Thank you for your interest in contributing.
This repository is not a generic open-source project. It is a reference body of thought and practice.
Contributions are welcome, but they are expected to respect the intent, coherence, and conceptual rigor of the work.
By contributing, you agree that your contributions are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Contributions should strengthen CDE as a conceptual framework, not turn this repository into a prescriptive methodology or starter kit.
This repository exists to:
- Articulate Context-Driven Engineering (CDE) clearly
- Explore its implications in practice
- Provide concrete, opinionated examples
- Serve as a reference for humans and AI agents
It is not intended to:
- Become a framework
- Accumulate unrelated patterns
- Track trends in tools or technologies
We welcome contributions that:
- Clarify existing documents
- Improve precision or reduce ambiguity
- Strengthen examples without simplifying intent
- Surface tensions or trade-offs explicitly
- Fix errors or inconsistencies
We are especially interested in contributions that improve:
- Conceptual clarity
- Internal consistency
- Practical applicability
CDE itself is worldview-agnostic.
However, this repository includes an Object-Centric Design Worldview as a worked example.
When contributing to documents or examples that explicitly adopt a worldview:
- Respect that worldview
- Do not dilute it “for accessibility”
- Do not replace it with generic service-oriented thinking
If you disagree with a worldview, raise it explicitly in discussion.
- Open an issue describing:
- What you want to change
- Why it improves clarity or rigor
- Make small, focused pull requests
- Reference existing documents explicitly
- Explain assumptions when introducing new material
Large conceptual changes typically start as discussion.
Expect pushback on contributions that:
- Introduce vague or fashionable terminology
- Optimize for popularity over coherence
- Add abstractions without clear responsibility
- Reframe ideas purely in technical or tooling terms
This is intentional.
Conceptual integrity matters more than consensus.
AI-assisted contributions are allowed.
However:
- You are responsible for the intent and correctness
- Generated text must be reviewed and understood
- Contributions that read as generic AI output will be rejected
AI is a tool, not an author.
Be precise. Be respectful. Assume intelligence and good intent.
Strong opinions are welcome. Personal attacks are not.
If you find yourself thinking:
“This would be easier if we simplified it…”
Pause.
The difficulty is often the point.