Session M3-02 lab: One issue from contract to review

Duration: 2 hours

Difficulty: Advanced

Prerequisites: Sessions M1-01 to M1-03, M2-01 to M2-04

Deliverable: One reviewed change with passing focused tests

Objective

Take one synthetic issue from its fixed contract through setup and implementation with Copilot cloud agent, then test and review the change. If access or permission is missing, stop the lab and resolve it before assigning the issue. Manual work does not complete this lab.

Deliverables

Submit:

1. the fixed issue.md;
2. the proposed diff or pull request reference;
3. test output;
4. the review outcome in the pull request or local review.

Access policy

You need Copilot cloud agent access to the training repository, synthetic data, and a reviewer.

If access, policy approval, or reviewer ownership is missing, do not assign the issue. Stop the lab. Do not add credentials to issues, instructions, setup workflows, or comments.

The one issue

Use starter/issue.md for the entire lab.

The request is:

Reject blank or whitespace-only task titles.

Do not replace it with another issue, add another endpoint, or expand it into API cleanup.

Setup

From the repository root:

cd sessions/session-m3-02-cloud-agent/lab
npm --prefix starter/sample-project install
npm --prefix starter/sample-project test

Expected result: the starter suite passes before the new validation is added.

Open:

• ../issue.md
• ../copilot-instructions.md
• ../copilot-setup-steps.yml
• ../pr-review-checklist.md

The setup workflow belongs at .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml in a live training repository.

Time plan

Checkpoint	Work	Time
1	Approve the issue contract	20 min
2	Check repository setup	20 min
3	Produce and inspect the proposed change	35 min
4	Run and review tests	25 min
5	Make the human decision	20 min

Checkpoint 1: Issue contract (20 minutes)

Read starter/issue.md.

Have a peer answer:

• Which request is invalid?
• What exact response is required?
• Which valid behavior must remain?
• Which files may change?
• Which command proves completion?
• What is out of scope?

Clarify any ambiguous issue text before implementation.

Result: The issue has fixed acceptance criteria, allowed files, non-goals, and a stop condition.

Checkpoint 2: Setup (20 minutes)

1. Review starter/copilot-instructions.md.
2. Review starter/copilot-setup-steps.yml.
3. Check that the workflow content targets .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml.
4. Check that the single job is named copilot-setup-steps.
5. Run the starter baseline:

npm --prefix starter/sample-project test

1. Record the command and result.
2. Record the allowed file list: src/app.js and tests/app.test.js.

Stop if the baseline failure is unexplained, setup needs a credential, or any required command is not approved.

Checkpoint record: Passing test output, reviewed setup files, named reviewer, and stop condition.

Checkpoint 3: Proposed change (35 minutes)

Place the sample project in an approved training repository. Add the reviewed instructions and setup workflow if policy permits. Copy the contents of starter/sample-project/ to the repository root. The setup workflow expects package.json, package-lock.json, src/, and tests/ at that root.

Create or reuse the one issue from starter/issue.md. Assign it through a currently supported Copilot cloud agent entry point allowed by repository policy.

Monitor the session. Record:

• files the agent plans to change;
• commands it reports;
• questions or steering;
• the final proposed files.

Use this message only if the work drifts:

Keep the existing issue contract. Change only src/app.js and tests/app.test.js.
Add no dependency. Stop and ask for clarification if broader work is required.

Review the proposal

Before tests, inspect the diff with starter/pr-review-checklist.md.

Check:

• only the two allowed files changed;
• blank and whitespace-only titles return HTTP 400;
• the error body is { "error": "title is required" };
• valid task creation keeps its existing response shape;
• no dependency or unrelated endpoint changed.

If no proposal is ready after 25 minutes, stop the run.

Checkpoint record: A pull request or agent-produced diff tied to the same issue.

Checkpoint 4: Tests (25 minutes)

Run:

npm test

The test output must cover:

Case	Expected result
Empty title ""	HTTP 400 and required error body
Whitespace title " "	HTTP 400 and required error body
Valid title " Weekly plan "	HTTP 201 with the existing response fields
Existing endpoints	Existing tests still pass

If a required case is missing, request a test for that case. Do not add a new issue or unrelated cleanup.

Result: The reviewed proposal has focused test output.

Checkpoint 5: Human decision (20 minutes)

Use starter/pr-review-checklist.md to inspect the change.

Choose:

• approve when the issue, diff, and tests agree;
• request changes when a correction within the issue remains;
• pause when access, test output, policy, or ownership is unresolved.

Compare the result with solution/issue-journey.md after the review.

Result: The pull request or local review shows the outcome. Do not merge as part of this lab unless the training repository policy explicitly requires it.

Final deliverable

Your work is complete when another reviewer can trace:

same issue → reviewed setup → proposed change → tests → review outcome

Troubleshooting

Issue	Response
Copilot cloud agent access is missing	Stop the lab.
Setup workflow is not active on the default branch	Stop the lab.
Session edits extra files	Stop or ask the agent to change only the allowed files.
Test output is missing	Run the required test command before deciding.
A test passes but response shape changed	Request changes and cite the criterion for preserving the response shape.
Review suggests a second feature	Record it as future work, outside this issue.

Solution reference

solution/ contains the completed issue journey and final review decision. It also includes the prepared diff, setup workflow, runnable solution project, and test output.