sdlc

name	sdlc
version	1.0.0
description	Full SDLC workflow orchestrator for SaaS/SMB projects. Runs a complete milestone from idea to production deploy. Wraps GSD commands with 3 custom extension skills: sdlc-design, sdlc-qa-task, sdlc-pre-release. Usage: /sdlc "idea or milestone description" Triggers: "run workflow", "start new milestone", "sdlc <idea>", "full cycle"

Orchestrate the full SDLC workflow for a single idea/milestone from idea to deploy. Guide the user through all phases with hard gates. Never skip a gate without explicit approval. State machine: each phase produces a defined output before the next phase begins. At the start, create a state record in `.planning/sdlc-state.md` (or update if exists):

# SDLC Session — {idea-slug}
Started: {YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM}
Idea: {idea description}
Current phase: 1 — Kickoff
Gate statuses:
- Gate 1 (→Discovery): pending
- Gate 2 (→Design): pending
- Gate 3 (→Planning): pending
- Gate 4 (→Build): pending
- Gate 5 (→QA/Staging): pending
- Gate 6 (→Ship): pending

Update the "Current phase" and gate status after each phase completes. If the user resumes mid-workflow, read .planning/sdlc-state.md and continue from the last incomplete phase.

Phase 1: Kickoff + Feasibility

Command: Run gsd:new-milestone with the idea description.

This phase covers:

• Scope definition (what is this? why now?)
• Feasibility check (technical complexity, value vs effort)
• Requirements definition (what success looks like)
• ROADMAP.md updated with new milestone phases

After gsd:new-milestone completes: Record the milestone phase number(s) created in sdlc-state.md. To find the phase number: read .planning/ROADMAP.md and identify the newly added phase — look for the highest-numbered phase entry. Extract the numeric prefix (e.g., from 05-admin-ui extract 05). Store as <resolved-phase-number> in sdlc-state.md. Use <resolved-phase-number> for ALL subsequent GSD commands: gsd:discuss-phase, gsd:research-phase, gsd:plan-phase, gsd:execute-phase, gsd:verify-work, gsd:ship.

[GATE 1]

Phase 1 complete — Kickoff + Feasibility
Milestone created in .planning/ROADMAP.md

Approve to proceed to Discovery? (y/n)
(Do not continue until you receive a response.)

→ n: "Revisit the milestone scope. Re-run /sdlc when ready." Stop. → y: Update Gate 1 status to "approved". Continue to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Discovery

Commands (run in sequence):

1. gsd:discuss-phase <phase-number> — capture requirements and vision
2. Ask user: "Run domain research as well? (adds depth but takes longer) (y/n)"
   • If y: also run gsd:research-phase <phase-number>
   • If n: skip research

[GATE 2]

Phase 2 complete — Discovery
Requirements and vision captured in .planning/phases/<phase>/CONTEXT.md

Approve to proceed to Design? (y/n)
(Do not continue until you receive a response.)

→ n: "Go back and refine requirements with gsd:discuss-phase ." Stop. → y: Update Gate 2 status to "approved". Continue to Phase 3.

Phase 3: Design

Command: Invoke skill sdlc-design

This produces:

• DESIGN-SYSTEM.md (via frontend-design skill)
• WIREFRAMES.md
• API-CONTRACT.md

Note: sdlc-design has its own internal gate. It will ask for design approval. If sdlc-design is cancelled or reports failure, ask: 'sdlc-design did not complete. Retry? (y/n)' If y: re-invoke sdlc-design. If n: stop workflow and tell user to restart from Phase 3. After sdlc-design completes, check .planning/sdlc-state.md for a line containing design_gate: approved. If found: Update Gate 3 (Planning) status to "approved" and continue to Phase 4.

Phase 4: Planning

Command: Run gsd:plan-phase <phase-number>

This produces PLAN.md with Epic → Story → Task breakdown.

[GATE 3]

Phase 4 complete — Planning
PLAN.md created in .planning/phases/<phase>/

Review the plan before build begins.
Approve to start Build? (y/n)
(Do not continue until you receive a response.)

→ n: "Adjust scope in PLAN.md then re-run gsd:plan-phase ." Stop. → y: Update Gate 4 (Build) status to "approved". Continue to Phase 5.

Phase 5: Build

Command: Run gsd:execute-phase <phase-number>

GSD will execute all plans in the phase.

IMPORTANT — instruct the user during Build:

Build started. During development:
- After each PR is merged, run: /sdlc-qa-task "<task-name>"
- QA results are logged to .planning/phases/<phase>/QA-LOG.md
- Continue until all tasks are complete and QA-passed

When all tasks are done, reply DONE to proceed.
(Do not continue until you receive DONE.)

Wait for user to respond with DONE, done, Done, YES, yes, or Y before proceeding. Do not proceed on any other response.

[GATE 4]

Phase 5 complete — Build
Check .planning/phases/<phase>/QA-LOG.md — all tasks should be PASS.

Confirm all tasks passed QA? (y/n)
(Do not continue until you receive a response.)

→ n: "Identify failing tasks in QA-LOG.md and fix them. Re-run /sdlc-qa-task for each." Stay in Build loop. → y: Update Gate 5 (QA/Staging) status to "approved". Continue to Phase 6.

Phase 6: QA / Staging

Command: Run gsd:verify-work <phase-number>

This runs regression and E2E verification on the complete milestone.

[GATE 5]

Phase 6 complete — QA/Staging
Verification results in .planning/phases/<phase>/VERIFICATION.md

Approve to generate pre-release docs? (y/n)
(Do not continue until you receive a response.)

→ n: "Fix issues identified in VERIFICATION.md. Re-run gsd:verify-work ." Loop back. → y: Update Gate 6 (Ship) status to "approved". Continue to Phase 7.

Phase 7: Pre-release

Command: Invoke skill sdlc-pre-release

This produces:

• RELEASE-NOTES.md
• CONFIG-GUIDE.md
• NOTIFY-LIST.md
• ROLLBACK-PLAN.md

Note: sdlc-pre-release has its own internal gate. It will confirm config applied + team notified. If sdlc-pre-release is cancelled or reports failure, ask: 'sdlc-pre-release did not complete. Retry? (y/n)' If y: re-invoke sdlc-pre-release. If n: stop workflow. After sdlc-pre-release completes, check .planning/sdlc-state.md for a line containing prerelease_gate: approved. If found: Gate 6 was already approved in Phase 6. Continue to Phase 8.

Phase 8: Ship

Command: Run gsd:ship <phase-number>

This creates the PR and pushes to remote.

After ship completes, display:

Shipped! PR created.

Post-deploy checklist:
- [ ] Merge PR and confirm deploy on Render
- [ ] Run smoke tests on production
- [ ] Send notifications (see NOTIFY-LIST.md)
- [ ] Monitor for 30 minutes (watch /actuator/health)

SDLC cycle complete for: {idea description}

Update sdlc-state.md: Current phase → "Complete"

## If issues arise after deploy

Critical bug (blocks users): Say: "For critical bugs: create a hotfix branch from main, run /sdlc-qa-task '' to verify the fix scope, implement fix, then run gsd:verify-work and /sdlc-pre-release before deploying. Skip Phases 1-4."

Minor bug (non-blocking): Say: "For minor bugs: run /gsd:add-todo '' to capture for next milestone."

New feature request: Say: "For new features: run /sdlc '' to start a full cycle."

## Resuming a paused workflow

If invoked with no argument or with "resume": If .planning/sdlc-state.md does not exist, tell the user: 'No active SDLC workflow found. Start one with /sdlc ""' and stop.

1. Read .planning/sdlc-state.md
2. Find the last incomplete phase (first gate still "pending")
3. Resume from that phase
4. Tell the user: "Resuming SDLC for '{idea}' — continuing from Phase {N}: {name}"