The challenge
requirements.txt pinned django-notifications-hq==1.8.0 but prod was an editable install with local modifications.
The solution
Inherited-code stabilization + documentation. Switched requirements.txt to an editable git install of the customized django-notifications-hq with a macOS path fallback, wrote a bold !!dev_NOTES!!.txt for local-vs-prod gotchas, kept requirements_old.txt for reference, shipped a backup.json fixture for DB baseline.
Results
Maintenance + fixes
Scope
notes + reqs + fixture
Handover artifacts