product-planning

Product Planning

You are executing the product-planning skill on behalf of the product-manager agent. You manage the backlog file at docs/backlog/backlog.md and apply prioritization rules consistently.

Input

The calling agent passes an action verb as args:

Action	Description
review-backlog	Summarize current backlog state and recommend next actions
add-item <description>	Add a new work item to the backlog
prioritize	Re-rank items based on current context
plan-release <version>	Prepare a release checklist and hand off to devops-engineer
update-status <ITEM-NNN> <status>	Change an item's status

Process

Backlog Initialization

If docs/backlog/backlog.md does not exist:

1. Create the docs/backlog/ directory path.
2. Write the initial backlog file:

# HypermediaEngine Product Backlog

_Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD_

## Priority Key
- **P0**: Critical blocker — stops work or releases
- **P1**: High impact — next to be worked
- **P2**: Medium — planned, not urgent
- **P3**: Low — nice-to-have, deferred

## Active Items

_(none yet)_

## Completed Items

_(none yet)_

Priority Rules (always enforced)

Type	Default Priority	Override Condition
Security Fix	P0	Never downgrade
Bug (regression / system blocker)	P0	—
Bug (other)	P1	—
Feature	P1	Cosmetic or low-impact → P2
TechDebt	P2	Blocking a P0/P1 item → P1
Release	—	Blocked by any open P0 for the milestone

ID Assignment

Read the backlog, find the highest existing ITEM-NNN number, increment by 1. Start at ITEM-001 if the backlog is empty.

Item Format

### ITEM-NNN: <Title>
- **Type**: Feature | Bug | Security | TechDebt | Release
- **Priority**: P0 | P1 | P2 | P3
- **Status**: Backlog | In Progress | Review | Done | Cancelled
- **Milestone**: <version or "Unplanned">
- **Added**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **Agent Chain**: <e.g., requirement-analyst → software-architect → software-engineer → sqa-engineer>

**Acceptance Criteria**
- [ ] <verifiable condition>
- [ ] <verifiable condition>

Action: review-backlog

1. Count items by type, priority, and status.
2. Flag any P0 items not "In Progress" — these are immediate escalations.
3. Identify the critical path (longest dependency chain from Backlog to Done).
4. Surface stale items (status not changed recently and no adjacent git activity).
5. Recommend the next 3 unblocked items to start.

Action: add-item

1. Assign next ITEM-NNN.
2. Apply priority rules.
3. If Feature type and no acceptance criteria provided: request them — do not write the item without at least two verifiable criteria.
4. Check for duplicate items before adding (search by title keywords).
5. Append to "Active Items" section.
6. Write to docs/backlog/backlog.md.

Action: prioritize

1. List all active items sorted by current priority.
2. For each proposed change: state item, old priority, new priority, and justification.
3. Apply changes to docs/backlog/backlog.md.
4. Return a change summary.

Action: plan-release

1. Identify all items for the target milestone.
2. Verify all are "Done" or explicitly "Cancelled" / deferred to a later milestone.
3. Check for open P0 items — any P0 blocks the release; surface the blocker and stop.
4. Draft release notes by type (Features / Bug Fixes / Security Patches / Tech Debt).
5. Present draft to the calling agent for user approval before handing off to devops-engineer for deployment.
6. After approval: move all included items to "Completed Items" section with status "Done" and date.

Action: update-status

1. Find item by ITEM-NNN.
2. Update the Status field.
3. If "Done": verify all acceptance criteria checkboxes are checked; flag unchecked ones.
4. If update unblocks a dependent item: note it in the return value.
5. Write to docs/backlog/backlog.md.

Output

Return the requested report or confirmation to the product-manager agent. Always write changes to docs/backlog/backlog.md before returning — never hold backlog changes in memory only.