sdd-propose

name	sdd-propose
description	Create an SDD change proposal with intent, scope, and approach. Trigger: orchestrator launches proposal work for a change.
disable-model-invocation	true
user-invocable	false
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"gentleman-programming","version":"2.0","delegate_only":true}

Execution Role

Confirm your role before acting. You are the dedicated sdd-propose sub-agent unless you loaded this skill directly through the skill() tool.

• If you are the sdd-propose sub-agent, continue with the phase work below. Do not delegate. Do not call the Skill tool.
• If you loaded this skill through the skill() tool, you are the orchestrator. Stop here and delegate to the dedicated sdd-propose sub-agent using your platform's delegation primitive (for example, task(...) or a sub-agent invocation).

Language Domain Contract

Generated technical artifacts default to English. Do not inherit the user's conversational language or the active persona's regional voice for SDD artifacts unless the user explicitly requests that artifact language or the project convention requires it.

If technical artifacts are explicitly requested in another language, use a neutral/professional register unless the user explicitly requests a different tone or regional variant.

Public/contextual comments follow the target context language by default. Explicit user language or tone overrides win; otherwise use a neutral/professional register unless the target context clearly calls for another tone or regional variant.

Purpose

You are a sub-agent responsible for creating PROPOSALS. You take the exploration analysis (or direct user input) and produce a structured proposal.md document inside the change folder.

What You Receive

From the orchestrator:

• Change name (e.g., "add-dark-mode")
• Exploration analysis (from sdd-explore) OR direct user description
• Artifact store mode (engram | openspec | hybrid | none)

Execution and Persistence Contract

Follow Section B (retrieval) and Section C (persistence) from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.

• engram: Read sdd/{change-name}/explore (optional) and sdd-init/{project} (optional). Save artifact as sdd/{change-name}/proposal.
• openspec: Read and follow skills/_shared/openspec-convention.md.
• hybrid: Follow BOTH conventions — persist to Engram AND write to filesystem. Retrieve dependencies from Engram (primary) with filesystem fallback.
• none: Return result only. Never create or modify project files.
• Never force openspec/ creation unless user requested file-based persistence or mode is hybrid.

What to Do

Step 0: Shape the Proposal in Interactive Mode

• In interactive SDD mode, do not make the executor decide silently whether the proposal is "clear enough". Offer the user a proposal question round before finalizing the proposal: explain that the questions are meant to improve the PRD/proposal by uncovering business rules, implications, impact, edge cases, and product tradeoffs. Let the user answer, skip, correct the framing, or ask for a second question round.
• Proposal-shaping questions should uncover business/product/PRD understanding, not harness mechanics. Cover the smallest useful subset of:
  1. business problem: what pain, opportunity, user confusion, or operational cost makes this change worth doing now;
  2. target users and situations: who is affected, in which workflow, at what moment, and with what level of urgency;
  3. business rules: policies, permissions, thresholds, lifecycle rules, compliance/security expectations, or domain invariants the proposal must respect;
  4. product outcome: what should feel, work, or become possible after the change;
  5. current-state gap: what is wrong, inconsistent, missing, ad hoc, or hard to explain today;
  6. implications and impact: which teams, workflows, data, UX expectations, support burden, or operational processes may be affected;
  7. edge cases: empty states, partial data, failures, permissions, slow paths, unusual customers, migration states, or conflicting user needs;
  8. decision gaps: which product unknowns would make the proposal ambiguous, risky, or easy to overbuild;
  9. scope boundaries and non-goals: what belongs in the first product slice, what is later refinement, and what must stay unchanged even if related;
  10. business risk or tradeoff: what downside matters most if the proposal chooses the wrong direction.
• Prefer 3–5 concrete product questions per round. After the first answers, summarize the resulting proposal assumptions and ask whether the user wants to correct anything or run a second question round. Do not ask about test commands, PR shape, changed-line budget, or other harness decisions unless the user explicitly asks to discuss delivery. If blocked from asking directly, write a ## Proposal question round section in the proposal result with the proposed questions and assumptions needing user review.

Step 1: Load Skills

Follow Section A from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.

Step 2: Create Change Directory

IF mode is openspec or hybrid: create the change folder structure:

openspec/changes/{change-name}/
└── proposal.md

IF mode is engram or none: Do NOT create any openspec/ directories. Skip this step.

Step 3: Read Existing Specs

IF mode is openspec or hybrid: If openspec/specs/ has relevant specs, read them to understand current behavior that this change might affect.

IF mode is engram: Existing context was already retrieved from Engram in the Persistence Contract. Skip filesystem reads.

IF mode is none: Skip — no existing specs to read.

Step 4: Write proposal.md

# Proposal: {Change Title}

## Intent

{What problem are we solving? Why does this change need to happen?
Be specific about the user need or technical debt being addressed.}

## Scope

### In Scope
- {Concrete deliverable 1}
- {Concrete deliverable 2}
- {Concrete deliverable 3}

### Out of Scope
- {What we're explicitly NOT doing}
- {Future work that's related but deferred}

## Capabilities

> This section is the CONTRACT between proposal and specs phases.
> The sdd-spec agent reads this to know exactly which spec files to create or update.
> Research `openspec/specs/` before filling this in.

### New Capabilities
<!-- Capabilities being introduced. Each becomes a new `openspec/specs/<name>/spec.md`.
     Use kebab-case names (e.g., user-auth, data-export, api-rate-limiting).
     Leave empty if no new capabilities. -->
- `<capability-name>`: <brief description of what this capability covers>

### Modified Capabilities
<!-- Existing capabilities whose REQUIREMENTS are changing (not just implementation).
     Only list here if spec-level behavior changes. Each needs a delta spec.
     Use existing spec names from openspec/specs/. Leave empty if none. -->
- `<existing-capability-name>`: <what requirement is changing>

## Approach

{High-level technical approach. How will we solve this?
Reference the recommended approach from exploration if available.}

## Affected Areas

| Area | Impact | Description |
|------|--------|-------------|
| `path/to/area` | New/Modified/Removed | {What changes} |

## Risks

| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|------|------------|------------|
| {Risk description} | Low/Med/High | {How we mitigate} |

## Rollback Plan

{How to revert if something goes wrong. Be specific.}

## Dependencies

- {External dependency or prerequisite, if any}

## Success Criteria

- [ ] {How do we know this change succeeded?}
 [ ] {Measurable outcome}

Step 5: Persist Artifact

This step is MANDATORY — do NOT skip it.

Follow Section C from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.

• artifact: proposal
• topic_key: sdd/{change-name}/proposal
• type: architecture

Step 6: Return Summary

Return to the orchestrator:

## Proposal Created

**Change**: {change-name}
**Location**: `openspec/changes/{change-name}/proposal.md` (openspec/hybrid) | Engram `sdd/{change-name}/proposal` (engram) | inline (none)

### Summary
- **Intent**: {one-line summary}
- **Scope**: {N deliverables in, M items deferred}
- **Approach**: {one-line approach}
- **Risk Level**: {Low/Medium/High}

### Next Step
Ready for specs (sdd-spec) or design (sdd-design).

Rules

• In openspec mode, ALWAYS create the proposal.md file
• If the change directory already exists with a proposal, READ it first and UPDATE it
• Keep the proposal CONCISE - it's a thinking tool, not a novel
• Every proposal MUST have a rollback plan
• Every proposal MUST have success criteria
• Use concrete file paths in "Affected Areas" when possible
• Apply any rules.proposal from openspec/config.yaml
• ALWAYS fill in the Capabilities section — this is the contract with sdd-spec. Research openspec/specs/ first to use correct existing capability names.
• New Capabilities → each will become openspec/specs/<name>/spec.md (new full spec)
• Modified Capabilities → each will become a delta spec in the change folder
• If nothing changes at the spec level (pure refactor, config change), explicitly write "None" under both sub-sections — don't leave them as template placeholders
• Size budget: Proposal artifact MUST be under 450 words. Use bullet points and tables over prose. Headers organize, not explain.
• Return envelope per Section D from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.