arch-gather-nfr

name	arch:gather-nfr
description	Collect non-functional requirements through interactive Q&A. Asks targeted questions about performance, scalability, security, reliability, and cost constraints. Invokable with /gather-nfr.

Gather Non-Functional Requirements

Overview

This skill collects Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) through an interactive questionnaire. It:

1. Reads active story from $AGENT_DOCS_DIR/active-story.yaml
2. Analyzes story context (title, labels, body) to tailor questions
3. Asks targeted questions across 6 NFR categories
4. Collects responses using AskUserQuestion tool
5. Appends NFRs to $AGENT_DOCS_DIR/active-story.yaml for later use

NFRs inform architectural decisions, implementation choices, and ADR content.

NFR Categories

Category	Always Ask?	Key Questions
Performance	User-facing features	DAU, response time, concurrency
Scalability	Growth expected	Growth projection, geography, peaks
Data & Storage	Creates/modifies data	Retention, volume, backup SLA
Security	Always	Sensitive data, auth, compliance
Reliability	Production features	Downtime SLA, error rate, monitoring
Cost	New infrastructure	Budget, preferred AWS services

See @references/nfr-categories.md for detailed question tables and example responses.

Workflow

Step 1: Verify Active Story Exists

STORY_FILE="$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/$AGENT_DOCS_DIR/active-story.yaml"
if [ ! -f "$STORY_FILE" ]; then
  echo "❌ No active story found. Run /fetch-story first."
  exit 1
fi

Step 2: Load and Analyze Story Context

const story = yaml.load(fs.readFileSync('$AGENT_DOCS_DIR/active-story.yaml', 'utf-8'));
const title = story.title.toLowerCase();
const labels = story.labels.map(l => l.toLowerCase());
const body = story.body.toLowerCase();

Determine applicable categories:

Category	Skip if label contains...
Performance	"internal-tool"
Scalability	"poc" or "prototype"
Data & Storage	"read-only"
Security	Never skip
Reliability	"experimental"
Cost	Body mentions "existing infrastructure"

Steps 3–8: Ask Category Questions

See @references/workflow-questions.md for the exact question text, options, defaults, and skip conditions for each category (Performance, Scalability, Data & Storage, Security, Reliability, Cost).

Step 9: Append NFRs to Active Story

story.nfrs = {
  performance: { dailyActiveUsers: "...", maxResponseTime: "...", concurrentUsers: "..." },
  scalability: { growthProjection: "...", geographic: "...", peakPatterns: "..." },
  data:        { dataRetention: "...", dataVolumePerUser: "...", backupSLA: "..." },
  security:    { sensitiveData: [...], authentication: "...", compliance: [...] },
  reliability: { acceptableDowntime: "...", errorRate: "...", monitoring: "..." },
  cost:        { budget: "...", preferredServices: [...] }
};
fs.writeFileSync('$AGENT_DOCS_DIR/active-story.yaml', yaml.dump(story));

Step 10: Report Summary

✓ Non-Functional Requirements Collected

Performance:  <DAU> DAU, <response time>, <concurrency>
Scalability:  <growth>, <geography>, <peak patterns>
Data:         <retention>, <volume/user>, <backup SLA>
Security:     <sensitive data>, <auth>, <compliance>
Reliability:  <downtime SLA>, <error rate>, <monitoring>
Cost:         <budget>, <preferred services>

✓ NFRs saved to $AGENT_DOCS_DIR/active-story.yaml

Next steps:
  Run /gather-context to collect technical context
  Or run /play-story to continue the full workflow

Error Handling

See @references/error-handling.md for: no active story, NFRs already exist (overwrite prompt), and file write failures.

Question Strategy

See @references/question-strategy.md for recommendation logic per label, smart skipping rules, multi-select vs single-select guidance, and question count targets.

Integration with Other Skills

Called by /play-story

/play-story → /fetch-story → /gather-nfr (this) → /gather-context → /arch:create-adr

Output Used by Other Skills

• /arch:create-adr — NFRs become Decision Drivers; security/compliance guides technology choices
• /gather-context — security requirements and preferred services guide code search

Best Practices

• 2-3 questions per category; skip irrelevant ones (target ~10-15 total)
• Pre-select sensible defaults — respect user time
• Use multiple choice whenever possible; text input sparingly
• Include "N/A" or "No constraint" options
• Store skipped categories as { skipped: true, reason: "..." }

Example Session

See @references/example-session.md for a complete walkthrough of /gather-nfr on a payment checkout story.

Summary

The /gather-nfr skill streamlines NFR collection by:

• Intelligent questioning — tailors questions to story context and labels
• Smart defaults — recommends sensible values based on feature type
• Category skipping — avoids irrelevant questions
• Structured storage — saves NFRs in reusable YAML format
• ADR-ready — output directly feeds into decision records