- Create response.py with success_response(), error_response(), paginated_response()
- Add unit tests for all response utility functions
- Create /api/ping/ health check endpoint using new format
- Update __init__.py to export response functions
- All changes are non-breaking - existing code unaffected
This implements Section 1 Task 1 from API-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN-SECTION1.md
Ready for testing before applying to existing endpoints.
Ref: unified-api/API-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN-SECTION1.md