| name | doc-ref |
| description | Create Reference Documents (REF) - free-format supplements for BRD and ADR that sit outside the formal traceability chain. Use for project overviews, strategic vision, or technology/infrastructure summaries. |
| metadata | {"tags":["sdd-workflow","utility"],"custom_fields":{"skill_category":"utility","upstream_artifacts":["BRD","ADR"],"downstream_artifacts":[],"version":"0.24.0","framework_spec_version":"0.40.0","last_updated":"2026-05-23"}} |
doc-ref
Purpose
Create Reference Documents (REF) — free-format supplementary documents that
support a BRD or ADR without participating in the formal traceability
chain. REF documents provide context (overviews, summaries, guides); they carry
no element IDs, cumulative tags, ready-scores, or quality gates.
Layer: cross-cutting utility — REF documents are limited to BRD and ADR
parent types only.
When to Use
Use doc-ref for supplements such as:
- BRD-REF — project overviews, executive summaries, strategic vision,
stakeholder guides.
- ADR-REF — technology-stack summaries, architecture overviews,
infrastructure guides.
Do NOT use for: anything that should participate in traceability; core
artifacts (BRD/PRD/EARS/BDD/ADR/SPEC/TDD/IPLAN — use their doc-* skills); or
any parent type other than BRD or ADR.
Behavior
Naming and location
- File name:
{TYPE}-REF-NN_{slug}.md (TYPE ∈ {BRD, ADR}); H1:
# {TYPE}-REF-NN: Title.
NN is a variable-length sequence (2+ digits), independent per parent type:
BRD-REF-01, BRD-REF-102, ADR-REF-01 are separate sequences.- Located inside the parent type directory, e.g.
docs/01_BRD/BRD-REF-01_project_overview.md,
docs/05_ADR/ADR-REF-01_technology_stack_summary.md.
- Regex — file:
^(BRD|ADR)-REF-[0-9]{2,}_[a-z0-9_]+\.md$;
H1: ^#\s(BRD|ADR)-REF-[0-9]{2,}:.+$.
Creation process
- Determine the parent type — business context → BRD-REF; architecture
context → ADR-REF.
- Allocate the next number —
ls docs/01_BRD/*-REF-* 2>/dev/null (or
05_ADR) and take the next free NN.
- Draft from the parent template, stripped to REF essentials — start from
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/01_BRD/BRD-TEMPLATE.yaml (BRD-REF) or
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/05_ADR/ADR-TEMPLATE.yaml (ADR-REF) and keep only the four
mandatory sections, dropping the traceability scaffolding.
- Place the file in the parent type directory with the correct H1.
Required sections (4, mandatory)
- YAML frontmatter (
artifact_type: REF).
- Document Control (version, date, author, status).
- Document Revision History.
- Introduction (purpose and scope).
Optional: Related Documents (cross-references encouraged) and any content
sections the reference material needs.
Validation (this skill is the validator)
Blocking checks only: H1 matches {TYPE}-REF-NN: Title; Document Control,
Revision History, and Introduction sections are present. Exempt (not
checked): cumulative tags, full traceability, quality gates, ready-scores —
REF documents do not participate in the chain. No element IDs apply.
Related Resources
- Parent templates:
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/01_BRD/BRD-TEMPLATE.yaml,
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/05_ADR/ADR-TEMPLATE.yaml
- Naming authority:
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/governance/ID_NAMING_STANDARDS.md ·
../doc-naming/SKILL.md
- Governance & per-layer authority:
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/governance/ and each
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/NN_<X>/README.md
- Parent skills:
../doc-brd/SKILL.md · ../doc-adr/SKILL.md
- Workflow routing:
../doc-flow/SKILL.md
- Diagrams:
../charts-flow/SKILL.md
