select-feature

name	select-feature
description	Score and select the next backlog feature by value, effort, and dependencies
version	1.0
author	product-owner
audience	product-owner
workflow	feature-lifecycle

Feature Selection

Select the next most valuable, unblocked feature from the backlog using a lightweight scoring model grounded in flow economics and dependency analysis.

Research basis: Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) — Reinertsen Principles of Product Development Flow (2009); INVEST criteria — Wake (2003); Kano model — Kano (1984); Dependency analysis — PMBOK Critical Path Method. See docs/research/requirements-elicitation.md.

Core principle: Cost of Delay ÷ Duration. Features with high user value and low implementation effort should start first. Features blocked by unfinished work should wait regardless of value.

When to Use

Load this skill when WORK.md @state is [IDLE] (or no active item) — before moving any feature to in-progress/.

Step-by-Step

1. Verify WIP is Zero

ls docs/features/in-progress/

• 0 files → proceed
• 1 file → a feature is already in progress; do not start another; exit this skill

• 1 files → WIP violation; stop and resolve before proceeding

2. List BASELINED Candidates

Read each .feature file in docs/features/backlog/. Check its discovery section for Status: BASELINED.

• Non-BASELINED features are not eligible — they need Step 1 (scope) first
• If no BASELINED features exist: inform the stakeholder; run @product-owner with skill define-scope to baseline the most promising backlog item first

IMPORTANT

NEVER move a feature to in-progress/ unless its discovery section has Status: BASELINED. Only the PO may move .feature files — no other agent ever creates, edits, or moves them.

3. Score Each Candidate

For each BASELINED feature, fill this table:

Feature	Value (1–5)	Effort (1–5)	Dependency (0/1)	WSJF
<name>				Value ÷ Effort

Value (1–5) — estimate user/business impact:

• 5: Must-have — core workflow blocked without it (Kano: basic need)
• 4: High — significantly improves the primary use case
• 3: Medium — useful but not blocking (Kano: performance)
• 2: Low — nice-to-have (Kano: delighter)
• 1: Minimal — cosmetic or out-of-scope edge case

Use the number of Must Examples in the feature's Rule: blocks as a tiebreaker: more Musts → higher value.

Effort (1–5) — estimate implementation complexity:

• 1: Trivial — 1–2 @id Examples, no new domain concepts
• 2: Small — 3–5 @id Examples, one new domain entity
• 3: Medium — 6–8 @id Examples or cross-cutting concern
• 4: Large — >8 Examples or multiple interacting domain entities
• 5: Very large — spans multiple modules or has unknown complexity

Dependency (0/1) — does this feature assume another backlog feature is already built?

• 0: Independent — no hard prerequisite
• 1: Blocked — requires another backlog feature to be completed first

A Dependency=1 feature is ineligible for selection regardless of WSJF score. Apply WSJF only to Dependency=0 features.

4. Select

Pick the BASELINED, Dependency=0 feature with the highest WSJF score.

Ties: prefer higher Value (user impact matters more than effort optimization).

If all BASELINED features have Dependency=1: stop and resolve the blocking dependency first — select and complete the depended-upon feature.

5. Move Feature and Update WORK.md

mv docs/features/backlog/<name>.feature docs/features/in-progress/<name>.feature

Update WORK.md — add (or replace) the active item block:

## Active Items

@id: <name>
@state: [STEP-1-DISCOVERY] or [STEP-2-READY] — whichever is next
@branch: [NONE]

• If the feature has no Rule: blocks yet → @state: STEP-1-DISCOVERY; Run @product-owner — load skill define-scope and write stories
• If the feature has Rule: blocks but no @id Examples → @state: STEP-1-CRITERIA; Run @product-owner — load skill define-scope and write acceptance criteria
• If the feature has @id Examples → @state: STEP-2-READY; Run @software-engineer — load skill version-control and create feat/<name> branch

6. Commit

git add docs/features/in-progress/<name>.feature WORK.md
git commit -m "chore: select <name> as next feature"

Checklist

• in-progress/ confirmed empty before selection
• Only BASELINED features considered
• Dependency=1 features excluded from scoring
• WSJF scores filled for all candidates
• Selected feature has highest WSJF among Dependency=0 candidates
• Feature moved to in-progress/
• WORK.md updated with correct @state
• Changes committed