NCP - Natural Context Provider

# Feature Story Template **Use this template to propose new features for NCP.** Every feature should tell a story BEFORE any code is written. This ensures we're solving real problems and can explain the value clearly. --- ## 📝 **Basic Info** **Feature Name:** [Short, memorable name] **Story Number:** [If part of existing story arc, reference parent story] **Status:** 🟡 Proposed | 🔵 Approved | 🟢 Implemented | 🔴 Rejected **Proposed By:** [Your name] **Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD] --- ## 😫 **The Pain** (30 seconds) **What problem are users experiencing TODAY?** Write this as if you're the user describing frustration to a friend: - What's broken or annoying? - What workaround are they using now? - How often does this happen? - What's the cost (time, money, frustration)? **Good Example:** > "My MCPs break silently. GitHub MCP lost connection 2 hours ago. My AI keeps trying to use it, gets errors, and I waste 20 minutes debugging every time this happens." **Bad Example:** > "There's no health monitoring system for MCP servers." > (Too technical, doesn't convey user pain) --- ## 💭 **The Journey** (1 minute) **How does NCP solve this problem?** Walk through the user experience step-by-step: - What does user do? - What does NCP do? - What does user see/feel? - What's the "aha!" moment? Use concrete examples, not abstractions. **Good Example:** > "You open NCP dashboard. Immediately see: > - 🟢 filesystem: Healthy (12 calls today) > - 🟡 github: Slow (avg 800ms) > - 🔴 database: FAILED (timeout) > > One glance, you know database is broken. Click it, see error details, fix the connection string. Done in 30 seconds instead of 20 minutes." **Bad Example:** > "NCP implements a health checking system that monitors MCP availability." > (Describes implementation, not user experience) --- ## ✨ **The Magic** (30 seconds) **What benefits does user get?** List tangible outcomes using bullet points: - Time saved - Money saved - Frustration avoided - New capabilities unlocked Be specific! "Faster" is vague, "5x faster" is specific. **Good Example:** - ⏱️ Debug time: 20 minutes → 30 seconds - 🎯 Find broken MCPs before AI hits them - 🧹 See unused MCPs, remove to save memory - 📊 Usage stats show which MCPs matter **Bad Example:** - Better system reliability - Improved user experience (Vague corporate speak) --- ## 🔍 **How It Works** (1 minute - OPTIONAL) **Light technical explanation for curious readers.** This section is OPTIONAL. Only include if: - Technical approach is interesting/novel - Users might want to understand internals - Implementation affects user experience Keep it accessible - explain like teaching a smart friend, not writing a CS paper. **Good Example:** > "Dashboard checks MCP health on-demand (when you open it). Sends ping to each MCP, measures response time. Caches results for 30 seconds so repeated opens are instant. No background polling (saves battery)." **Bad Example:** > "Implements asynchronous health check workers using Promise.all with timeout handling via AbortController and response time measurement via performance.now()." > (Too much implementation detail) --- ## 🎨 **The Analogy** (OPTIONAL) **Compare to something everyone knows.** Sometimes an analogy makes the feature click instantly: **Good Example:** > "MCP Health Dashboard is like your car's dashboard. Glance at gauges, immediately know what's wrong. No need to lift the hood every time." **Bad Example:** > "It's like a monitoring system for distributed systems." > (Doesn't help non-technical users) --- ## 🧪 **See It Yourself** (1 minute - OPTIONAL) **Show before/after comparison.** Help reader visualize the difference: **Good Example:** ``` Before NCP Health Dashboard: → AI: "Error accessing GitHub" → You: "Ugh, which MCP broke NOW?" → You: [20 min debugging] → You: "Oh, GitHub token expired" After NCP Health Dashboard: → You: [Opens dashboard] → Dashboard: 🔴 github: AUTH_FAILED (token expired) → You: [Updates token] → Done in 30 seconds ``` --- ## 🚧 **What to Avoid** **What should we NOT include?** Define boundaries to prevent scope creep: **Good Example:** - ❌ Don't add historical graphs (nice-to-have, adds complexity) - ❌ Don't add email alerts (different feature, separate story) - ❌ Don't auto-fix failures (dangerous, user should control) - ✅ DO show current status (core need) - ✅ DO show error messages (helps debugging) --- ## 📊 **Success Metrics** **How do we know this feature succeeded?** Define measurable outcomes: **Good Example:** - 80% of users with broken MCPs find them within 1 minute - Average debugging time drops from 20 min → 2 min - Users report 5/5 satisfaction with dashboard clarity **Bad Example:** - Better health monitoring - Improved reliability (Not measurable) --- ## 🔗 **Related Stories** **What other features connect to this?** List related stories or features: - Story that motivates this one - Stories this enables - Stories this conflicts with **Example:** - 🔗 Story 5: Runtime Detective (health check needs runtime info) - 🔗 Future: Auto-healing (dashboard enables this) - ⚠️ Conflicts with: Always-on background monitoring (different approach) --- ## 💬 **Open Questions** **What needs discussion before building?** List unknowns or decisions needed: **Example:** - Should health check be automatic on MCP start, or on-demand? - How to handle MCPs that are slow to respond (timeout vs wait)? - Should dashboard show usage stats (call count) or just health? --- ## 🎯 **Decision** **[To be filled by team after discussion]** - [ ] ✅ **Approved** - Build this - [ ] 🔄 **Revise** - Needs changes (specify what) - [ ] 📅 **Deferred** - Good idea, wrong time (revisit when?) - [ ] ❌ **Rejected** - Doesn't fit NCP's vision (why?) **Decision Notes:** [Team discussion summary and reasoning] --- ## 📚 **Implementation Checklist** (After Approval) - [ ] Create story document in `docs/stories/` - [ ] Write tests based on story scenarios - [ ] Implement feature (guided by story) - [ ] Update README to reference story - [ ] Add CLI help text using story language - [ ] Create example/demo from story - [ ] Write release notes using story format --- ## 🎉 **Example: A Complete Story** See `docs/stories/01-dream-and-discover.md` for a fully realized story. Key elements: - Clear pain point anyone can relate to - Step-by-step journey through solution - Tangible benefits (numbers!) - Optional technical depth - Memorable analogy - Before/after comparison --- **Remember: If you can't write the story, you don't understand the feature yet.** ✨