You've been building one feature at a time—starting, finishing, then moving to the next. But what if you could work on multiple features in parallel? What if you could optimize your process to ship faster? That's what we'll explore now.
Parallel Development Checklist
Framework for managing multiple concurrent features
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🤔 Why Parallel Development?
Serial development (one feature at a time):
- ✓ Simple and clear
- ✓ No context switching
- ✗ Waiting on external dependencies blocks everything
- ✗ Can't take advantage of downtime
Parallel development (multiple features at once):
- ✓ Keep making progress when blocked
- ✓ Take advantage of waiting time
- ✗ Requires organization
- ✗ Risk of merge conflicts
✨ The Sweet Spot
Parallel doesn't mean chaotic. It means having 2-3 active branches so when one is blocked, you can make progress on another.
🔀 Parallel Workflow with Git
Git branches make parallel work possible:
⚡ Pro Tip: 3-Branch Rule
Keep maximum 3 feature branches active. More than that becomes hard to track. Finish and merge before starting new ones.
📖 Complete Example: Parallel Development
Let's watch parallel workflow in action:
Project: Task management app
Goal: Ship 3 features this week
Branch 1: OAuth Login
Start implementation. Hit blocker: need Google OAuth credentials (takes 24hrs to approve).
Blocked. Don't wait—switch branches.
Branch 2: Task Tags
git checkout -b feature-tags
Build tag system. Works! Merge to main.
✓ Shipped Monday afternoon
Branch 3: Export to CSV
git checkout -b feature-export
Build export feature. Send to friend for testing feedback.
Waiting on feedback—switch branches.
Branch 1: OAuth (unblocked!)
git checkout feature-auth
Credentials arrived. Continue implementation. Works! Merge to main.
✓ Shipped Tuesday evening
Branch 3: Export (feedback received)
git checkout feature-export
Address feedback, fix bugs. Works! Merge to main.
✓ Shipped Wednesday
✅ Results
3 features shipped in 3 days. Serial approach would have taken 5+ days (24hrs blocked on OAuth, another day waiting on feedback). Parallel work kept momentum.
🎯 When to Go Parallel
Good times for parallel development:
- Waiting on external dependencies (API keys, third-party services)
- Waiting on feedback or review
- Building independent features (no code overlap)
- One feature needs research while another is straightforward
Stick to serial for:
- Features that depend on each other
- Small projects where switching overhead exceeds benefit
- When you're still learning the basics
- Tight deadlines where focus matters more than flexibility
⚙️ Optimization Strategies
Beyond parallel work, here's how to optimize your workflow:
🎯 Workflow Optimization Techniques
Do all research at once, all coding at once, all testing at once.
Reduces context switching overhead
"I'll spend 30 minutes researching this, then decide."
Prevents research paralysis
Ship basic version now, polish later.
Gets features in user hands faster
Build scripts for tasks you do multiple times.
Saves time on iteration 3+
Document everything so future sessions start instantly.
Compounds time savings dramatically
🏗️ Scaling Beyond Single Files
As projects grow, structure matters:
| Small Project | Large Project |
|---|---|
| Single HTML file | Separate HTML, CSS, JS files |
| All code in one place | Organized into modules/components |
| No build process | Build scripts, bundlers |
| localStorage for data | Database or backend API |
When to refactor for scale:
- File exceeds 500 lines
- Copy-pasting code frequently
- Hard to find things
- Adding features breaks existing features
🔍 Performance Optimization
Speed up your apps:
Quick Performance Wins
⚡ Pro Tip: Premature Optimization
Don't optimize until you have a performance problem. Build for clarity first, optimize when needed. Use browser dev tools to find actual bottlenecks.
📊 Measuring Progress
Track your velocity over time:
What to track:
- Features shipped per week
- Time from idea to working MVP
- Setup time at start of each session
- Bugs found after shipping
🎯 Advanced Workflow Patterns
Backlog → Research → Development → Review → Shipped
Keep features moving through stages. Always have one in each stage.
Pick 3-5 features for the week. Focus only on those. Ship all by Friday.
Monday: Plan all 5. Tuesday-Thursday: Build all 5. Friday: Polish and ship.
Dedicate time to pure exploration without shipping pressure.
"I'll spend 2 hours trying WebSockets vs. polling. No commitment to ship either."
⚠️ Avoiding Burnout
🛑 Know When to Stop Optimizing
Optimization can become its own rabbit hole. If your workflow feels good and you're shipping regularly, don't fix what isn't broken.
Sustainable pace beats heroics:
- Ship 2-3 features per week consistently
- Rather than 10 features one week, then burnout
- Take breaks between features
- Celebrate small wins
🎓 Module 5 Complete!
✨ What You've Learned
You've gone from "build one feature at a time" to "orchestrate multiple features, tools, and agents in parallel while optimizing your entire workflow." That's the difference between intermediate and advanced builders.
Module 5 Recap
🚀 What's Next?
You've completed the full course! You now have:
- ✓ Terminal basics (Module 0)
- ✓ Claude Code fundamentals (Module 1)
- ✓ Planning mindset (Module 2)
- ✓ Compound engineering loop (Module 3)
- ✓ End-to-end project workflow (Module 4)
- ✓ Advanced techniques (Module 5)
1. Build something real - Apply everything you've learned
2. Ship it - Get it in front of users
3. Iterate - Use the compound loop to improve
4. Teach others - The best way to solidify knowledge
5. Keep learning - Technology evolves, your skills will too
📚 Resources & Further Learning
- Compound Engineering (Every.to) Revisit the core methodology
- Compound Engineering Plugin Tooling for advanced workflows
- Anthropic Documentation Official Claude docs
💭 Final Reflection
Take a moment to consider how far you've come:
- What was the most surprising thing you learned in this course?
- Which technique will have the biggest impact on your work?
- What will you build first with these new skills?
- How has your confidence with AI-assisted development changed?
🎉 Course Complete!
You've mastered the fundamentals and advanced techniques. Now go build something amazing.
Module 5 Complete • Claude Code Fundamentals: FINISHED 🎓