/02-prioritize — Backlog Prioritization

Prioritize the product backlog using the P0-P3 framework and lock MVP scope.

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 prioritization criteria/constraints and proceed to Execute

Prerequisites

Hard dependencies:

1. Read docs/workflow-status.md — verify step 01 status == completed
2. Verify docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md exists with ≥1 epic

If prerequisites fail:

• Report: "Step 02 cannot start. Missing: completed backlog from step 01."
• Suggest: "Run /01-backlog first to create the product backlog."
• Do NOT proceed.

Soft dependencies:

• Business objectives, timeline constraints (warn if not provided)

Execute

Phase 1: Read Inputs

1. Read CLAUDE.md — extract prioritization framework (P0-P3 definitions)
2. Read docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md — full backlog
3. Read .claude/knowledge/problem-solving-101-framework.md — Tool 6: Criteria & Evaluation Table
4. Note any constraints from $ARGUMENTS

Phase 2: Delegate to Product Manager Agent

Spawn the product-manager agent:

Prioritize the product backlog for {{PROJECT_NAME}}.

>

Backlog: [content of backlog file] Prioritization framework: P0 (Critical), P1 (High), P2 (Medium), P3 (Nice to have) Additional constraints: [from $ARGUMENTS if provided]

>

Use Tool 6 (Criteria & Evaluation Table) from the problem-solving framework: - Criteria: User impact, Business value, Technical effort, Dependencies - Score each feature across criteria - Assign P0-P3 based on composite score

>

Output requirements: - Every feature gets a P0/P1/P2/P3 priority - MVP scope explicitly listed (P0 + critical P1 items) - Phase roadmap: MVP → Phase 1 → Phase 2+ - Dependency order within MVP - Update docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md with priorities

Pipeline Context

Before delegating to the agent, read and summarize prior step outputs:

• Step 01 output: read first 20 lines of docs/backlog/{{PROJECT_NAME}}-backlog.md for epic/feature overview
• Include this summary in the agent prompt as "Pipeline Context" so decisions carry forward

Phase 3: Validate Output

1. Verify backlog file updated with priority assignments
2. Check: every feature has P0/P1/P2/P3 assigned
3. Check: MVP scope section exists and is explicitly bounded
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 prioritization did not meet requirements: [specific failure]. Current output: [summary]. Please fix: [specific instruction]."

1. Re-validate after the retry
2. If retry also fails, mark step as blocked (reason) in docs/workflow-status.md

Phase 4: Human Review Gate

1. Update docs/workflow-status.md step 02 status to needs-review
2. Report priority distribution and MVP scope to the user
3. Prompt: "Review the prioritization. Run /02-prioritize [continue] to approve, or provide feedback."
4. Only [continue] after needs-review transitions to completed

Phase 5: Report

Step 02 — Backlog Prioritization: [status]

Priority distribution:
  P0 (Critical): [count] features
  P1 (High):     [count] features
  P2 (Medium):   [count] features
  P3 (Low):      [count] features

MVP scope: [list of P0 features]

Next step: /03-prd

Status Report

1. Read docs/workflow-status.md — extract step 02 section
2. If backlog has priorities, report distribution (P0/P1/P2/P3 counts)
3. Report MVP scope summary

Force Status Update

1. Re-scan backlog file for priority assignments
2. Count features per priority tier
3. Check if MVP scope section exists
4. Update docs/workflow-status.md step 02