Guides a contributor from a workflow idea to a complete Workflow Implementation Packet (draft workflow file, draft workflow command, cross-cutting update checklist) in a staging area for review. Runs overlap analysis against the existing workflows with a Why Gate, then helps select and sequence skills with authored handoffs. Use when creating a new multi-skill workflow or promoting a repeated ad-hoc chain into a durable one. To build a single skill instead, use utility-pm-skill-builder; to run a sequence without authoring anything, use the chain command or utility-pm-workflow-orchestrator.
Guides a contributor from a workflow idea to a complete Workflow Implementation Packet (draft workflow file, draft workflow command, cross-cutting update checklist) in a staging area for review. Runs overlap analysis against the existing workflows with a Why Gate, then helps select and sequence skills with authored handoffs. Use when creating a new multi-skill workflow or promoting a repeated ad-hoc chain into a durable one. To build a single skill instead, use utility-pm-skill-builder; to run a sequence without authoring anything, use the chain command or utility-pm-workflow-orchestrator.
This skill creates new multi-skill workflows for the pm-skills library. It
produces a Workflow Implementation Packet - a draft _workflows/<name>.md
file, a draft commands/workflow-<name>.md command, and the cross-cutting
update checklist - in a staging area for review before promotion to
canonical locations. The builder authors; it never executes a chain and it
never promotes its own output.
When to Use
You have an idea for a new multi-skill workflow ("I need a workflow for
quarterly business reviews")
You know the skills you want to chain and want them captured durably
("chain competitive-analysis, experiment-results, pivot-decision")
A /chain run (orchestrator Mode B) proved reusable and its completion
output suggested promoting the chain to a durable workflow; hand this
skill the exact chain expression from that suggestion
When NOT to Use
To run a sequence once without authoring anything -> use the /chain
command or utility-pm-workflow-orchestrator directly
To build or modify a single skill -> use utility-pm-skill-builder,
utility-pm-skill-validate, or utility-pm-skill-iterate
To customize an existing workflow -> edit its _workflows/<name>.md
directly; the overlap analysis below will point you there when coverage
is high
Instructions
Step 1: Understand the Idea
Accept the idea in any of three entry forms, all converging on the same
downstream flow:
Problem-first: "I need a workflow for X." Identify the recurring PM
process, who runs it, and the artifact trail it should leave.
Skills-first: a list of skills the user already wants to chain.
Chain-promotion: a literal chain expression (for example
measure-experiment-results -> discover-stakeholder-summary), usually
pasted from the orchestrator's completion suggestion, plus the context
the run used.
If the idea is vague, ask ONE clarifying question (the recurring trigger
and the final artifact), then proceed. Do not interrogate.
Step 2: Overlap Analysis + Why Gate
Scan the _workflows/ directory at run time for the current inventory
(list every *.md except README.md). Never rely on a remembered count
or a hardcoded list. Compare the idea against ALL existing workflows:
Name each overlapping workflow and what it covers.
Estimate coverage overlap honestly.
Kill gate (>70% coverage overlap): recommend, in order, (a)
customizing the existing workflow, (b) adding a step to it, or (c) just
using /chain for the occasional run. Do not proceed.
Why Gate (any meaningful overlap): ask for 2-3 specific scenarios
where the existing workflows fail to produce what is needed. Do not pass
the gate without that evidence or an explicit user override (record the
override in the packet's Decision section).
Step 3: Sequence Design
Select and order the steps with the user. Apply the chain-expression
contract's validation rules at authoring time
(skills/utility-pm-workflow-orchestrator/references/PARSE-CONTRACT.md,
Mode B Chain Expression Contract):
Every step must resolve to an installed skill at skills/<name>/SKILL.md
by EXACT name. Never approximate or auto-correct; on a miss, refuse the
step and OFFER the closest real names (an offer, never a substitution).
Category 1 content skills only. Refuse as steps, each with a one-line
explanation: Tier-3 maintenance skills (utility-pm-skill-*,
utility-pm-release-conductor, utility-pm-changelog-curator,
utility-update-pm-skills, foundation-prioritized-action-plan),
dispatch skills that fan out to sub-agents (utility-pm-critic,
utility-pm-workflow-orchestrator, and peers), and existing workflows
(a workflow never nests a workflow). Self-reference is impossible by
construction: this builder is itself Tier-3.
For EACH step, author the handoff: what the step consumes from the prior
step's output, and what it must produce for the next. This authored
handoff guidance is exactly what distinguishes a durable workflow from
an ad-hoc chain; a packet without real handoffs is not ready.
Step 4: Generate the Packet
Write the complete Workflow Implementation Packet to
_staging/workflows/<name>/ (gitignored; the same review model as the
skill builder). Never write to canonical locations.
Use references/TEMPLATE.md as the packet format. The workflow draft must
carry the full section inventory the current _workflows/*.md files share
(see the TEMPLATE's embedded skeleton); the command draft mirrors the
existing commands/workflow-*.md shape, including one literal
skills/<name>/SKILL.md path per step and the $ARGUMENTS footer. Derive
a linear mermaid context-flow diagram from the final sequence (step names
as nodes, execution order as edges).
Step 5: Review + Promotion Guidance
Present the packet and stop. The builder itself never promotes. On
approval, the user (or a follow-up session) moves the drafts to their
canonical paths and works the packet's Cross-Cutting Checklist, which
names every count and documentation surface that adding a workflow trips,
including the validator-blind .github/workflows/release.yml release-note
template. The builder never edits those cross-cutting files itself.
Output Format
The packet follows references/TEMPLATE.md:
Decision - recommendation plus Why Gate evidence (or the recorded override)
Overlap Analysis - every overlapping workflow, what it covers, the gap
Cross-Cutting Checklist - every surface to update at promotion, with its enforcing validator (or "validator-blind" where none exists)
Promotion Steps - the move-verify-validate sequence
See references/EXAMPLE.md for one complete worked packet.
Quality Checklist
Before presenting the packet, verify:
Overlap analysis scanned the live _workflows/ directory (no remembered list, no hardcoded count)
Why Gate evidence is specific (named scenarios) or an explicit override is recorded
Every step resolves to an installed skill by exact name
No Tier-3 maintenance skill, dispatch skill, or workflow appears as a step
Every step has an authored handoff (consumes / produces), not just a skill name
The workflow draft carries every section in the TEMPLATE's skeleton (metadata table, When to Use with Do NOT use, per-step blocks, context-flow diagram, tips, quality checklist, see also)
The command draft names each step's skills/<name>/SKILL.md path and ends with the $ARGUMENTS footer
The mermaid diagram matches the final sequence exactly
Everything written under _staging/workflows/<name>/; no canonical path touched
The Cross-Cutting Checklist is reproduced in full, including the .github/workflows/release.yml release-note row
Reference Files
Packet template: references/TEMPLATE.md
Worked example (quarterly business review): references/EXAMPLE.md
