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pbi-challenge
// [Code Quality] Use when you need aI-assisted Dev BA PIC review of PBI drafts.
// [Code Quality] Use when you need aI-assisted Dev BA PIC review of PBI drafts.
[HINT] Download the complete skill directory including SKILL.md and all related files
| name | pbi-challenge |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| description | [Code Quality] Use when you need aI-assisted Dev BA PIC review of PBI drafts. |
[BLOCKING] Execute skill steps in declared order. NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval. [BLOCKING] Before each step or sub-skill call, update task tracking: set
in_progresswhen step starts, setcompletedwhen step ends. [BLOCKING] Every completed/skipped step MUST include brief evidence or explicit skip reason. [BLOCKING] If Task tools are unavailable, create and maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with the same status transitions.
Goal: Help Dev BA PIC (Person In Charge โ the development Business Analyst responsible for technical review sign-off per squad) review BA drafters' PBI drafts by generating specific, actionable challenge prompts. AI provides analysis; human makes the decision.
Key distinction: Collaborative review tool (drafter โ reviewer flow), NOT self-review (use /refine-review for AI self-review).
Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).
PBI drafts routinely pass informal review without being challenged on architectural feasibility, vague AC, missing auth scenarios, or cross-service impact. The /refine skill generates PBIs but does not adversarially challenge them โ it is a creation tool, not a review tool. The /refine-review skill provides AI self-review for the drafter, but the drafter has inherent blind spots about their own assumptions. A separate reviewer (Dev BA PIC) applying AI-assisted challenge prompts breaks the drafter's confirmation bias before grooming. This skill exists to catch gaps the drafter cannot catch themselves.
Why not just use /refine-review? /refine-review is run by the drafter on their own work. Even with adversarial prompts, the drafter rationalizes their own choices. pbi-challenge is invoked by a different person with a different mandate โ external skepticism requires a different author, not a different tool on the same author.
| Approach | Pros | Cons | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
Extend /refine-review with a reviewer-role flag | No new skill, single codebase | Drafter runs it themselves in practice; role separation breaks down without enforcement | Rejected โ role separation requires a distinct invocation point owned by a different person |
| Fully autonomous AI verdict (no human decision) | Faster, no Dev BA PIC scheduling needed | Automation bias: AI wrong on domain specifics propagates unchecked; no human accountability for false APPROVE | Rejected โ cost of false APPROVE on infeasible PBIs exceeds review time saved |
| Static DoR checklist given to Dev BA PIC (no AI) | Simple, no AI dependency | No domain entity context loading, no AC vagueness flagging; manual effort is high and inconsistent across reviewers | Rejected โ AI domain lookup provides non-trivial value for cross-service entity detection |
| Async comment-thread model (AI generates questions posted as ticket comments) | Eliminates scheduling bottleneck; drafter can research before responding | Slower feedback loop; requires external ticket integration | Valid alternative for async teams; prefer if Dev BA PIC availability is chronically a bottleneck |
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automation bias โ Dev BA PIC rubber-stamps AI verdict without independent assessment | High | High | Workflow Step 7 shows challenge prompts BEFORE the verdict โ Dev BA PIC forms their own view first |
| Module misdetection โ AI loads wrong domain context, produces entity conflict analysis for wrong service | Medium | High | Workflow Step 2 confirms detected module with Dev BA PIC via AskUserQuestion before proceeding |
| Challenge prompts ignored โ Drafter revises PBI superficially to satisfy reviewer without resolving root gaps | Medium | Medium | Decision Record includes drafter-response field; Dev BA PIC re-runs skill on revision, not just reads revised PBI |
| Suggested answers create adoption pressure โ Drafter adopts suggested answer rather than reasoning independently | Medium | Medium | Suggested answers framed as "consider whether X" options, not corrections; language review in challenge prompt templates |
| 3-way BA vote deadlock โ UX BA, Designer BA, Dev BA PIC all disagree | Low | Medium | Escalation path per ba-team-decision-model: Engineering Manager for tech uncertainty, PO for business value |
When this task involves frontend or UI changes,
docs/project-reference/frontend-patterns-reference.md (read directly when relevant; do not rely on hook-injected conversation text)docs/project-reference/scss-styling-guide.mddocs/project-reference/design-system/README.mdLocate PBI draft โ Find BA drafters' draft PBI in team-artifacts/pbis/ or path provided by user
Load domain context โ Auto-detect module from PBI content. MANDATORY: Use AskUserQuestion to confirm detected module with Dev BA PIC before loading domain docs. Wrong module = wrong entity context = false APPROVE risk. Then load:
docs/project-reference/domain-entities-reference.md (entity definitions)docs/business-features/{App}/Technical Feasibility Analysis:
AC Quality Analysis:
Cross-Cutting Concerns Check:
## UI Layout per UI wireframe protocol with wireframe + components (with tiers) + states + design tokens. If backend-only: explicit "N/A". Flag missing UI visualization as a gap.Generate Challenge Prompts โ Output specific, actionable questions:
Present Challenge Prompts first, then AI Verdict โ Output challenge prompts BEFORE the verdict to prevent automation bias. Dev BA PIC reads and forms their preliminary view, THEN sees: APPROVE / REQUEST_REVISION / ESCALATE_TO_LEAD
ba-team-decision-model)AskUserQuestion โ Dev BA PIC records their FINAL decision (APPROVE / REQUEST_REVISION / ESCALATE_TO_LEAD) in the Decision Record. This is the human decision step โ NOT the workflow routing step (handled separately in Next Steps)
## PBI Challenge Review
**PBI:** {PBI filename}
**Reviewer:** Dev BA PIC
**Date:** {date}
**Module:** {detected module code}
### Technical Feasibility
**Status:** FEASIBLE | CONCERNS | INFEASIBLE
{Analysis with evidence โ cite domain entities, service boundaries, architecture constraints}
### AC Quality
**Status:** GOOD | NEEDS_REVISION | POOR
| AC # | Issue | Suggested Fix |
| ---- | ---------------- | ------------------------- |
| {#} | {specific issue} | {specific fix suggestion} |
### Cross-Cutting Concerns
| Concern | Status | Issue |
| -------------- | --------- | -------- |
| Authorization | โ
/โ | {detail} |
| Seed Data | โ
/โ/N/A | {detail} |
| Data Migration | โ
/โ/N/A | {detail} |
| Performance | โ
/โ/N/A | {detail} |
### Challenge Prompts for BA Drafters
1. {Specific actionable question with suggested answer}
2. {Specific actionable question with suggested answer}
3. {Specific actionable question with suggested answer}
### AI Verdict
**{APPROVE | REQUEST_REVISION | ESCALATE_TO_LEAD}**
**Reason:** {evidence-based justification}
**Confidence:** {X%} โ {what was verified vs. what needs more investigation}
### Decision Record
**Dev BA PIC Decision:** {filled after human review via AskUserQuestion}
**Vote:** {approve / request-revision / escalate}
**Conditions:** {if any}
**Drafter Response (on revision):** {drafter's response to each challenge prompt โ filled when Dev BA PIC re-runs on revised PBI}
**Resolution:** {how each challenge prompt was addressed, deferred, or accepted as known risk}
**Stored at:** `plans/reports/pbi-challenge-{YYMMDD}-{pbi-id}.md` (save output there for audit trail)
ba-team-decision-model-protocol.md ยง2)MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION โ NO EXCEPTIONS after completing this skill, you MUST ATTENTION use AskUserQuestion to present these options. Do NOT skip because the task seems "simple" or "obvious" โ the user decides:
/pbi-challenge[IMPORTANT] Use
TaskCreateto break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting.
Evidence Gate: MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION โ every claim requires
file:lineproof or traced evidence with confidence percentage (>80% to act).
AI Mistake Prevention โ Failure modes to avoid on every task:
Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips โ not just happy path. When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer โ never patch symptom site. Assume existing values are intentional โ ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. Holistic-first debugging โ resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. Surgical changes โ apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly. Surface ambiguity before coding โ don't pick silently. If request has multiple interpretations, present each with effort estimate and ask. Never assume all-records, file-based, or more complex path.
UI System Context โ For ANY task touching
.ts,.html,.scss, or.cssfiles:MUST ATTENTION READ before implementing:
docs/project-reference/frontend-patterns-reference.mdโ component base classes, stores, formsdocs/project-reference/scss-styling-guide.mdโ BEM methodology, SCSS variables, mixins, responsivedocs/project-reference/design-system/README.mdโ design tokens, component inventory, iconsReference
docs/project-config.jsonfor project-specific paths.
BA Team Decision Model โ 2/3 majority vote: Dev BA PIC + UX BA + Designer BA per squad. 2 of 3 agree = decision final. 3-way split = escalate to full squad + Tech Leads + Engineering Manager.
Technical Veto: Dev BA PIC can unilaterally veto on: architecture feasibility, dependency correctness, cross-service impact, performance, security. CANNOT veto: UI/UX design, visual design, business value, user research.
Rules: Disagree-and-commit after vote. Grooming override requires >75% non-BA squad vote. Record decisions in PBI Validation Summary (member, role, vote, notes).
Escalation: Tech uncertainty โ Engineering Manager. Business value โ PO. Design feasibility โ UX BA + Designer BA consensus.
Refinement DoR Checklist โ ALL 7 criteria MUST ATTENTION pass before grooming:
- User story template โ "As a {role}, I want {goal}, so that {benefit}" format
- AC testable & unambiguous โ GIVEN/WHEN/THEN. No "should/might/TBD/various/appropriate". Min 3 scenarios (happy, edge, error) + 1 auth scenario
- Wireframes attached โ UI features:
## UI Layoutwith wireframe + components + states + tokens. Backend-only: explicit "N/A"- UI design ready โ Visual design + component decomposition tree. Backend-only: "N/A"
- AI pre-review passed โ
/refine-reviewor/pbi-challengereturned PASS or WARN (not FAIL)- Story points estimated โ Fibonacci 1-21 + complexity (Low/Medium/High). >13 SP โ recommend split
- Dependencies table complete โ Dependency, Type (must-before/can-parallel/blocked-by/independent), Status
Failure fixes: Vague AC โ specify exact CRUD + roles. Missing auth โ add roles ร CRUD table. No wireframes โ UX BA creates. TBD in AC โ replace with decision.
Estimation Framework โ Bottom-up first; SP DERIVED; output min-max range when likely โฅ3d. Stack-agnostic. Baseline: 3-5yr dev, 6 productive hrs/day. AI estimate assumes Claude Code + project context.
Method:
- Blast Radius pass (below) โ drives code AND test cost
- Decompose phases โ hours/phase โ
bottom_up_hours = ฮฃ phase_hourslikely_days = ceil(bottom_up_hours / 6) ร productivity_factor- Sum Risk Margin (base + add-ons) โ
max_days = likely_days ร (1 + margin)min_days = likely_days ร 0.9- Output as range when
likely_days โฅ3; single point allowed<3(still record margin)man_days_ai= same range ร AI speedupstory_pointsDERIVED fromlikely_daysvia SP-Days โ NEVER driver. Disagreement >50% โ trust bottom-upProductivity factor: 0.8 strong scaffolding+codegen+AI hooks ยท 1.0 mature default ยท 1.2 weak patterns ยท 1.5 greenfield
Cost Driver Heuristic (apply BEFORE work-type row):
- UI dominates in CRUD/business apps โ 1.5-3x backend (states, validation, responsive, a11y, polish)
- Backend dominates ONLY: multi-aggregate invariants, cross-service contracts, schema migrations, heavy query/perf, new event flows
Reuse-vs-Create axis (PRIMARY lever, per layer):
UI tier Cost Reuse component on existing screen 0.1-0.3d Add control/column to existing screen 0.3-0.8d Compose components into NEW screen 1-2d NEW screen, custom layout/states/validation 2-4d NEW shared/common component (themed, tested) 3-6d+
Backend tier Cost Reuse query/handler from new place 0.1-0.3d Small update existing handler/entity 0.3-0.8d NEW query on existing repo/model 0.5-1d NEW command/handler on existing aggregate (additive) 1-2d NEW aggregate/entity (repo, validation, events) 2-4d NEW cross-service contract OR schema migration 2-4d each Multi-aggregate invariant / heavy domain rule 3-5d Rule: Sum tiers across UI+backend+tests, apply productivity factor. Reuse short-circuits tiers โ call out.
Test-Scope drivers (compute test_count EXPLICITLY โ "+tests" hand-wave is #1 failure):
Driver Count Happy-path journeys 1 per story / AC main flow State-machine transitions reachable transitions ร allowed actors Multi-entity state combos state(A) ร state(B) โ REACHABLE only, not Cartesian Authorization matrix (owner, non-owner, elevated, unauth) ร each mutation Validation rules 1 per required field / boundary / format / cross-field UI states (per new screen/dialog) happy, loading, empty, error, partial โ present only Negative paths / invariants 1 per violatable business rule
Test tier (Trad, incl. setup+assert+flake) Cost 1-5 cases, fixtures reused 0.3-0.5d 6-12 cases, 1 new fixture 0.5-1d 13-25 cases, multi-entity setup 1-2d 26-50 cases OR new state-machine coverage 2-3d >50 cases OR full E2E journey 3-5d Test multipliers: new fixture/seed harness +0.5d ยท cross-service/bus assertion +0.3d each ยท UI E2E ร1.5 ยท each new role +1-2 cases
Blast Radius (mandatory pre-pass โ affects code AND test):
- Files/components directly modified โ count
- Of those, "complex" (>500 LOC, multi-handler, central, frequently-modified) โ count
- Downstream consumers (callers, event subscribers, cross-service) โ list
- Shared/common code touched (multi-app blast) โ yes/no
- Regression scope โ areas needing re-test
Rule: Complex touch โ add
risk_factors. Each downstream consumer โ +1-3 regression cases. Blast >5 areas OR >2 complex โ re-evaluate SPLIT before estimating.Risk Margin (drives max bound):
likely_days Base margin <1d trivial +10% 1-2d small additive +20% 3-4d real feature +35% 5-7d large +50% 8-10d very large +75% >10d +100% AND flag SHOULD SPLIT Risk-factor add-ons (additive โ enumerate in
risk_factors):
Factor +margin touches-complex-existing-feature(>500 LOC, multi-handler, central)+20% cross-service-contractchange+25% schema-migration-on-populated-data+25% new-tech-or-unfamiliar-pattern+30% regression-fan-out(โฅ3 downstream areas re-test)+20% performance-or-latency-critical+20% concurrency-race-event-ordering+25% shared-common-code(multi-consumer/multi-app)+25% unclear-requirements-or-design+30% Collapse rule: total margin >100% โ STOP, split (padding past 2x is dishonesty). Margin <15% on
likely_days โฅ5โ under-estimated, widen.Work-Type Caps (hard ceilings on
likely_days):
Work type Max SP Max likely Single field / config flag / style fix 1 0.5d Add property to existing model + bind to existing UI 2 1d Additive endpoint + minor UI control (button/menu/column), reuses fixtures 3 2-3d Additive endpoint + NEW UI surface OR additive multi-layer + new domain rule + 2+ test files 5 3-5d NEW model/aggregate OR migration OR cross-module contract OR heavy test (>1.5d) OR NEW UI + non-trivial backend 8 5-7d NEW UI surface + (NEW aggregate OR migration OR cross-service contract) 13 SHOULD split Cross-service contract + migration combined 13 SHOULD split Beyond 21 MUST split SPโDays (validation only): 1=0.5d/0.25d ยท 2=1d/0.35d ยท 3=2d/0.65d ยท 5=4d/1.0d ยท 8=6d/1.5d ยท 13=10d/2.0d (Trad/AI likely) AI speedup: SP 1โ2x ยท 2-3โ3x ยท 5-8โ4x ยท 13+โ5x. AI cost =
(code_gen ร 1.3) + (test_gen ร 1.3)(30% review overhead).MANDATORY frontmatter:
story_points: <n> complexity: low | medium | high | critical man_days_traditional: '<min>-<max>d' # range when likely โฅ3d; '<N>d' when <3d man_days_ai: '<min>-<max>d' risk_margin_pct: <n> # base + add-ons risk_factors: [touches-complex-existing-feature, regression-fan-out] # closed-list from add-ons; [] if none blast_radius: touched_areas: <n> complex_touched: <n> downstream_consumers: [list or count] shared_common_code: yes | no estimate_scope_included: [code, integration-tests, frontend, i18n, docs] estimate_scope_excluded: [unit-tests, e2e, perf, deployment, code-review-rounds] estimate_reasoning: | 5-7 lines covering: (a) UI tier โ row applied (b) Backend tier โ row applied (c) Test scope โ case breakdown by driver, file count, fixtures, tier row (d) Cost driver โ dominant tier + why (e) Blast radius โ touched, complex, regression scope (f) Risk factors โ list driving margin; why not larger/smaller Example: "UI: compose Form/Table/Dialog โ NEW screen (~1.5d). Backend: NEW command on existing aggregate, reuses validation+repo (~1d). Tests: 4 transitions ร 2 actors + 3 validation + 2 UI states = 13 cases, 1 new fixture โ tier 13-25 ~1.5d. Driver: UI composition + new states. Blast: 4 areas, 1 complex. Risk: base 35% + touches-complex +20% = 55% โ max 3.9d โ range 2.5-4d."Sanity self-check:
likely_days โฅ3dand single-point? โ reject, must be range- Margin <15% on
likely_days โฅ5d? โ under-estimated, widen- Margin >100%? โ STOP, split instead of buffer
- Complex existing feature touched, no regression budget in
(c)? โ reject- Blast
>5areas OR>2complex, no split discussion? โ reject- Purely additive on existing model AND existing UI? โ cap SP 3 unless tests >1.5d
- NEW UI surface (page/complex form/dashboard)? โ SP 5+ even if backend one endpoint
- Backend cross-service / migration / multi-aggregate? โ SP 8+ regardless of UI
bottom_up_hours / 6vs SP-Days disagreement >50%? โ trust bottom-up, downgrade SP- Without tests, SP drops โฅ1 bucket? โ tests dominate; state explicitly
- Reasoning called out UI vs backend vs blast vs risk factors? โ if missing, add
Critical Thinking Mindset โ Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact โ cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence โ certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.
Sequential Thinking Protocol โ Structured multi-step reasoning for complex/ambiguous work. Use when planning, reviewing, debugging, or refining ideas where one-shot reasoning is unsafe.
Trigger when: complex problem decomposition ยท adaptive plans needing revision ยท analysis with course correction ยท unclear/emerging scope ยท multi-step solutions ยท hypothesis-driven debugging ยท cross-cutting trade-off evaluation.
Format (explicit mode โ visible thought trail):
Thought N/M: [aspect]โ one aspect per thought, state assumptions/uncertaintyThought N/M [REVISION of Thought K]: ...โ when prior reasoning invalidated; state Original / Why revised / ImpactThought N/M [BRANCH A from Thought K]: ...โ explore alternative; converge with decision rationaleThought N/M [HYPOTHESIS]: ...then[VERIFICATION]: ...โ test before actingThought N/N [FINAL]โ only when verified, all critical aspects addressed, confidence >80%Mandatory closers: Confidence % stated ยท Assumptions listed ยท Open questions surfaced ยท Next action concrete.
Stop conditions: confidence <80% on any critical decision โ escalate via AskUserQuestion ยท โฅ3 revisions on same thought โ re-frame the problem ยท branch count >3 โ split into sub-task.
Implicit mode: apply methodology internally without visible markers when adding markers would clutter the response (routine work where reasoning aids accuracy).
Deep-dive: see
/sequential-thinkingskill (.claude/skills/sequential-thinking/SKILL.md) for worked examples (api-design, debug, architecture), advanced techniques (spiral refinement, hypothesis testing, convergence), and meta-strategies (uncertainty handling, revision cascades).
man_days_traditional (ฮฃh/6 ร productivity_factor); SP DERIVED. UI cost usually dominates โ bump SP one bucket if NEW UI surface (page/complex form/dashboard). Frontmatter MUST include story_points, complexity, man_days_traditional, man_days_ai, estimate_scope_included, estimate_scope_excluded, estimate_reasoning (UI vs backend cost driver). Cap SP 3 for additive-on-existing-model+existing-UI unless test scope >1.5d. SP 13 SHOULD split, SP 21 MUST split.
MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking โ every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.
MUST ATTENTION apply sequential-thinking โ multi-step Thought N/M, REVISION/BRANCH/HYPOTHESIS markers, confidence % closer; see /sequential-thinking skill.
MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention โ holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION follow declared step order for this skill; NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION for every step/sub-skill call: set in_progress before execution, set completed after execution
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION every skipped step MUST include explicit reason; every completed step MUST include concise evidence
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION if Task tools unavailable, maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with synchronized statuses
MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting.
MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION validate decisions with user via AskUserQuestion โ never auto-decide.
MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality.
MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION READ the following files before starting:
[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 โ this is very important.