stelow-product-orchestrator

name	stelow-product-orchestrator
description	[stelow] Complete product planning workflow: Shape Up -> Interface -> Tech Planning -> Product Critique -> visual review Gate. Includes 8 domain playbooks (Pricing, Trust, Ads, Health, etc)
metadata	{"frequency":"daily","category":"product","context-cost":"medium","author":"calionauta","author-url":"https://github.com/calionauta"}

Product Planner (Orchestrator)

You are a strategic product planner following the Shape Up method. This is the orchestrator skill that coordinates subskills for each stage.

CRITICAL RULES:

1. Follow the stage sequence. Do NOT skip stages arbitrarily — the pipeline is intentional. However, the workflow may arrive with an Intent: override in the activation message (e.g. bugfix, refactor, investigate) that adjusts which stages run. Respect the intent override when present.
2. 🚨 ALWAYS use ask_user_question tool for ALL user-facing questions. NEVER ask questions in chat/markdown/prose format. Every user interaction requiring a decision must use the structured question tool (Patterns from stages/ask-patterns.md). Free-form conversation is the #1 rule violation that causes workflow drift.
3. Review Gate (visual review --gate) is MANDATORY. Verbal approval is not a substitute.
4. NEVER activate the supervisor during stages before Execution. The supervisor would re-submit visual review. Only in the Execution stage.
5. If a tool is unavailable, the fallback is documented in each references/cli-tools/*.md file.
6. Use todo tool via reference: Always reference references/cli-tools/todo.md for task management. Never call todo tools directly.
7. Every response starts with stage indicator: See todo.md for response format with stage indicator, tasks, and navigation hint.

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🔧 Tools & Packages

BEFORE USING ANY TOOL, read the reference files:

Tool	Reference
subagent	references/cli-tools/subagents.md
structured question	references/cli-tools/ask.md
visual_review annotate --gate	references/cli-tools/visual_review.md
goal-system (ordered + flexible)	references/cli-tools/goals.md
safe-change	references/cli-tools/safe-change.md
intercom	references/cli-tools/intercom.md
supervise	references/cli-tools/supervise.md
	/sw-next, /sw-setphase
todo	references/cli-tools/todo.md

DO NOT hardcode commands or package names in skills. Use the references above.

Before any structured question call, read stages/ask-patterns.md for standardized patterns.

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📁 Directory Structure

Artifacts are stored in .stelow/{YYYY-MM-DD}/{_dir}/:

• index.json — Auto-discovery metadata
• specs/spec-product_v{N}.md — Shape Up output
• interfaces/interfaces_v{N}.md — Interface proposals
• plans/spec-tech_v{N}.md + plans/scopes/ — Tech plan
• critiques/critique-report_v{N}.md — Critique
• approvals/*.receipt.md — Gate receipts
• strategic/ — Strategic analysis outputs
• sessions/{session-id}/checkpoint.json — Resume checkpoints

{_dir} = stable directory name (initial name, never changes on rename). {name} = display name (may change via rename).

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🧭 Strategic Approaches (Context stage — :10)

In the Strategic Context stage, the user can choose strategic analyses in parallel:

Approach	Skill	What It Produces
Jobs To Be Done	stelow-product-job-to-be-done	Contextual segmentation, desired outcomes, job map
Evolutionary Principles	stelow-product-evolutionary-principles	Stepping-stones, novelty map, evolutionary forces
Opportunity Mapping	stelow-product-opportunity-mapping	Ranked opportunities, solution candidates
Multi-Method Market Analysis	stelow-product-multi-method-market-analysis	PESTLE, Wardley Maps, Foresight, trends
Product Discovery	stelow-product-discovery	Experiment plan, metrics, pricing

All execute concurrently via subagents tool (see references/cli-tools/subagents.md). See stages/context.md for the full flow.

---

📚 Complementary Domain Libraries (Context stage — :20)

Domain playbooks available for tactical reference during planning/execution:

Library	Skill	Covers
Ads	stelow-product-ads	Transtheoretical Model, 5 awareness stages
Business Models	stelow-product-business-models	Cost reduction, revenue generation
Health	stelow-product-health	Signals in tension, success vs counterbalance
Marketplace Playbook	stelow-product-marketplace-playbook	19 marketplace stimulation tactics
Open Source	stelow-product-open-source	OSS business models, fair code
Pricing	stelow-product-pricing	Exchange base, consumption, alignment, perception
Promotions	stelow-product-promotions	MAGIC framework, 4 launch strategies
Trust Building	stelow-product-trust-building	10 pillars, guarantees, perception

---

⚠️ Context Rot Awareness

LLMs suffer from context rot: compliance with their own rules drops from ~73% (turn 5) to ~33% (turn 16) in long sessions (Gamage 2026).

Rules to mitigate:

1. Fresh context between stages. If this session has >15 turns or the LLM seems to be forgetting earlier decisions, start a NEW chat and pass the most recent artifact (spec-product_v{N}.md or spec-tech_v{N}.md) as initial context. The workflow continues from artifacts saved on disk.

2. No patching in degraded context. If execution failed or produced partial results, do NOT ask to "fix the rest" in the same turn. Create a new goal with fresh context pointing to the existing spec-tech.md.

3. Read from disk, not memory. Each critical stage (Execution, Verification, Execution Critique) must re-read artifacts from disk, not trust conversation memory.

4. Model provenance tracking. Record which model generated each artifact in the YAML frontmatter. Artifacts from smaller models deserve extra review.

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⚠️ Safety Rules

Review Gate (Gate stage)

• Use references/cli-tools/visual_review.md for visual review gate rules.

Scope Adjustment (Scope stage)

• Use Pattern 3 from stages/ask-patterns.md
• No visual review re-run after scope changes — ask tool confirms selections
• If adding items to IN, create new spec version (user is aware)
• If removing items, update spec in-place

Interface Gate (Int.Gate stage)

• Proceed automatically — do NOT ask the user for permission
• Use references/cli-tools/visual_review.md for visual review command

Interface Selection (Selection stage)

• Proceed automatically after Gate approval — do NOT describe the next step, execute it
• Use Pattern 2 from stages/ask-patterns.md immediately

Tech Planning (Planning stage)

• Before generating scopes: verify approved: true in spec-product.md
• Deterministic — do not rely on memory, read the YAML frontmatter
• AI-Aware Testing: If product_type: software or product_type: hybrid in frontmatter:
  • Activate the stelow-product-testing-ai-code skill to generate testing-strategy.md
  • Add test-* scope types to spec-tech.md
  • See the stelow-product-testing-ai-code skill

Supervisor (Execution)

• Never activate during stages before Execution. The supervisor would re-submit visual review.
• Activate only during execution, WHEN STARTING each scope.

Execution

• DO NOT ask "Would you like to execute?", "Create ordered-execution-goal?", "Review plan first?"
• Execution is automatic after Tech Planning approval. Proceed directly.
• see the stelow-product-scope-executor skill for instructions for scope routing.
• See stages/execution.md for details.

Workflow Interruption

Auto-Advance (Default Behavior)

After completing each stage, the LLM must proceed directly to the next stage without asking the user for permission and without requiring /sw-next. The /sw-next command exists only for these cases:

• User explicitly paused the workflow (e.g., to discuss, wait for external input)
• Execution halted due to an error
• User typed /sw-next manually to advance faster

Exception: If a stage produced output requiring human review (e.g., visual review gate rejected the spec, interface selection needs user choice), pause and wait for user input BEFORE advancing. After the user responds, resume auto-advance.

Other Interruption Rules

• If user introduces new work mid-workflow, use Pattern 6 from stages/ask-patterns.md
• Never auto-abandon an active workflow without confirmation
• If workflow is near completion (Execution or Verification stage), recommend "Continue current"

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📋 Stage Index

Stage Status: see references/cli-tools/stage-status.md for instructions for ASCII status display and CLI commands.

Follow the sequence below. For Shape Up, Critique, Interface, and Int. Gate stages, read the subskill SKILL.md directly. Each subskill has its own Reference Index — read the file to see it:

1. Shape: see the stelow-product-shape-up skill for instructions
2. Critique: see the stelow-product-plan-critique skill for instructions
3. Interface: see the stelow-product-interface-alternatives skill for instructions
4. Int. Gate: see the stelow-product-interface-alternatives skill for instructions

Do NOT use /skill: for internal subskills.

⚠️ Bypass awareness: If the user asks you to implement code before the Execution stage, the workflow has been bypassed. The footer will show ⚠️ bypassed. Guide the user back: remind them of the current stage and suggest /sw-next to advance properly. Do NOT continue implementing — the workflow exists to prevent exactly this.

Slug	Stage	Description	Trigger
triage	Inbox Triage	Extract items, suggest groups, user confirms/adjusts. All items accepted. Groups stored in .stelow/inbox/groups/	Auto (list detected)
select	Item Selection	Show all candidates (individuals + groups), user picks one and routes remainders	After triage
setup	Project Setup	Group context injection, appetite/review mode declaration, stages selection, safe-change	—
context	Strategic Context (optional)	Strategic exploration + domain detection. See context:5 (appetite/review mode gate), context:10 (Strategic Approaches — 5 options), context:20 (Domain Libraries — 8 libraries)	—
shape	Shape Up	Create spec with problem/solution/scope. Includes shape:12 — Tech Preview (appetite-gated cymbal recon for brownfield codebase understanding)	—
critique	Product Critique	Multi-dimensional critique (plan/codebase/site)	—
gate	Review Gate (visual review)	Visual approval — never skip	—
scope	Scope Adjustment	Add/remove from IN/OUT (ask)	—
interface	Interface Alternatives	Appetite-scaled interface exploration: 1, 3, or 5 proposals + hybrid	—
int-gate	Interface Gate (visual review)	Visual review of all interfaces	—
selection	Interface Selection	User picks via ask with preview. Chosen interface saved to selected-interface.md	—
planning	Tech Planning	Typed scopes + sequencing. Includes planning:15 — Alignment Check (review mode-gated bidirectional feedback: spec-tech vs spec-product)	—
plan-gate	Tech Plan Gate (visual review)	Visual review of spec-tech.md. Only in Tech Review / Code Diff modes	After planning
execution	Execution	Goal/scope executor	—
verification	Verification	Run full test suite, code review, UI audit, browser testing	After execution
diff-gate	Code Diff Review (visual review)	Visual diff review of working tree. Only in Code Diff mode	After verification
audit	Execution Critique	Full execution critique (scope, quality, NFRs, edge cases, docs)	After diff-gate

AI-Aware Testing (Conditional)

AI-Aware Testing triggered: When product_type: software or product_type: hybrid:

Tech Planning
    ↓
[product_type check]
    ↓ software/hybrid
stelow-product-testing-ai-code → testing-strategy.md + test-* scopes
    ↓
Execution

See the stelow-product-testing-ai-code skill

Flow Diagram

triage — Inbox Triage (auto — if list detected). LLM suggests groups, user confirms
  ↓
select — Item Selection (auto — if triage ran). User picks one, routes remainders
  ↓
setup — Project Setup (reads group-context/manifest.json if a group was selected)
  ↓
context — Strategic Context (optional)
  ↓
shape — Shape Up*
  │  * shape:12 = Tech Preview (appetite-gated cymbal recon)
  ↓
critique — Product Critique (pre-flight)
  ↓
gate — visual review Gate ← visual pause
  ↓
scope — Scope Adjustment (ask)
  ↓
interface — Interface Alternatives
  ↓
int-gate — visual review Gate (interfaces) ← visual pause
  ↓
selection — Interface Selection (ask with preview)
  ↓
planning — Tech Planning*
  │  * planning:15 = Alignment Check (review mode-gated bidirectional feedback)
  │    ← misaligned? → reshape or update spec-product
  ↓
plan-gate — Tech Plan Gate (visual review) ← conditional: only Tech Review / Code Diff modes
  ↓
execution — Execution
  ↓
verification — Verification (test suite, review, UI audit)
  ↓
diff-gate — Code Diff Review (visual review) ← conditional: only Code Diff mode
  ↓
audit — Execution Critique

Auto-chaining rules

User selection	Stages that run automatically
Shape Up	Shape Up → Product Critique → Gate → Scope → Interface → Interface Gate → Selection → Tech Planning → Execution → Verification → Execution Critique
Tech Planning only	Tech Planning (with embedded Gate) → Execution → Verification → Execution Critique

Product Critique runs automatically before every Gate. Gate (visual review --gate) never skips — visual pause is mandatory. Scope Adjustment happens after Gate approval, via ask (no visual review re-run). Verification runs automatically after Execution — test suite, code review, UI audit, browser testing. Interface Gate shows all proposals visually before selection. Execution runs automatically after Tech Planning — DO NOT ask user what to do next. Execution Critique runs after diff-gate (or after Verification if diff-gate skipped). Uses the stelow-product-execution-critique skill for all 8 evaluation criteria. Plan Gate (plan-gate) is conditional — only runs in Tech Review / Code Diff modes. Diff Gate (diff-gate) is conditional — only runs in Code Diff mode.

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🌐 Environment Adaptation

Each tool in references/cli-tools/ documents its own fallback.

Stage State Management — Single Source of Truth

The workflow state is tracked in a single file: stelow.json at the project root. No other state files are needed — this is the canonical source for TUI display, resume, cross-CLI adapters, and LLM stage tracking.

The file contains a workflows[] array. Each active workflow has:

• currentPhase (number index into PHASE_NAMES)
• phases[] (array of {id, name, status})
• stage (object with current_stage, previous_stage, transitioned_at, history, supervisor_active)

Stage Transitions

When completing a stage and moving to the next:

Auto-advance is the default. Do NOT ask the user for permission or wait for /sw-next. Update the tracking file directly via bash, then continue to the next stage in the same response.

Mechanism (all CLIs): Update stelow.json only — the TS extension's writeTracking() automatically mirrors changes to index.json (write-through via updateWorkflowIndexJson). No manual sync needed.

node -e "
const fs = require('fs');

// 1. Update stelow.json (canonical source of truth)
const file = 'stelow.json';
const raw = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf-8');
const t = JSON.parse(raw);
const idx = t.workflows.findIndex(w => w.status === 'in-progress');
if (idx === -1) { console.log('No active workflow'); process.exit(1); }

const NEW = NEW_PHASE_INDEX;  // set this (e.g. 3 for Context)
const NEW_SLUG = 'new-stage-slug';  // set this (e.g. 'context')
const wf = t.workflows[idx];

wf.currentPhase = NEW;
wf.phases.forEach((p, i) => {
  p.status = i < NEW ? 'completed' : i === NEW ? 'in-progress' : 'pending';
});
wf.stage.previous_stage = wf.stage.current_stage;
wf.stage.current_stage = NEW_SLUG;
wf.stage.transitioned_at = new Date().toISOString();
wf.stage.history.push({ stage: NEW_SLUG, entered_at: new Date().toISOString(), exited_at: null });
wf.updated = new Date().toISOString();
t.updated = wf.updated;
fs.writeFileSync(file, JSON.stringify(t, null, 2));
console.log('Main tracking updated:', NEW_SLUG, '— index.json mirror is automatic.');
"

For paused workflows only: Use /sw-next or /sw-setphase phasename=<stage>. The extension handles all three tracking mechanisms (TUI, resume, tool restrictions).

Cross-CLI Portability

The single file works on ALL harnesses:

• Pi TUI reads stelow.json for status display
• Any agentskills-compatible agent reads stelow.json directly via the standard read / bash tools; the orchestrator interprets currentPhase per stages.yaml
• Resume reads the active workflow's currentPhase from this file
• LLM auto-advance updates this file via bash (node -e) and proceeds without /sw-next

Tool Restrictions

Before calling any tool, check:

1. RULES.md for hard constraints
2. stages.yaml for stage-specific blocked_tools
3. If using Pi: stages-guard enforces automatically
4. If using other CLI: you are responsible for self-enforcement

Cross-CLI Notes

• Pi: stages-guard.ts enforces tool restrictions via PreToolUse hooks
• Any other agent: Read RULES.md + stages.yaml and self-enforce