Agile Planning Skill
What it does
- •Translates new requirements into epics and user stories mapped to the active project.
- •Defines acceptance criteria and estimation (story points/t-shirt sizes) consistent with team velocity.
- •Produces a prioritized backlog aligned to outcomes and logs decisions in memory.
When to use
- •Before starting a new initiative or feature set.
- •When backlog is unclear or lacks acceptance criteria or estimates.
- •When stakeholders need scope clarity and effort signals.
Key operations
- •Identify active project (
projects/current-project.txtorPROJECT.mdstatus) and reviewPROJECT.md,backlog/epics.json,backlog/user-stories.json,current-sprint.json. - •Identify outcomes and slice into epics and stories with INVEST acceptance criteria.
- •Estimate effort (points) and dependencies; flag risks/assumptions; check against historical velocity in
sprint-history.md. - •Prioritize using value vs. effort and constraints; propose sprint placement respecting capacity guidance from
AGENTS.md. - •Log rationale and decisions in
memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md.
Output files
- •
projects/<ACTIVE>/backlog/epics.json— epics with goals, scope, risks, dependencies. - •
projects/<ACTIVE>/backlog/user-stories.json— prioritized user stories with acceptance criteria and estimates. - •
projects/<ACTIVE>/backlog/backlog-index.md— human-readable summary. - •
projects/<ACTIVE>/backlog/assumptions-risks.md— assumptions, constraints, risks, mitigations. - •
projects/<ACTIVE>/backlog/estimation-log.md— estimation rationale and calibration notes. - •
memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md— decisions, rationale, sprint placement notes.
Example workflow
- •Run session init (AGENTS.md checklist); confirm active project.
- •Capture product goal and constraints; scan backlog for overlaps.
- •Draft epics and slice into stories with acceptance criteria.
- •Estimate each story (points); note dependencies and risks; check velocity.
- •Prioritize, propose sprint placement, update backlog files; log decisions in
memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md.
Best practices
- •Make stories INVEST and testable; acceptance criteria are observable.
- •Calibrate points with recent completed stories; avoid single-person estimates.
- •Keep epics outcome-oriented; avoid solution-locking too early.
- •Note risks and unknowns explicitly; create spikes for research.
- •Respect capacity guidance: planned points ≤ velocity × 1.1 and reserve 10–20% buffer.
Related resources
- •
AGENTS.md(session flow, safety rules) - •
SKILLS.md,MEMORY.md,memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md - •
projects/<ACTIVE>/PROJECT.md,backlog/epics.json,backlog/user-stories.json,backlog/backlog-index.md - •Definition of Ready/Done; team estimation guide (Planning Poker)