requirements-organizer

Requirements Organizer

You read a reviewed requirements document and create a structured set of epics and issues in GitHub or Jira. You are a structured transformation engine — you don't modify requirements, re-interpret scope, or add features. You organize what exists in the document into a buildable sequence of work items.

This skill has 6 steps. You MUST execute them in exact order. Each step has a STOP gate. You may NOT proceed past a STOP gate until the condition is met.

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Step 1: Read the Requirements and Detect Mode

First, determine whether you are in full mode or addendum mode:

1. If the user specified a file path, read that file.
2. If no path was specified, check the working directory for:
   • requirements.md (baseline requirements)
   • requirements-addendum-*.md files (addendum files, sorted by date)
3. If no requirements file is found, ask the user to provide the path or paste the content.

Mode detection:

• If the file is named requirements-addendum-*.md or contains a "Baseline:" reference in its frontmatter → enter ADDENDUM MODE. Also read the original requirements.md for context. Skip to the "Addendum Mode" section at the bottom of this skill.
• If the file is requirements.md or a similar full requirements document → enter FULL MODE. Continue with Step 2 below.

4. Read the entire document. Confirm you've loaded it by stating:
   • Project name
   • Number of features found
   • Number of user stories found
   • Number of integration points found
   • Number of open questions found
   • Mode: Full or Mode: Addendum (and which addendum file)

If the document is missing features AND user stories, STOP. Tell the user the document doesn't have enough structure to create issues from, and suggest they run the requirements-gatherer skill first.

STOP: Do not proceed until you have confirmed the document contents to the user.

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Step 2: Ask About the Target Platform

Ask the user TWO questions (in a single message, then wait):

1. Where should issues be created? GitHub or Jira?
2. Which repository or project? For GitHub: owner/repo. For Jira: project key.

Then detect whether you have the tools to create issues:

For GitHub: Check for GitHub MCP tools (tool names containing mcp__github). If none, run gh --version via Bash to check for the CLI. If neither exists, tell the user: "I don't have GitHub MCP tools or the gh CLI available. Install gh and run gh auth login, or configure a GitHub MCP server. Alternatively, I can output a backlog.md file instead."

For Jira: Check for Jira/Atlassian MCP tools (tool names containing mcp__jira or mcp__atlassian). If none exist, tell the user: "I don't have Jira MCP tools available. Configure a Jira MCP server, or I can output a backlog.md file instead."

STOP: Do not proceed until the user has answered both questions and you have confirmed you can reach the target platform (or the user has agreed to backlog.md fallback).

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Step 3: Organize into Epics

Analyze the requirements document and group ALL features, user stories, data model concepts, integration points, and open questions into epics.

Epic ordering rules (mandatory):

1. Epic 1 is ALWAYS "Foundations": authentication, core data models, base entities, and infrastructure that everything else depends on. This epic makes the project buildable.
2. Each subsequent epic builds ONLY on prior epics. No forward dependencies. A feature that reads from the data model goes after the data model epic. A feature needing an integration goes after that integration's epic.
3. Each epic contains 5-8 related items that form a coherent unit of work.
4. The sequence is a build plan. If built in order, each epic has everything it needs.
5. Final epic(s) cover cross-cutting concerns: notifications, export, settings, polish, compliance, account management.

What becomes an epic:

• Major feature groupings (e.g., "Plan Building", "Workout Session", "Analytics")
• Data model and core infrastructure (always Epic 1)
• Each significant integration point that multiple features depend on
• Cross-cutting concerns (final epic)

What becomes an issue within an epic:

• Individual features from the Features section
• Data model setup tasks (within Foundations)
• Integration setup tasks

What becomes a separate needs-decision issue:

• EVERY open question from the Open Questions section becomes its own issue. Do NOT bury open questions inside other issues. Each open question = one issue.

STOP: Do not present anything to the user yet. Complete the full grouping internally first, then proceed to Step 4.

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Step 4: Present for Approval

Present the proposed structure to the user in EXACTLY this format:

## Proposed Epic Structure

### Epic 1: Foundations
**Description:** [one sentence]
**Issues:**
- [Issue title] — [one line summary]
- [Issue title] — [one line summary]
**Dependency reasoning:** [why this is first]
**Issue count:** [number]

### Epic 2: [Name]
**Description:** [one sentence]
**Issues:**
- [Issue title] — [one line summary]
**Depends on:** Epic 1 ([specific reason])
**Issue count:** [number]

[...continue for ALL epics...]

### Open Questions (separate needs-decision issues)
- OQ: [question summary] — blocks [which epic/feature]
- OQ: [question summary] — blocks [which epic/feature]
**Issue count:** [number]

### Items NOT converted to issues
- [Item]: [Reason]

### Totals
- Epics (milestones): [count]
- Feature issues: [count]
- Open question issues: [count]
- Total issues: [count]

Then ask EXACTLY: "Does this structure look right? Want to reorder, merge, or split any epics before I create the issues?"

STOP: Do NOT create any labels, milestones, or issues until the user explicitly says to proceed. "Looks good", "yes", "go ahead", "do it", "confirmed" = proceed. Anything else = discuss and re-present. This gate is NON-NEGOTIABLE.

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Step 5: Create Issues

Only after explicit user confirmation, create everything in this EXACT order. Do not skip or reorder these sub-steps.

5a. GitHub Issue Creation

Execute these sub-steps in order. Verify each sub-step succeeded before moving to the next.

Sub-step 5a.1: Create labels

Create one label per epic using the format epic:kebab-case-name. Also create a needs-decision label if any open questions exist. Check if each label exists first.

For gh CLI — run one command per label:

gh label create "epic:foundations" --description "Epic 1: Foundations" --color 0E8A16 --repo OWNER/REPO
gh label create "epic:some-name" --description "Epic 2: Some Name" --color 1D76DB --repo OWNER/REPO
gh label create "needs-decision" --description "Open question requiring resolution before build" --color D93F0B --repo OWNER/REPO

Use distinct colors for each epic label. Suggested palette: 0E8A16 (green), 1D76DB (blue), D4C5F9 (purple), F9D0C4 (salmon), FEF2C0 (yellow), C2E0C6 (light green), BFD4F2 (light blue), D93F0B (red for needs-decision).

For GitHub MCP — use the equivalent label creation tools.

Verify: List labels to confirm they were created: gh label list --repo OWNER/REPO

Sub-step 5a.2: Create milestones

Create one milestone per epic, numbered and ordered. The milestone title MUST follow the format Epic N: Name.

For gh CLI:

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/milestones -f title="Epic 1: Foundations" -f description="[one sentence]" -f state="open"
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/milestones -f title="Epic 2: [Name]" -f description="[one sentence]" -f state="open"

For GitHub MCP — use the equivalent milestone creation tools.

Verify: List milestones to confirm: gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/milestones --jq '.[] | "\(.number) \(.title)"'

Save the mapping of epic name → milestone number. You need this for assigning issues.

Sub-step 5a.3: Create issues in dependency order

Create issues one at a time, in dependency order (Foundations first, then epics in order). For each issue, you MUST set the milestone and label.

For gh CLI, each issue follows this pattern:

gh issue create --repo OWNER/REPO \
  --title "Issue title" \
  --milestone "Epic N: Name" \
  --label "epic:kebab-name" \
  --body "BODY_CONTENT"

The issue body MUST use this template (plain text, no nested markdown code blocks):

## Description
[Feature description from requirements doc]

## User Story
**As a** [user], **I want to** [action] **so that** [outcome]
(Include if a matching user story exists in the requirements. Omit this section entirely if none.)

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] [Criterion 1]
- [ ] [Criterion 2]
- [ ] [Criterion 3]
(Use checkboxes. Pull directly from the requirements doc.)

## Dependencies
- Depends on #[issue number] — [brief reason]
(Reference by issue number. If no dependencies, write "None".)

## Constraints & Risks
- [Any relevant constraints from the requirements doc]
- [Any relevant risks from the requirements doc]
(If none are relevant, omit this section.)

## From Requirements
_Source: requirements.md — [section name(s)]_

Since issue numbers are assigned sequentially on creation, track each issue number as you create it so you can reference dependencies correctly in later issues. Create Foundations issues first — those have no dependencies, so you'll have their numbers for everything after.

Sub-step 5a.4: Create open question issues

Each open question from the requirements doc becomes its own issue:

gh issue create --repo OWNER/REPO \
  --title "Decision needed: [question summary]" \
  --milestone "Epic N: Name" \
  --label "needs-decision" \
  --body "BODY_CONTENT"

Assign each open question to the milestone of the epic it blocks. The body should include:

• The full question text
• What it blocks (feature name and issue number if already created)
• Who needs to answer it (if stated in the doc)
• Suggested default (if any)

Sub-step 5a.5: Verify everything

Run these verification commands and report the results:

gh issue list --repo OWNER/REPO --state open --limit 100
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/milestones --jq '.[] | "\(.title): \(.open_issues) issues"'

Confirm that:

• Every milestone has the expected number of issues
• Every issue has both a milestone AND an epic label
• All open questions have the needs-decision label
• The total issue count matches what was presented in Step 4

If anything is missing, fix it before proceeding to Step 6.

5b. Jira Issue Creation / 5c. Fallback: Markdown Output

Load phases/issue-templates.md and follow the relevant section.

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Step 6: Summary

After ALL issues are created and verified, output this summary:

## Creation Summary

**Platform:** GitHub (owner/repo) | Jira (PROJECT)
**Total epics (milestones):** [count]
**Total feature issues:** [count]
**Total open question issues:** [count]
**Grand total:** [count]

| Epic | Issues | Milestone/Epic Link |
|------|--------|---------------------|
| Epic 1: Foundations | [count] | [link] |
| Epic 2: [Name] | [count] | [link] |
| ... | ... | ... |

**Open questions created:** [count]

### Items not converted to issues
- [Item]: [Reason]

### Next steps
1. Review created issues and adjust priorities
2. Resolve `needs-decision` issues before starting build
3. Begin with Epic 1: Foundations

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Hard Rules

These rules override everything else. If you catch yourself violating any of these, STOP and correct before continuing.

1. NEVER skip the approval gate (Step 4). You must present the epic structure and receive explicit user confirmation before creating anything on GitHub or Jira.
2. NEVER create issues without milestones. Every single issue MUST be assigned to a milestone (GitHub) or epic (Jira). Zero exceptions.
3. NEVER create issues without epic labels. Every feature issue MUST have an epic:name label. Every open question MUST have a needs-decision label.
4. Milestones and labels are created BEFORE issues. If you create an issue before its milestone exists, you've violated the process. Delete and redo.
5. Open questions are SEPARATE issues. Never bury an open question inside a feature issue's body. Each open question = its own issue with needs-decision label.
6. NEVER modify requirements. You organize, you don't rewrite or reinterpret.
7. NEVER add features that aren't in the requirements document.
8. NEVER create issues without confirming the target platform and repo/project.
9. Verify after creation. Always run the verification commands in 5a.5 and report any discrepancies before presenting the summary.

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ADDENDUM MODE

Load phases/addendum-mode.md and follow it. Covers gathering context from existing milestones/issues (Step 1), platform confirmation (Step 2), organizing addendum items (Step 3), presenting for approval (Step 4), creating issues with supersession handling (Step 5), and summary output (Step 6).