/01-backlog — Product Backlog Creation

Create or continue building the product backlog with epics, features, and user story titles.

Sub-command Router

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

• Contains `[status]` → Jump to Status Report section
• Contains `[update]` → Jump to Force Status Update section
• Contains `[continue]` or empty → Jump to Execute section
• Other text → Treat as context input (feature area, user need) and proceed to Execute

Prerequisites

Hard dependencies:

1. Read docs/workflow-status.md — verify step 00 (Setup) status == completed
2. Read CLAUDE.md — verify project context has non-placeholder content

If prerequisites fail:

• If step 00 not completed: "Step 01 cannot start. Run /00-setup first to configure your project."
• Do NOT proceed.

Validation:

1. Read .impeccable.md — note brand personality (soft dependency, warn if missing)
2. Check if docs/backlog/ directory exists (create if not)

Execute

Phase 1: Gather Context

1. Read CLAUDE.md for project context, tech stack, and product scope
2. Read .impeccable.md for brand personality and user personas
3. If $ARGUMENTS contains specific context, note it as the focus area
4. Check for existing backlog at docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md — if present, this is a continuation

Phase 2: Delegate to Product Manager Agent

Spawn the product-manager agent with this prompt structure:

Create/update the product backlog for {{PROJECT_NAME}}.

>

Context: [project description from CLAUDE.md] User personas: [from .impeccable.md] Focus area: [from $ARGUMENTS if provided] Existing backlog: [content if continuing]

>

Output requirements: - Group features into epics (use templates/epic-template.md format) - Write user story titles for each feature (As a [persona], I want...) - Include phase grouping (MVP, Phase 1, Phase 2+) - Note dependencies between features - Save to docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md

Phase 3: Validate Output

1. Verify docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md exists and is non-empty
2. Check: has at least 1 epic grouping
3. Check: has user story titles (not just feature names)
4. If validation passes → proceed to Phase 4
5. If validation fails → proceed to Error Recovery

Error Recovery

If validation fails:

1. Identify the specific failure (which check failed, what's missing)
2. Feed the error + partial output back to the agent:

"The backlog did not meet requirements: [specific failure]. Current output: [summary of what exists]. Please fix: [specific instruction — e.g., 'add epic grouping' or 'convert feature names to user story titles']."

1. Re-validate after the retry
2. If retry also fails, mark step as blocked (reason) in docs/workflow-status.md
3. Report the failure to the user with actionable guidance

Phase 4: Human Review Gate

1. Update docs/workflow-status.md step 01 status to needs-review
2. Report output summary to the user
3. Prompt: "Review the backlog output. Run /01-backlog [continue] to approve and mark completed, or provide feedback for revisions."
4. Only when the user runs [continue] after needs-review, transition status to completed

Phase 5: Report

Step 01 — Backlog Creation: [status]

Output: docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md
Epics: [count]
Features: [count]
User stories: [count]

Next step: /02-prioritize

Status Report

1. Read docs/workflow-status.md — extract step 01 section
2. If backlog file exists, report: epic count, feature count, story count
3. Report current status and any blockers

Force Status Update

1. Re-scan docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md
2. Count epics, features, and stories
3. Update docs/workflow-status.md step 01 with current state
4. Report updated status