → Decisions

  • Discussions → Features

  • Bugs → Root cause analysis

3. Make Context Searchable

Use consistent:

  • Naming conventions

  • Tags and labels

  • Descriptive titles

  • Keywords in descriptions

4. Review and Refine

Regularly:

  • Update outdated context

  • Archive obsolete decisions

  • Improve discoverability

  • Fill context gaps

The Power of Preserved Context

When context travels with code:

  • Faster debugging - Understand why code was written this way

  • Better refactoring - Know what constraints to respect

  • Informed architecture - Learn from past decisions

  • Institutional memory - Survive team turnover

  • Confident changes - Modify code with full understanding

See also