bmad-template/.workbuddy/skills/bmad-sprint-planning/SKILL.md

---
name: bmad-sprint-planning
description: 'Generate sprint status tracking from epics. Use when the user says "run sprint planning" or "generate sprint plan"'
---

# Sprint Planning Workflow

**Goal:** Generate sprint status tracking from epics, detecting current story statuses and building a complete sprint-status.yaml file.

**Your Role:** You are a Developer generating and maintaining sprint tracking. Parse epic files, detect story statuses, and produce a structured sprint-status.yaml.

## Conventions

- Bare paths (e.g. `checklist.md`) resolve from the skill root.
- `{skill-root}` resolves to this skill's installed directory (where `customize.toml` lives).
- `{project-root}`-prefixed paths resolve from the project working directory.
- `{skill-name}` resolves to the skill directory's basename.

## On Activation

### Step 1: Resolve the Workflow Block

Run: `python3 {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --key workflow`

**If the script fails**, resolve the `workflow` block yourself by reading these three files in base → team → user order and applying the same structural merge rules as the resolver:

1. `{skill-root}/customize.toml` — defaults
2. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.toml` — team overrides
3. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.user.toml` — personal overrides

Any missing file is skipped. Scalars override, tables deep-merge, arrays of tables keyed by `code` or `id` replace matching entries and append new entries, and all other arrays append.

### Step 2: Execute Prepend Steps

Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_prepend}` in order before proceeding.

### Step 3: Load Persistent Facts

Treat every entry in `{workflow.persistent_facts}` as foundational context you carry for the rest of the workflow run. Entries prefixed `file:` are paths or globs under `{project-root}` — load the referenced contents as facts. All other entries are facts verbatim.

### Step 4: Load Config

Load config from `{project-root}/_bmad/bmm/config.yaml` and resolve:

- `project_name`, `user_name`
- `communication_language`, `document_output_language`
- `implementation_artifacts`
- `planning_artifacts`
- `date` as system-generated current datetime
- YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT in your Agent communication style with the config `{communication_language}`
- Generate all documents in `{document_output_language}`

### Step 5: Greet the User

Greet `{user_name}`, speaking in `{communication_language}`.

### Step 6: Execute Append Steps

Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_append}` in order.

Activation is complete. Begin the workflow below.

## Paths

- `tracking_system` = `file-system`
- `project_key` = `NOKEY`
- `story_location` = `{implementation_artifacts}`
- `story_location_absolute` = `{implementation_artifacts}`
- `epics_location` = `{planning_artifacts}`
- `epics_pattern` = `*epic*.md`
- `status_file` = `{implementation_artifacts}/sprint-status.yaml`

## Input Files

| Input | Path | Load Strategy |
|-------|------|---------------|
| Epics | `{planning_artifacts}/*epic*.md` (whole) or `{planning_artifacts}/*epic*/*.md` (sharded) | FULL_LOAD |

## Execution

### Document Discovery - Full Epic Loading

**Strategy**: Sprint planning needs ALL epics and stories to build complete status tracking.

**Epic Discovery Process:**

1. **Search for whole document first** - Look for `epics.md`, `bmm-epics.md`, or any `*epic*.md` file
2. **Check for sharded version** - If whole document not found, look for `epics/index.md`
3. **If sharded version found**:
   - Read `index.md` to understand the document structure
   - Read ALL epic section files listed in the index (e.g., `epic-1.md`, `epic-2.md`, etc.)
   - Process all epics and their stories from the combined content
   - This ensures complete sprint status coverage
4. **Priority**: If both whole and sharded versions exist, use the whole document

**Fuzzy matching**: Be flexible with document names - users may use variations like `epics.md`, `bmm-epics.md`, `user-stories.md`, etc.

<workflow>

<step n="1" goal="Parse epic files and extract all work items">
<action>Load {project_context} for project-wide patterns and conventions (if exists)</action>
<action>Communicate in {communication_language} with {user_name}</action>
<action>Look for all files matching `{epics_pattern}` in {epics_location}</action>
<action>Could be a single `epics.md` file or multiple `epic-1.md`, `epic-2.md` files</action>

<action>For each epic file found, extract:</action>

- Epic numbers from headers like `## Epic 1:` or `## Epic 2:`
- Story IDs and titles from patterns like `### Story 1.1: User Authentication`
- Convert story format from `Epic.Story: Title` to kebab-case key: `epic-story-title`

**Story ID Conversion Rules:**

- Original: `### Story 1.1: User Authentication`
- Replace period with dash: `1-1`
- Convert title to kebab-case: `user-authentication`
- Final key: `1-1-user-authentication`

<action>Build complete inventory of all epics and stories from all epic files</action>
</step>

<step n="2" goal="Build sprint status structure">
<action>For each epic found, create entries in this order:</action>

1. **Epic entry** - Key: `epic-{num}`, Default status: `backlog`
2. **Story entries** - Key: `{epic}-{story}-{title}`, Default status: `backlog`
3. **Retrospective entry** - Key: `epic-{num}-retrospective`, Default status: `optional`

**Example structure:**

```yaml
development_status:
  epic-1: backlog
  1-1-user-authentication: backlog
  1-2-account-management: backlog
  epic-1-retrospective: optional
```

</step>

<step n="3" goal="Apply intelligent status detection">
<action>For each story, detect current status by checking files:</action>

**Story file detection:**

- Check: `{story_location_absolute}/{story-key}.md` (e.g., `stories/1-1-user-authentication.md`)
- If exists → upgrade status to at least `ready-for-dev`

**Preservation rule:**

- If existing `{status_file}` exists and has more advanced status, preserve it
- Never downgrade status (e.g., don't change `done` to `ready-for-dev`)

**Status Flow Reference:**

- Epic: `backlog` → `in-progress` → `done`
- Story: `backlog` → `ready-for-dev` → `in-progress` → `review` → `done`
- Retrospective: `optional` ↔ `done`
  </step>

<step n="4" goal="Generate sprint status file">
<action>Create or update {status_file} with:</action>

**File Structure:**

```yaml
# generated: {date}
# last_updated: {date}
# project: {project_name}
# project_key: {project_key}
# tracking_system: {tracking_system}
# story_location: {story_location}

# STATUS DEFINITIONS:
# ==================
# Epic Status:
#   - backlog: Epic not yet started
#   - in-progress: Epic actively being worked on
#   - done: All stories in epic completed
#
# Epic Status Transitions:
#   - backlog → in-progress: Automatically when first story is created (via create-story)
#   - in-progress → done: Manually when all stories reach 'done' status
#
# Story Status:
#   - backlog: Story only exists in epic file
#   - ready-for-dev: Story file created in stories folder
#   - in-progress: Developer actively working on implementation
#   - review: Ready for code review (via Dev's code-review workflow)
#   - done: Story completed
#
# Retrospective Status:
#   - optional: Can be completed but not required
#   - done: Retrospective has been completed
#
# WORKFLOW NOTES:
# ===============
# - Epic transitions to 'in-progress' automatically when first story is created
# - Stories can be worked in parallel if team capacity allows
# - Developer typically creates next story after previous one is 'done' to incorporate learnings
# - Dev moves story to 'review', then runs code-review (fresh context, different LLM recommended)

generated: { date }
last_updated: { date }
project: { project_name }
project_key: { project_key }
tracking_system: { tracking_system }
story_location: { story_location }

development_status:
  # All epics, stories, and retrospectives in order
```

<action>Write the complete sprint status YAML to {status_file}</action>
<action>CRITICAL: Metadata appears TWICE - once as comments (#) for documentation, once as YAML key:value fields for parsing</action>
<action>Ensure all items are ordered: epic, its stories, its retrospective, next epic...</action>
</step>

<step n="5" goal="Validate and report">
<action>Perform validation checks:</action>

- [ ] Every epic in epic files appears in {status_file}
- [ ] Every story in epic files appears in {status_file}
- [ ] Every epic has a corresponding retrospective entry
- [ ] No items in {status_file} that don't exist in epic files
- [ ] All status values are legal (match state machine definitions)
- [ ] File is valid YAML syntax

<action>Count totals:</action>

- Total epics: {{epic_count}}
- Total stories: {{story_count}}
- Epics in-progress: {{in_progress_count}}
- Stories done: {{done_count}}

<action>Display completion summary to {user_name} in {communication_language}:</action>

**Sprint Status Generated Successfully**

- **File Location:** {status_file}
- **Total Epics:** {{epic_count}}
- **Total Stories:** {{story_count}}
- **Epics In Progress:** {{in_progress_count}}
- **Stories Completed:** {{done_count}}

**Next Steps:**

1. Review the generated {status_file}
2. Use this file to track development progress
3. Agents will update statuses as they work
4. Re-run this workflow to refresh auto-detected statuses

<action>Run: `python3 {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --key workflow.on_complete` — if the resolved value is non-empty, follow it as the final terminal instruction before exiting.</action>
</step>

</workflow>

## Additional Documentation

### Status State Machine

**Epic Status Flow:**

```
backlog → in-progress → done
```

- **backlog**: Epic not yet started
- **in-progress**: Epic actively being worked on (stories being created/implemented)
- **done**: All stories in epic completed

**Story Status Flow:**

```
backlog → ready-for-dev → in-progress → review → done
```

- **backlog**: Story only exists in epic file
- **ready-for-dev**: Story file created (e.g., `stories/1-3-plant-naming.md`)
- **in-progress**: Developer actively working
- **review**: Ready for code review (via Dev's code-review workflow)
- **done**: Completed

**Retrospective Status:**

```
optional ↔ done
```

- **optional**: Ready to be conducted but not required
- **done**: Finished

### Guidelines

1. **Epic Activation**: Mark epic as `in-progress` when starting work on its first story
2. **Sequential Default**: Stories are typically worked in order, but parallel work is supported
3. **Parallel Work Supported**: Multiple stories can be `in-progress` if team capacity allows
4. **Review Before Done**: Stories should pass through `review` before `done`
5. **Learning Transfer**: Developer typically creates next story after previous one is `done` to incorporate learnings