Plan Release

HARD GATE — Do NOT run this skill unless elaborate-spec has produced a clear spec or the user has already defined the feature in detail. If the problem is still fuzzy, run elaborate-spec first. HARD GATE — specs/product/SCOPE_LATEST.yaml (or legacy specs/product/SCOPE_LATEST.yaml) must exist. If missing, run scope-work first.

Synthesize the conversation context into specs/release-plan.yaml (index) and shard detail under specs/epics/. No new interview — only clarify if something is genuinely ambiguous.

Outputs

File	Content
specs/release-plan.yaml	release.version, semver bump hint, WSJF-ordered epic list with id, capsule_dir, wsjf, bcps — no story status
specs/epics/eNN-<slug>/epic.yaml	Epic manifest: id, title, wsjf, total_bcps, status, stories[] list
specs/epics/eNN-<slug>/eNNsYY-<slug>.md	Story spec in countable-story-format.md with 20 sections and Gherkin acceptance criteria
specs/epics/eNN-<slug>/eNNsYY-tasks.yaml	Decoupled task checklist with verify: commands per task
specs/execution-status.yaml	Flat key-value store for story status (eNNsYY: todo)

Epic Capsule Structure

All epics use capsule directories (no flat/folder distinction):

specs/epics/e01-auth-system/
├── epic.yaml              # Epic manifest
├── adr/                   # Epic-local ADRs (created lazily)
├── e01s01-login.md        # Story spec (countable-story-format)
├── e01s01-tasks.yaml      # Decoupled task checklist
├── e01s02-jwt.md          # Story spec
└── e01s02-tasks.yaml      # Decoupled task checklist

Rationale: Capsule dirs achieve change isolation (C9), enable archive pruning (C2/C6), and enforce SRP by decoupling spec .md from execution -tasks.yaml (C1).

Process

1. Draft epics and stories

From the conversation context, define:

• Epics — e01, e02, … (stable IDs; WSJF order in release-plan.yaml only)
• Stories — e01s01, e01s02, … with Gherkin acceptance criteria

WSJF-sort epics: score = (Business Value + Time Criticality + Risk Reduction) / Job Size. Highest score first.

Security risk boost: If an epic's specs/security/epics/<id>/THREAT_MODEL.md identifies HIGH or CRITICAL risk, add +2 to the WSJF numerator (BV + TC + RR + 2) to reflect the urgency of addressing security concerns before they ship. Document the boost in the epic's note field in release-plan.yaml.

2. Write acceptance criteria (Gherkin)

For each story, write at least one happy-path and one edge-case scenario (countable format §17 if maturity ≥ 3).

3. Write tasks with verify commands

Every task must have a verify: command. No verify command = not a task.

4. Save specs/release-plan.yaml

Do NOT hand-track the real version. semantic-release decides it at merge. version here is a non-authoritative mirror/label only — read the real number with gh release view. Set bump_hint (the expectation), not a number you intend to enforce.

release:
  version: "2.29.0"         # mirror of next expected tag, NOT authoritative — gh release view wins
  codename: "Feature Name"
  status: planning          # planning | in_progress | released
  semantic_release: true
  bump_hint: minor          # patch | minor | major — CI decides at merge
epics:
  - id: e01
    title: Auth System
    wsjf: 4.5
    capsule_dir: epics/e01-auth-system
  - id: e02
    title: User Profile
    wsjf: 3.8
    capsule_dir: epics/e02-user-profile

5. Save epic manifest (epic.yaml)

Each epic capsule directory contains an epic.yaml manifest:

id: e01
title: Auth System
wsjf: 4.5
total_bcps: 8
status: in_progress
stories:
  - id: e01s01
    title: Login
    bcps: 3
    status: todo
    spec: e01s01-login.md
    tasks: e01s01-tasks.yaml
  - id: e01s02
    title: JWT Token Management
    bcps: 5
    status: todo
    spec: e01s02-jwt.md
    tasks: e01s02-tasks.yaml

6. Save story specs (countable-story-format .md)

Each story becomes a standalone .md file following countable-story-format.md. Minimum: maturity 3 (Countable) with all 20 sections present. Acceptance criteria in §17 use Gherkin scenarios.

7. Save decoupled task files (-tasks.yaml)

Each story has a decoupled -tasks.yaml with implementation steps:

story_id: e01s01
title: Login
status: todo
bcps: 3
tasks:
  - id: 1
    description: "Add login form component tests"
    verify: "npm test -- login-form.test.tsx"
    status: todo
  - id: 2
    description: "Implement login form with validation"
    verify: "npm test -- login-form.test.tsx"
    status: todo

HARD GATE — Every task MUST have a runnable verify: command. No verify: = not a task.

→ verify: bash scripts/validate-specs-yaml.sh

7b. Generate bug registry summary

Read specs/bugs/registry.yaml and add a bugs: section to release-plan.yaml with totals by status (fixed, deferred, wontfix, open): bugs: { total: N, fixed: N, deferred: N, wontfix: N, registry: specs/bugs/registry.yaml }.

8. Sync execution status

bash scripts/sync-status-from-epics.sh

9. Snapshot on planning close (optional)

Copy to specs/product/snapshots/release-<version>/ when the user approves the plan.

10. Suggest next steps

• Run assess-impact before plan-work for any story touching existing modules.
• Run plan-work per story for detailed steps inside the epic shard.
• Run change-request if a new requirement arrives mid-flight.