workflow-idea-to-spec

name	workflow-idea-to-spec
version	2.0.0
description	[Workflow] Use when activating the Idea-to-Spec workflow — turn a raw idea/vision/problem into ONE canonical (provisional) Feature Spec. STOPS at the reviewed spec; chain workflow-spec-to-pbi for a backlog. For code→spec use workflow-code-to-spec.
disable-model-invocation	false

Renamed: formerly workflow-product-discovery — now /workflow-idea-to-spec. The old name no longer resolves as a slash command.

Quick Summary

Goal: [Workflow] Trigger the spec-driven Idea-to-Spec workflow to convert a raw idea — a raw vision or problem → structured brainstorm framing → canonical, provisional Feature Spec (the tech-free 8-section spec + §8 test specs at docs/specs/{Bucket}/README.{Feature}.md, Evidence: TBD until code lands) → reviewed and docs-synced. This workflow STOPS at the reviewed Feature Spec — it does NOT produce a PBI backlog. For a backlog, chain workflow-spec-to-pbi afterward; for idea → full backlog in one pass use workflow-idea-to-pbi; for code→spec (implementation already exists) use workflow-code-to-spec.

Workflow:

1. Frame — brainstorm the idea, analyze domain, validate the problem framing (why-review).
2. Author — capture the idea, then author the canonical provisional Feature Spec (spec [mode=draft]) + §8 test specs (spec [mode=tests]).
3. Review & Sync — review the test specs and the Feature Spec, validate rationale (why-review), sync docs.

Key Rules:

• MUST ATTENTION keep claims evidence-based (file:line) with confidence >80% to act.
• MUST ATTENTION keep task tracking updated as each step starts/completes.
• MUST ATTENTION define success criteria before execution and loop until observable verification passes.
• MUST ATTENTION when creating/reviewing specs or tests, name Business Intent / Invariant Guarded or the protected business intent/invariant and ensure the test would fail if that intent breaks.
• MUST ATTENTION author the spec via spec [mode=draft] — idea-sourced, no code yet → §8 Evidence: TBD, Status: Planned, frontmatter provisional: true.
• NEVER decompose into PBIs/stories/backlog here — that is workflow-spec-to-pbi's job. NEVER skip the Feature Spec authoring core.

When to Use

• PO/BA has a raw product vision, problem statement, or "we need to build X" starting point and wants a canonical Feature Spec
• Team wants to capture intended behavior as a tech-free spec BEFORE any code exists (spec-first / TDD-first)
• A single idea or capability needs a reviewed, AI-implementable Feature Spec as the source of truth for later implementation

When NOT to Use

• Implementation already exists and you want a spec FROM code → use workflow-code-to-spec
• You want a full grooming-ready PBI backlog from the idea in one pass → use workflow-idea-to-pbi
• You already have a Feature Spec and want PBIs from it → use workflow-spec-to-pbi
• Implementation work (code writing) → use workflow-feature or workflow-big-feature
• Bug fixes → use workflow-bugfix

Key Mechanics

1. Brainstorm → Converge on the Capability to Spec

The /brainstorm step frames the idea using the Double Diamond process:

• Problem framing: POV statement, 5 Whys / Fishbone, JTBD job stories, HMW questions
• Opportunity framing: Opportunity Solution Tree (enhancement) OR Lean Canvas (new product)
• Ideation: SCAMPER, Crazy 8s, Impact Mapping
• Convergence: pick the single feature/capability to author as a Feature Spec

Output: the converged capability (or a short list if multiple distinct capabilities emerge). AI presents the framing and confirms scope: "Which capability should we author as a Feature Spec?" If multiple distinct capabilities are in scope, confirm with the user and author one Feature Spec per capability (sub-agent per capability for 4+ — see Scale awareness).

1a. Spec-Discovery (Landscape Investigation — After brainstorm, Before domain-analysis)

/spec-discovery investigates the surrounding system BEFORE authoring: it Globs docs/specs/** to classify every related / overlapping / affected Feature Spec, scouts related code (graph-expanded when .code-graph/graph.db exists), and surfaces gaps, missing test cases / user stories, and the invariant landscape the idea must respect. It ends in a BLOCKING scope-decision gate — author a NEW spec, EXTEND an existing one, or SPLIT into N — so no duplicate / overlapping spec is authored. Greenfield (no specs + no code) short-circuits with a recorded reason.

2. Why-Review Gate (After domain-analysis, Before spec authoring)

Before authoring the spec, validate the idea framing with /why-review:

Challenge prompts:

• Is this truly the right problem to solve? What was deprioritized and why?
• Pre-mortem: if this is built and misses in 6 months, what was the root cause?
• Are there systemic alternatives (infrastructure change, process change) that make this unnecessary?

Result	Action
PASS	Proceed to spec authoring
WARN	Document risk, acknowledge with user, proceed
FAIL	Revisit brainstorm framing before authoring

3. Spec Authoring Flow (core mechanic — idea → provisional Feature Spec)

These steps run in sequence. Spec-driven order: idea → draft Feature Spec → test specs → review.

Step	Purpose	Output
/idea	Capture the converged idea as a structured artifact	team-artifacts/ideas/{date}-po-idea-{slug}.md
/spec [mode=draft]	Author the canonical tech-free 8-section Feature Spec §1-7 FROM the idea text (no code grep; provisional: true marker)	docs/specs/{Bucket}/README.{Feature}.md
/spec [mode=tests]	Author §8 TC-{FEATURE}-{NNN} behavioral test cases (Evidence: TBD, Status: Planned — before any code)	Feature Spec §8 Test Specifications
/review-artifact --type=spec-tests	Test-spec quality check	Reviewed §8 TCs
/review-artifact	Feature Spec quality check	Reviewed Feature Spec
/spec-clarify	Brainstorm open questions, audit non-obvious decisions, confirm with user (BLOCKING)	Clarified spec + Decisions Log
/why-review	Validate the authored spec's rationale and completeness	Why-Review checklist
/docs-update	Sync the Feature Spec (§8) and derived bucket indexes	Docs-update report

Provisional output: because no code exists yet, the spec is provisional — §8 TCs carry Evidence: TBD and Status: Planned, and frontmatter carries provisional: true. The first workflow-code-to-spec / spec [mode=update] run against real code upgrades TBD → real [Source:] anchors and clears the provisional flag.

4. Handoff

At /workflow-end, AI presents:

• Session summary: M Feature Specs authored (provisional), §8 TC counts, open questions (confidence < 80%)
• Feature Specs authored: docs/specs/{Bucket}/README.{Feature}.md paths
• Provisional note: these specs carry Evidence: TBD + provisional: true until code lands — reconcile via workflow-code-to-spec / spec [mode=update] once implemented
• Recommended next workflow: /start-workflow workflow-spec-to-pbi (decompose the Feature Spec(s) into a grooming-ready PBI backlog) OR /start-workflow workflow-feature (implement directly from the spec)

Conditional Skip Rules

Step	Skip When
/domain-analysis	No new domain entities or aggregates involved
/why-review (gate)	User has already validated the idea rationale; no alternatives available

---

IMPORTANT MANDATORY Steps: /web-research -> /deep-research -> /brainstorm -> /spec-discovery -> /domain-analysis -> /why-review -> /idea -> /spec [mode=draft] -> /spec [mode=tests] -> /review-artifact --type=spec-tests -> /review-artifact -> /spec-clarify -> /why-review -> /docs-update -> /workflow-end -> /watzup

[BLOCKING] Each step MUST ATTENTION invoke its Skill tool — marking a task completed without skill invocation is a workflow violation. NEVER batch-complete validation gates.

Activate the workflow-idea-to-spec workflow. Run /start-workflow workflow-idea-to-spec with the user's prompt as context.

Steps: /web-research → /deep-research → /brainstorm → /spec-discovery → /domain-analysis → /why-review → /idea → /spec [mode=draft] → /spec [mode=tests] → /review-artifact --type=spec-tests → /review-artifact → /spec-clarify → /why-review → /docs-update → /workflow-end → /watzup

Scale awareness: When the brainstorm converges on multiple distinct capabilities, this workflow authors one Feature Spec per capability. For 4+ capabilities, spawn one spec sub-agent per capability in ONE message (each gets the framing context + output path); the main context assembles and reviews. Use incremental-write patterns to prevent context overrun.

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Re-read files after context changes. Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. Verify generated content against source evidence. AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. Check downstream references before deleting or renaming. Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. Trace the full impact chain after edits. Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing a constant, limit, flag, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history. Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. Keep shared guidance role-relevant. Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

Nested Task Expansion Contract — For workflow-step invocation, the [Workflow] ... row is only a parent container; the child skill still creates visible phase tasks.

1. Call TaskList first. If a matching active parent workflow row exists, set nested=true and record parentTaskId; otherwise run standalone.
2. Create one task per declared phase before phase work. When nested, prefix subjects [N.M] $skill-name — phase.
3. When nested, link the parent with TaskUpdate(parentTaskId, addBlockedBy: [childIds]).
4. Orchestrators must pre-expand a child skill's phase list and link the workflow row before invoking that child skill or sub-agent.
5. Mark exactly one child in_progress before work and completed immediately after evidence is written.
6. Complete the parent only after all child tasks are completed or explicitly cancelled with reason.

Blocked until: TaskList done, child phases created, parent linked when nested, first child marked in_progress.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

Incremental Result Persistence — MANDATORY for all sub-agents or heavy inline steps processing >3 files.

1. Before starting: Create report file plans/reports/{skill}-{date}-{slug}.md
2. After each file/section reviewed: Append findings to report immediately — never hold in memory
3. Return to main agent: Summary only (per SYNC:subagent-return-contract) with Full report: path
4. Main agent: Reads report file only when resolving specific blockers

Why: Context cutoff mid-execution loses ALL in-memory findings. Each disk write survives compaction. Partial results are better than no results.

Report naming: plans/reports/{skill-name}-{YYMMDD}-{HHmm}-{slug}.md

Sub-Agent Return Contract — When this skill spawns a sub-agent, the sub-agent MUST return ONLY this structure. Main agent reads only this summary — NEVER requests full sub-agent output inline.

## Sub-Agent Result: [skill-name]

Status: ✅ PASS | ⚠️ PARTIAL | ❌ FAIL
Confidence: [0-100]%

### Findings (Critical/High only — max 10 bullets)

- [severity] [file:line] [finding]

### Actions Taken

- [file changed] [what changed]

### Blockers (if any)

- [blocker description]

Full report: plans/reports/[skill-name]-[date]-[slug].md

Main agent reads Full report file ONLY when: (a) resolving a specific blocker, or (b) building a fix plan. Sub-agent writes full report incrementally (per SYNC:incremental-persistence) — not held in memory.

Context budget — the return payload is a SUMMARY, not a transcript: ≤10 finding bullets, no raw file contents / full diffs / verbatim logs inline, no re-pasted source. Everything beyond the summary lives in the Full report on disk. A sub-agent that would exceed the summary shape MUST write the detail to its report and return only the pointer — the orchestrator's context is the scarce resource the whole map-reduce protects.

MUST ATTENTION apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (file:line for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

• MANDATORY Parent workflow rows do not replace child phase tracking; expand phases and link the parent when nested.
• MANDATORY Orchestrators pre-expand child skill phases before invocation; use [N.M] $skill-name — phase prefixes and one-in_progress discipline.

Closing Reminders

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Goal: Ensure spec-driven idea-to-spec converts a raw idea into ONE canonical, provisional Feature Spec — reviewed and docs-synced, ready to hand off for backlog decomposition or implementation.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries; each is a signpost to its canonical body above):

• AI Mistake Prevention: verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references, verify all affected outputs, re-read after context loss, surface ambiguity.

• Nested Task Creation: expand child phases and link parent when nested; one in-progress.

• Critical Thinking: trace every claim, confidence >80% to act, never present guess as fact.

• Incremental Persistence: write findings to plans/reports/ per file — never hold in memory.

• Sub-Agent Return Contract: return summary only (≤10 bullets) with Full report: path.

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting — one task per workflow step (per capability when multiple capabilities are in scope)

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION brainstorm converges on the capability to spec BEFORE the /idea step

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION SPEC-DRIVEN ORDER — author the Feature Spec (/spec [mode=draft] → /spec [mode=tests]) and review it; this workflow STOPS at the reviewed spec

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION PROVISIONAL OUTPUT — §8 carries Evidence: TBD / Status: Planned and frontmatter provisional: true; reconcile against code later via workflow-code-to-spec

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION NEVER decompose into PBIs/stories/backlog here — chain workflow-spec-to-pbi for a backlog

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION why-review runs after domain-analysis — FAIL revisits framing, WARN requires user acknowledgment

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION validate decisions with user via AskUserQuestion — never auto-select scope

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify the authored Feature Spec(s)

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.

[IMPORTANT] Analyze how big the task is and break it into many small todo tasks systematically before starting — this is very important. Anti-Rationalization:

Evasion	Rebuttal
"Purpose obvious"	Anchor it anyway — primacy/recency keeps outcome active through long prompts.
"Existing reminders enough"	Echo Goal in Closing Reminders — bottom anchor prevents drift.
"Skip evidence for prompt edits"	Cite changed file evidence and verify no stale protocol text remains.
"Decompose into PBIs while I'm here"	Out of scope — this workflow STOPS at the spec. Chain workflow-spec-to-pbi.