design

Design a change — create a change container (if needed) and generate spec artifacts.

<decision_boundary>

Use for:

• Creating a new Beat change and generating spec artifacts (proposal, gherkin, design.md)
• Resuming artifact generation for an existing change that has pending spec artifacts
• Choosing which spec artifacts to include (presets: Full, Standard, Minimal, Technical, Custom)

NOT for:

• Breaking down tasks or creating execution plans (use /beat:plan)
• Exploring ideas or thinking through a problem before committing (use /beat:explore)
• Implementing code (use /beat:apply)
• Reviewing or verifying implementation (use /beat:verify)

Trigger examples:

• "Design a user authentication feature" / "Create a change for login" / "Generate specs for X"
• Should NOT trigger: "break down the tasks" / "let me think about this" / "implement the change"

</decision_boundary>

<HARD-GATE> Before writing any artifact files: you MUST invoke superpowers:using-git-worktrees. When the artifact selection includes proposal or design, you MUST invoke superpowers:brainstorming before generating content. This applies even when scope seems obvious.

Before writing gherkin scenarios: you MUST run the four-challenge CONTEXT.md check (see step 4 below) and ensure every project-specific term used in scenarios is defined in beat/CONTEXT.md. Create the glossary lazily — only when the first term is added.

After writing each artifact: you MUST run the four-check spec self-review (placeholder / consistency / scope / ambiguity). Fix issues inline.

While writing design.md: you MUST run the three-condition ADR gate (hard-to-reverse + surprising + real trade-off — see references/adr-format.md) on each Key Decision. When all three hold, offer to lift the decision into a new ADR under docs/adr/. The user may decline.

Invoke in order: worktrees first (isolate), then brainstorming (design).

If a prerequisite skill is unavailable (not installed), continue with fallback — but NEVER skip because you judged it unnecessary. </HARD-GATE>

Prerequisites (invoke before proceeding)

If a prerequisite skill is unavailable (skill not installed), skip and continue. For optional skills (grill-with-docs), offer to invoke when applicable; if the user declines or it isn't installed, proceed with the four-challenge check inline.

Rationalization Prevention

Red Flags — STOP if you catch yourself:

• Writing any file before invoking using-git-worktrees
• Generating proposal sections without having invoked brainstorming
• Creating design.md without invoking brainstorming first
• Writing gherkin scenarios that contain internal method names, numeric thresholds, or implementation constants
• Writing gherkin scenarios that use project-specific domain terms not defined in beat/CONTEXT.md
• Modifying an existing feature in beat/features/ without creating a .orig backup first
• Writing tasks.md or - [ ] checkboxes — tasks belong in /beat:plan
• Skipping the spec self-review because the artifact "looks fine"
• Writing a Key Decision in design.md that meets all three ADR conditions without offering an ADR
• Thinking "this prerequisite isn't needed for this particular change"

Process Flow

digraph design {
    "Select or create change" [shape=box];
    "Invoke using-git-worktrees" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Ask artifact preset" [shape=box];
    "Includes proposal?" [shape=diamond];
    "Invoke brainstorming" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Create proposal" [shape=box];
    "Self-review proposal" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Includes gherkin?" [shape=diamond];
    "CONTEXT.md\nfour-challenge check" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Existing scenarios\nto modify?" [shape=diamond];
    "Backup .orig +\ncopy to changes/" [shape=box];
    "Create gherkin\n(new features only)" [shape=box];
    "Self-review gherkin" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Includes design?" [shape=diamond];
    "Create design" [shape=box];
    "ADR gate\n(per Key Decision)" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Self-review design" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Commit artifacts" [shape=box];
    "Show summary" [shape=doublecircle];

    "Select or create change" -> "Invoke using-git-worktrees";
    "Invoke using-git-worktrees" -> "Ask artifact preset";
    "Ask artifact preset" -> "Includes proposal?";
    "Includes proposal?" -> "Invoke brainstorming" [label="yes"];
    "Includes proposal?" -> "Includes gherkin?" [label="no"];
    "Invoke brainstorming" -> "Create proposal";
    "Create proposal" -> "Self-review proposal";
    "Self-review proposal" -> "Includes gherkin?";
    "Includes gherkin?" -> "CONTEXT.md\nfour-challenge check" [label="yes"];
    "Includes gherkin?" -> "Includes design?" [label="no"];
    "CONTEXT.md\nfour-challenge check" -> "Existing scenarios\nto modify?";
    "Existing scenarios\nto modify?" -> "Backup .orig +\ncopy to changes/" [label="yes"];
    "Existing scenarios\nto modify?" -> "Create gherkin\n(new features only)" [label="no"];
    "Backup .orig +\ncopy to changes/" -> "Create gherkin\n(new features only)";
    "Create gherkin\n(new features only)" -> "Self-review gherkin";
    "Self-review gherkin" -> "Includes design?";
    "Includes design?" -> "Invoke brainstorming" [label="yes, only if\nnot yet invoked"];
    "Includes design?" -> "Commit artifacts" [label="no"];
    "Invoke brainstorming" -> "Create design" [label="for design"];
    "Create design" -> "ADR gate\n(per Key Decision)" [style=bold];
    "ADR gate\n(per Key Decision)" -> "Self-review design";
    "Self-review design" -> "Commit artifacts";
    "Commit artifacts" -> "Show summary";
}

Input: Change name (kebab-case) OR a description of what to build. Can also be an existing change name to fast-forward remaining artifacts.

Steps

1. If no clear input provided, ask what they want to build

Use AskUserQuestion tool to ask what they want to build. Derive kebab-case name from description.

1. Create or select change

Determine the change name. Before creating any files, invoke using-git-worktrees to isolate this change.

• If beat/changes/<name>/ doesn't exist: create it (directory + status.yaml + features/.gitkeep)
• If it exists: use it, read status.yaml (schema: references/status-schema.md) to find remaining artifacts

1. Ask which spec artifacts to include

Read status.yaml. For artifacts still pending, ask user once upfront:

Use AskUserQuestion tool:

"Which spec artifacts do you want? (Tasks are handled separately by /beat:plan)" 1. Full: Proposal + Gherkin + Design (recommended for large features) 2. Standard: Proposal + Gherkin (recommended for medium features) 3. Minimal: Gherkin only (recommended for small bug fixes) 4. Technical: Proposal only, no Gherkin (for tooling/infra/refactor changes with no behavior change) 5. Custom: Let me choose each one

Mark skipped artifacts as skipped in status.yaml. Tasks are always set to pending — task breakdown happens in /beat:plan. Update phase to match the latest completed spec artifact after each creation.

1. Create artifacts in pipeline order

Read beat/config.yaml if it exists (schema: references/config-schema.md). Use language for artifact output language, inject context, and apply matching rules per artifact type throughout creation.

For each artifact to create (pipeline order: proposal -> gherkin -> design):

• Read all completed artifacts for context
• Invoke prerequisites per the table above (brainstorming before proposal/design — invoke once before the first artifact that needs it; skip for subsequent artifacts if already invoked)
• Gherkin only — before writing scenarios: run the CONTEXT.md four-challenge check (see sub-step below)
• Create the artifact following the patterns below
• After writing: run the spec self-review (see sub-step below); fix issues inline
• Update status.yaml
• Show brief progress: "Created <artifact>"
• If context is critically unclear, pause and ask

CONTEXT.md four-challenge check (before writing gherkin):

Read beat/CONTEXT.md if it exists (schema: references/context-format.md). Create it lazily when the first term is added — never preemptively.

Walk through the brainstorming output and any draft scenario text. For each project-specific term, run these checks and update beat/CONTEXT.md inline as findings emerge (never batch):

1. Against the glossary — the term conflicts with an existing entry? Call it out, resolve, update.
2. Sharpen fuzzy — the term is vague or overloaded (e.g. "account" meaning Customer and User both)? Pick the canonical word, list the others as _Avoid_.
3. Stress-test — invent edge-case scenarios that probe term boundaries; force the boundary to be named.
4. Cross-reference code — the user states behaviour that the code contradicts? Surface, decide source of truth, update the loser.

Optional grilling: If mattpocock-skills:grill-with-docs is installed and the ambiguity is complex enough to warrant a full grilling session, offer to invoke it once: "Want to drop into grill-with-docs for a deeper pass on this?" If the user declines, or the skill isn't installed, continue inline with the four challenges. Beat never hard-requires grill-with-docs.

Every project-specific term used in scenarios MUST exist in beat/CONTEXT.md before the scenario is written. Bolded terms in scenarios are the canonical form.

Spec self-review (after writing each artifact):

Re-read the artifact with fresh eyes and check:

1. Placeholder scan — any TBD, TODO, incomplete sections, vague requirements?
2. Internal consistency — do sections contradict each other? Does the design match the gherkin scenarios?
3. Scope check — is this focused enough for a single implementation plan, or does it need decomposition?
4. Ambiguity check — could any requirement be read two different ways? If so, pick one and make it explicit.

Fix issues inline. No need to re-review the fix — just fix and move on.

Artifact patterns:

• Proposal: Sections: ## Why, ## What Changes, ## Impact
• Gherkin:
• Read references/feature-writing.md for conventions on description blocks, scenario organization, and review checklist
• Before writing, scan beat/features/**/*.feature and beat/changes/*/features/*.feature (excluding current change) — read Feature: and Scenario: lines to map existing coverage, deep-read only overlapping features, avoid duplication and align style
• SpecFlow style, tags @happy-path/@error-handling/@edge-case
• Feature description carries PRD essence (must include: As a / I want / So that)
• Every scenario MUST have a testing layer tag: @e2e (user journeys needing a running app) or @behavior (business logic testable without a full app; default @behavior)
• Write at behavior level — describe what the system does ("Monthly billing adjusts for short months"), not how a function works ("calculateNextTransactionDate clamps to last day")
• Use business language — no concrete numeric thresholds, code method names, or internal constants (API contract constants are OK as shared vocabulary)
• Repeated Given steps use Background:
• Tags must serve a filtering purpose — no decorative tags
• BDD focuses on high-level acceptance; boundary values and algorithm details belong in unit tests
• If option 4 (Technical) was chosen, skip gherkin entirely

Modifying existing features (see references/testing-conventions.md for full mechanism):

When the scan reveals scenarios in beat/features/ that need modification:

1. Conflict check: scan beat/features/**/*.feature.orig — if a .orig exists for the same file, another change is modifying it. Warn and stop.
2. Backup: rename the original in beat/features/ to .feature.orig (hides it from BDD runners)
3. Copy: copy the original content to beat/changes/<name>/features/<file>.feature
4. Modify: edit the scenario(s) in the changes/ copy (add/change/remove steps, add new scenarios)
5. Record: add the original path to status.yaml gherkin.modified array

New features that don't modify existing scenarios go directly to changes/<name>/features/ as before.

• Design:
• Sections: ## Approach, ## Key Decisions, ## Components
• ADR gate — for each Key Decision, run the three-condition check from references/adr-format.md:

1. Hard to reverse? (cost of changing your mind is meaningful)
2. Surprising without context? (future reader will wonder "why on earth this way?")
3. Result of a real trade-off? (genuine alternatives existed)

If all three hold, use AskUserQuestion tool: "This decision meets the ADR gate. Lift it into `docs/adr/`?" On Yes, write a 1-3 sentence ADR using the template in references/adr-format.md, increment the highest existing number in docs/adr/ by one, and add a cross-reference from design.md (See docs/adr/NNNN-slug.md). On No, continue. Create docs/adr/ lazily — only on first ADR.

• Architecture hub suggestion (Layer 3, advisory) — if design.md describes a module-level architecture change (new module, module split/merge, changed module boundaries or responsibilities), suggest updating beat/ARCHITECTURE.md — the hub diagram, modules table, or constraints (see references/architecture-format.md). Create the hub lazily, only if the project is multi-module and the user accepts. Never block.

1. Commit artifacts and show final status

Commit all change artifacts: git add beat/changes/<name>/ && git commit

Use a descriptive message, e.g. "design(<name>): add spec artifacts".

Update phase to the latest completed spec artifact in status.yaml.

   ## Design Complete: <change-name>

   Created:
   - proposal.md (or skipped)
   - features/*.feature (or skipped if Technical option)
   - design.md (or skipped)

   Tasks: pending (run `/beat:plan` to create execution plan)

   Spec artifacts ready! Review them, then run `/beat:plan` for task breakdown.

Guardrails

• Gherkin is mandatory by default -- only skip for purely technical changes (option 4: Technical)
• Ask upfront which artifacts to include (don't ask per artifact)
• If change already exists with some artifacts done, only create remaining
• If context is critically unclear, ask -- but prefer reasonable defaults to keep momentum
• Verify each artifact file exists after writing before proceeding
• Tasks are NOT created in this skill — they are handled by /beat:plan