Frontend ui engineering

Frontend UI Engineering

Decide how to structure a UI unit before writing it, so the choices your audits would otherwise catch late (accessibility, i18n, bundle cost, missing states) are made up front. This is the frontend counterpart to codebase-design: treat a component as a deep module — a lot of behaviour behind a small prop surface.

It is a knowledge/decision skill, not a code generator. It resolves the design questions, then hands the actual implementation to tdd/build and verification to the audit skills. Framework-agnostic; examples in React.

Boundaries:

• vs tdd / build — they implement; this decides the UI shape and hands off.
• vs codebase-design — that is generic module depth; this applies the lens to components (prop surface = public API).
• vs prototype — that explores throwaway directions; this is for code that stays.
• vs a11y-audit / i18n / perf-audit / visual-validate — they verify after; this builds it right up front. It references their standards, never re-copies their checklists.

Workflow

Phase 1 — Classify the work

Name the unit and pick the emphasis:

Kind	Emphasis
Design-system primitive (Button, Input)	prop API, variants via props, tokens, a11y contract
Composite component	composition, state placement, the required states
Page / route	data fetching boundary, layout, loading/error at the route
Refactor of existing UI	shrink prop surface, extract states, remove magic values

Phase 2 — Decision pass (resolve before coding)

Work through each; state the decision explicitly.

1. Boundary & prop API. Smallest surface that serves callers. Prefer composition (children/slots) over configuration. A growing set of boolean flags (isPrimary, isSmall, isLoading…) is a smell — reach for a variant/size union or composition instead.
2. Where state lives. The lowest owner that still works: local → lifted to parent → server state → URL. No derived state stored twice; compute from source.
3. Data & async. Decide where data is fetched (route/loader boundary vs. inside the component) and who owns caching. Keep components that render data separate from components that fetch it where practical.
4. Required UI states. Enumerate and design them now, not later: loading, empty, error, disabled, and partial/optimistic where relevant. A component that only handles the happy path is unfinished.
5. Styling. Use design-system tokens (no magic colors/spacing). Express variants through props, not one-off class overrides.
6. Responsive / adaptive. Mobile-first; intentional breakpoints; no fixed widths that break small screens.
7. Accessibility by construction. Semantic HTML first, ARIA only as a last resort; keyboard + focus order; a label for every control; visible focus. (Defers to a11y-audit for the full WCAG pass.)
8. User-facing strings. Route them through the project's i18n path from the start rather than hardcoding. (Defers to i18n.)

Phase 3 — Build

Apply the decisions. Keep the component shallow at its interface and hide implementation detail behind it. Delegate any non-trivial logic to tdd (red → green → refactor); this skill does not hand-write the whole component or its tests.

Phase 4 — Definition of done + handoff

Do not consider the unit done until:

• Prop surface is minimal; no boolean-flag proliferation
• Loading, empty, error, and disabled states exist
• Keyboard reachable and operable; semantic elements used
• Styling uses tokens; responsive down to the smallest target
• User-facing strings are translatable

Then hand off: tdd for behavior tests (query by role/label), visual-validate for before/after in a real browser, and let review run the audits (a11y/i18n/perf) as the final gate.

Rules

• Resolve the Phase 2 decisions explicitly before writing the component — state each choice.
• Reference the audit skills' standards; never duplicate their checklists here.
• Never hand-write full tests — that is tdd. This skill designs; it does not replace the builders.
• Framework-agnostic; do not assume a specific framework unless the codebase already uses one.
• Stay within the current unit — do not redesign unrelated components.

Anti-rationalization

Excuses that skip the work, and the rebuttal:

Excuse	Rebuttal
"I'll add the error/empty state later."	Later never comes and it ships half-built. States are part of the design pass, not a follow-up.
"A boolean prop is faster right now."	Three booleans is eight states, most untested. A variant union or composition is cheaper within a week.
"Hardcode the string, I'll translate later."	Retro-i18n means re-touching every component. Route it now — it's one import.
"ARIA will fix the accessibility."	Semantic HTML gives it for free; ARIA is the patch for when you couldn't. Reach for the element first.
"Fetch inside the component, it's simpler."	It couples render to network and blocks reuse/testing. Decide the fetch boundary deliberately.

Red flags

• A prop list longer than the component's own logic.
• any/loose props at the component boundary.
• Only the happy path rendered.
• Magic color/spacing values instead of tokens.
• div/span with click handlers instead of a button/a.