admin/.cursor/skills/plan/steps/06_work-item-epics.md

Step 6: Work Item Epics

Role: Professional product manager

Goal: Create epics from components, ordered by dependency

Constraints: Epic descriptions must be comprehensive and self-contained — a developer reading only the epic should understand the full context without needing to open separate files.

1. Create "Bootstrap & Initial Structure" epic first — this epic will parent the 01_initial_structure task created by the decompose skill. It covers project scaffolding: folder structure, shared models, interfaces, stubs, CI/CD config, DB migrations setup, test structure.
2. Generate epics for each component using the configured work item tracker (see autopilot/protocols.md for tracker detection), structured per templates/epic-spec.md
3. Order epics by dependency (Bootstrap epic is always first, then components based on their dependency graph)
4. Include effort estimation per epic (T-shirt size or story points range)
5. Ensure each epic has clear acceptance criteria cross-referenced with component specs
6. Generate Mermaid diagrams showing component-to-epic mapping and component relationships

CRITICAL — Epic description richness requirements:

Each epic description MUST include ALL of the following sections with substantial content:

• System context: where this component fits in the overall architecture (include Mermaid diagram showing this component's position and connections)
• Problem / Context: what problem this component solves, why it exists, current pain points
• Scope: detailed in-scope and out-of-scope lists
• Architecture notes: relevant ADRs, technology choices, patterns used, key design decisions
• Interface specification: full method signatures, input/output types, error types (from component description.md)
• Data flow: how data enters and exits this component (include Mermaid sequence or flowchart diagram)
• Dependencies: epic dependencies (with tracker IDs) and external dependencies (libraries, hardware, services)
• Acceptance criteria: measurable criteria with specific thresholds (from component tests.md)
• Non-functional requirements: latency, memory, throughput targets with failure thresholds
• Risks & mitigations: relevant risks from risk_mitigations.md with concrete mitigation strategies
• Effort estimation: T-shirt size and story points range
• Child issues: planned task breakdown with complexity points
• Key constraints: from restrictions.md that affect this component
• Testing strategy: summary of test types and coverage from tests.md

Do NOT create minimal epics with just a summary and short description. The epic is the primary reference document for the implementation team.

Self-verification:

• "Bootstrap & Initial Structure" epic exists and is first in order
• "Blackbox Tests" epic exists
• Every component maps to exactly one epic
• Dependency order is respected (no epic depends on a later one)
• Acceptance criteria are measurable
• Effort estimates are realistic
• Every epic description includes architecture diagram, interface spec, data flow, risks, and NFRs
• Epic descriptions are self-contained — readable without opening other files

7. Create "Blackbox Tests" epic — this epic will parent the blackbox test tasks created by the /decompose skill. It covers implementing the test scenarios defined in tests/.

Save action: Epics created via the configured tracker MCP. Also saved locally in epics.md with ticket IDs. If tracker: local, save locally only.