Lucid Evolution 2.0 - Maintenance & Development Strategy

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Jonathan Rodriguez

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

6

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

We're expanding Lucid Evolution capabilities by tackling technical debt, standardizing modules, and implementing robust testing, making it more powerful and versatile.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

MIT License

[METADATA] Horizons

Developer Tools

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Lucid Evolution stands as a cornerstone within the Cardano ecosystem, empowering developers with essential transaction tools for interacting with smart contracts and protocols.

However, like any complex system, it requires ongoing care and refinement to maintain its effectiveness and relevance. This proposal outlines our plan to continue improving Lucid Evolution, ensuring its continued success and contribution to Cardano projects.

I perceive the primary challenge as maintaining Lucid Evolution's compatibility with the ever-evolving Cardano landscape while addressing outstanding technical debt accumulated over time. This approach directly tackles these issues through the following strategies:

Backlog Resolution: Focus on systematically resolving outstanding issues and tasks identified within Lucid Evolution's backlog. This includes addressing bug fixes, implementing requested features, and streamlining existing functionalities.

Standardization & Maintainability: Enhance code quality and consistency across Lucid Evolution by establishing clear coding standards, promoting modular design principles, and fostering documentation best practices. This will significantly improve maintainability for both current and future contributors.

Robust Testing & Quality Assurance: Enhance suite of unit tests, integration tests, and CI/CD pipelines to ensure the reliability and stability of Lucid Evolution

Lucid Evolution users/projects will benefit from a more stable, and feature-rich library, simplifying their development experience.

This proposal stands out due to its practical approach, addressing both technical debt and long-term sustainability

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

By addressing technical debt and improving stability, we aim to enhance Lucid Evolution's reliability, benefiting developers and strengthening the ecosystem.

We will monitor the number of issues resolved in Lucid Evolution’s backlog to demonstrate our commitment to resolving problems and improving library stability. Additionally, we'll track pull requests, code reviews, and documentation updates by maintainers.

All code, documentation, and issue tracking will remain publicly accessible in the official Lucid Evolution GitHub repository for transparency and collaboration.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

The core team is uniquely positioned to enhance Lucid Evolution, having already demonstrated our capabilities through tangible achievements and a deep understanding of the Cardano ecosystem.

We've successfully implemented key improvements, such as robust error handling and a refined type system, making Lucid Evolution more reliable and predictable. We've streamlined dependency management, reduced redundant code, and optimized performance, resulting in a leaner, more efficient library.

Our efforts go beyond fixing existing issues. We've led Lucid Evolution's integration with CML 5, unlocking new possibilities like Plutus V3 and Conway features for developers. Additionally, we transitioned Lucid Evolution from a monolithic structure to a modern monorepo, enhancing scalability, maintainability, and code reusability, while streamlining development workflows.

Furthermore, we've integrated the latest Plutus V3 capabilities and governance features into Lucid Evolution, bringing new functionality to the platform.

These achievements represent real progress that directly benefits the Cardano ecosystem. The core team remains committed to open-source development and active collaboration within the community.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Backlog Resolution & Structure Enhancement (First 1/3 of Packages)

Packages:

• lucid-evolution/lucid (Core package for Lucid Evolution)
• lucid-evolution/provider (Data provider interfaces)
• lucid-evolution/wallet (Wallet integration package)

Outputs: Address all pending issues for these packages. Standardize and clean up the module structure according to best practices.

Acceptance Criteria: All issues and improvements, verified, and reviewed for consistency.

Evidence: Closed backlog items and a standardized module structure, available on GitHub.

Backlog Resolution & Structure Enhancement (Second 1/3 of Packages)

Packages:

• lucid-evolution/plutus (Plutus integration tools)
• lucid-evolution/utils (General-purpose utility functions)
• lucid-evolution/core-types (Shared type definitions)

Outputs: Resolve backlog issues, clean up, and standardize the module structure for these packages.

Acceptance Criteria: All issues and improvements, verified, and reviewed for consistency.

Evidence: Closed backlog items and a standardized module structure, available on GitHub.

Backlog Resolution & Structure Enhancement (Remaining Packages)

Packages:

• lucid-evolution/sign_data (Data signing utilities)
• lucid-evolution/core-utils (Common utility functions)
• lucid-evolution/bip39 (BIP-39 mnemonic code implementation)
• lucid-evolution/crc8 (CRC8 calculation utilities)

Outputs: Resolve issues and enhance the structure of the remaining packages.

Acceptance Criteria: All issues and improvements, verified, and reviewed for consistency.

Evidence: Closed backlog items and a standardized module structure, available on GitHub.

Comprehensive Testing

Focus: Test reliability and functionality across all packages.

Outputs: Comprehensive unit testing and testnet transaction simulations for all packages.

Acceptance Criteria: Achieve target code coverage (e.g., 80%) and validate successful testnet transactions.

Evidence: Updated test suite, test reports, and logs confirming the success of tests and transaction on Preprod and Preview.

Lucid Evolution Integration & Documentation:

Outputs: Lucid Evolution is fully integrated into the Cardano ecosystem, ensuring seamless compatibility and usability.

Acceptance Criteria: Lucid Evolution is thoroughly documented to provide clear guidance for developers.

Evidence:

Documentation & Reports: Provided documentation and reports detailing the testing process conducted on improved features integrated with Lucid are available at https://github.com/Anastasia-Labs/lucid-evolution.

Ecosystem Alignment: Documentation detailing how Lucid Evolution aligns seamlessly with the latest Cardano advancements can be found at https://github.com/Anastasia-Labs/lucid-evolution.

Bug Tracking & Resolution: A bug tracking log or issue tracker documenting all identified bugs or issues encountered during testing can be found at https://github.com/Anastasia-Labs/lucid-evolution.

Detailed Issue Resolutions: Provided documentation of the steps taken to address each identified bug or issue, including code changes, patches, or updates implemented to resolve them can be found at https://github.com/Anastasia-Labs/lucid-evolution.

Project Closeout Report: A comprehensive Project Closeout Report is available at https://github.com/Anastasia-Labs/lucid-evolution summarizing the project's achievements, challenges encountered, and lessons learned.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Jonathan Rodriguez - Senior Blockchain Developer

Linkedin

Jonathan Rodriguez is a distinguished Cardano Smart Contract Developer with a wealth of experience in auditing and optimizing key protocols within the Cardano ecosystem, including Minswap V2, IBC protocol (Cardano Foundation), Optim Finance, Lenfi V2, Genius Yield, and Wanchain Bridge.

His deep technical expertise in smart contracts is further evidenced by his development of the Lucid Evolution framework and his authorship of CIP-128. Jonathan is also a co-creator of the Cardano Design Patterns Libraries, which serve as valuable resources for the wider developer community.

Beyond his technical development work, Jonathan has made significant contributions to the Cardano network's resilience, playing a pivotal role in mitigating a DDOS attack.

His efforts in the Cardano community extend to delivering over five successful Project Catalyst proposals, which have added important open-source tools and innovations to the ecosystem.

Jonathan's role as a Smart Contract Developer and lecturer for the "Cardano Solutions Architect" course at Emurgo Academy demonstrates his commitment to shaping the next generation of blockchain developers.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

The total budget for the proposed project is estimated at 200,000 ADA, equivalent to 60,000 USD at the current ADA price of 0.30 USD. This plan is designed to deliver the project efficiently within 6 months, maintaining quality while addressing all cost considerations.

I. Personnel

Senior Developer(s):

Hiring one or two senior developers is essential to complete the project within 6 months. Their expertise will be critical for delivering high-quality, secure code within this timeframe.

• Hourly Rate: Senior developers’ raw cost ranges between 80-120 USD per hour.
• Estimated Total Cost in ADA (6 months):
• Assuming full-time work (40 hours per week for 6 months) and based on current ADA prices:
• 80 USD/hour:
• This would total 76,800 USD, equivalent to 128,000 ADA for a single developer over the 6-month period.

Given the total project budget of 200,000 ADA, hiring a single senior developer at the 80 USD/hour rate will cost approximately 128,000 ADA for the full project duration. This leaves room for additional part-time developers or allocation of resources to other critical aspects of the project.

II. Managing Price Volatility

To manage ADA’s price volatility, the project will implement Fixed-Rate Contracts (Partial):

• A fixed portion of each developer’s payment will be set in ADA at the contract’s start, with the remaining portion paid in a stable currency, ensuring predictable compensation despite ADA price fluctuations.

III. Tools & Services

The project will require essential third-party tools and services to support efficient and secure development.

• Infrastructure: $800/year (~2,667 ADA)
• This covers hosting, servers, and cloud resources required for continuous development and deployment. The selection of cost-effective infrastructure ensures uninterrupted progress with minimal overhead.

IV. Community Engagement & Publicity

Community engagement and promotion are crucial to raising awareness and ensuring the long-term success of the project. Building strong community connections also supports the Cardano ecosystem’s growth.

• Community Engagement & Marketing: $3,000 (~10,000 ADA)
• This budget will be allocated to community outreach, educational content creation, and promotional activities within the Cardano ecosystem to ensure the project’s visibility and adoption.

V. Contingency Fund & Continued Maintenance

A contingency fund has been established to address any unforeseen costs or challenges that may arise during the project, ensuring smooth execution and continued maintenance.

• Contingency Fund: 20,000 ADA (10% of the total budget)
• This will allow for flexibility in the case of unexpected expenses, providing a safety net to keep the project on track.

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The project's costs are aligned with the complexity of the work and the need for specialized Cardano talent. The 200,000 ADA budget focuses on high-quality execution, efficiency, and long-term ecosystem growth, providing strong value for the Cardano community.

Lucid Evolution is a core library supporting key protocols like Mynth, Pondora, Genius Yield, Meld, Summon, and more. Upgrading and maintaining this critical tool ensures the continued reliability of these projects, preventing future issues like those experienced during the Conway hard fork. This investment strengthens the entire Cardano ecosystem.