/create-epic-discovery

Epic Discovery Document Generator

Epic Key: $ARGUMENTS

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Workflow Chain

This command creates a discovery document for research and customer discovery epics:

/create-epic-discovery <epic-key>  → Creates Discovery Document (YOU ARE HERE)
         ↓
[Manual research, interviews, experiments]
         ↓
/synthesize-discovery <doc-urls...>  → Synthesizes findings into actionable tickets
         ↓
Creates tickets in target implementation epics

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Phase 0: Context Retrieval

1. Fetch the epic from Jira using {Epic_Key}

2. Extract from epic:

   • {Epic_Title} - The epic title/name
   • {Jira_Project} - The Jira project URL
   • Linked tickets

3. Determine Confluence location:

   • Default: /Epics/Discovery/{Epic_Key}/
   • If location unclear, ask user

4. FAILURE CONDITION - Missing Information:

   If epic cannot be found or has no linked tickets:

   STOP and prompt the user:

   I was unable to retrieve epic {Epic_Key}.
   
   Issue: [epic not found / no linked tickets / access denied]
   
   Please provide:
   1. Confirm the epic key is correct
   2. Jira Project URL: [paste link]
   3. Confluence publish location: [paste link or confirm default]
   

   DO NOT PROCEED until confirmed.

5. MANDATORY CHECKPOINT - Epic Confirmation:

   Please confirm before I proceed:
   
   Epic Key: {Epic_Key}
   Epic Title: {Epic_Title}
   Linked Tickets: [count] tickets found
   Publish Location: [Confluence path]
   
   Is this correct? (Yes / No / Correct)
   

   DO NOT PROCEED without explicit user confirmation.

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Phase 1: Question Extraction

1. Read all Jira tickets linked to epic {Epic_Key}

   • Use JQL query: "Epic Link" = {Epic_Key} to find all child tickets
   • Extract acceptance criteria from each ticket
   • Identify ticket dependencies and relationships
   • Note any technical constraints mentioned
   • Extract explicit questions from ticket descriptions
   • Identify implicit questions from ambiguous requirements
   • Note assumptions that need validation
   • Catalog unknowns and uncertainties

2. Categorize questions into themes:

   • Customer/User Discovery (who, what problems, what workflows)
   • Technical Feasibility (can we build it, how complex)
   • Business Viability (is it worth it, what's the ROI)
   • Integration Points (external systems, APIs, data sources)
   • Scope Boundaries (what's in, what's out)

3. Identify research methods needed for each question:

   • User interviews
   • Data analysis
   • Technical spikes/POCs
   • Competitive research
   • Expert consultation
   • Prototyping

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Phase 2: Discovery Document Creation

Create a discovery document with these sections:

1. Discovery Overview

• Epic: Link to epic with title
• Discovery Goal: What are we trying to learn?
• Success Criteria: How do we know discovery is complete?
• Timeline: Expected discovery duration (if known)
• Stakeholders: Who needs to be involved?

2. Hypothesis Map

For each major feature/capability in the epic:

Hypothesis ID	Statement	Confidence	Validation Method	Status
H1	"Users need X because Y"	Low/Med/High	Interview/Data/Spike	Open
H2	"We can integrate with Z"	Low/Med/High	Technical spike	Open

3. Research Questions Matrix

Organize questions by category and priority:

Customer/User Discovery

ID	Question	Priority	Method	Owner	Status
Q1	Who are the primary users?	High	Interviews	[TBD]	Open
Q2	What pain points exist today?	High	Interviews + Data	[TBD]	Open

Technical Feasibility

ID	Question	Priority	Method	Owner	Status
T1	Can we integrate with X API?	High	Spike	[TBD]	Open
T2	What are the performance implications?	Med	Benchmark	[TBD]	Open

Business Viability

ID	Question	Priority	Method	Owner	Status
B1	What's the expected ROI?	High	Analysis	[TBD]	Open
B2	How does this compare to competitors?	Med	Research	[TBD]	Open

Scope & Boundaries

ID	Question	Priority	Method	Owner	Status
S1	What's the MVP vs full vision?	High	Discussion	[TBD]	Open
S2	What's explicitly out of scope?	High	Discussion	[TBD]	Open

4. Dependencies & Blockers

• External dependencies (third-party APIs, vendor decisions)
• Internal dependencies (other teams, systems)
• Information blockers (data access, stakeholder availability)
• Timeline dependencies (seasonal, market timing)

5. Research Plan

For each high-priority question, outline:

Research Activity Template

**Activity:** [Interview/Spike/Analysis/etc.]
**Questions Addressed:** Q1, Q2, T1
**Method:** [Detailed approach]
**Participants/Resources:** [Who/what is needed]
**Expected Duration:** [Time estimate]
**Output:** [Deliverable format]

6. Decision Framework

Define how findings will be evaluated:

Decision Point	Options	Criteria	Owner
Build vs Buy for X	Build, Buy, Partner	Cost, Time, Control	[TBD]
Target user segment	Segment A, B, Both	Market size, Fit	[TBD]

7. Risk Register

Risk	Likelihood	Impact	Mitigation	Owner
Users don't want this feature	Med	High	Early validation interviews	[TBD]
Technical integration too complex	Low	High	Spike before commitment	[TBD]

8. Target Implementation Epics

List epics where findings may generate tickets:

Epic	Title	Relationship
CC-60	[Title]	[How discoveries might feed into this]
CC-62	[Title]	[How discoveries might feed into this]

9. Linked Tickets

Discovery Epic: {Epic_Key} - {Epic_Title}

Key	Summary	Type	Discovery Focus
TICKET-123	Ticket summary	Task	[Which questions this addresses]

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Phase 3: Review & Publish

MANDATORY CHECKPOINT - Discovery Document Review:

## Discovery Document Preview for {Epic_Key}

[Full discovery document content]

---

Research Questions Identified: [count]
Hypotheses to Validate: [count]
High-Priority Questions: [count]
Target Implementation Epics: [list]

Ready to publish this discovery document to Confluence? (Yes / No / Modify)

DO NOT PUBLISH without explicit user approval.

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Phase 4: Publish & Output

1. Publish to Confluence at: /epics/Discovery/{Epic_Key}/

   • Page title: "{Epic_Key} Discovery - {Epic_Title}"

2. Verify the document was published successfully

3. Get the published document URL ({Discovery_Document})

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Failure Conditions

Condition	Action
Epic key not found	Error message, ask user to verify epic key
No linked tickets	Warn user, ask if they want to continue with minimal document
Confluence location invalid	Ask user for correct location
Missing Jira/Confluence access	Provide instructions for credential setup

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Output

When complete, you MUST provide:

## Discovery Document Complete!

**Discovery Document:** {Discovery_Document}

### Summary
- Epic: {Epic_Key} - {Epic_Title}
- Research Questions: [count]
- Hypotheses to Validate: [count]
- High-Priority Items: [count]
- Target Implementation Epics: [list epic keys]

### Immediate Actions Needed
1. [First research activity to start]
2. [Stakeholders to schedule]
3. [Data to gather]

### Next Steps
After completing discovery research, run:

/synthesize-discovery {Discovery_Document} [additional-source-urls...]

This will synthesize findings and create actionable tickets in target implementation epics.

CRITICAL: The Discovery Document URL is required for the synthesis step.