Open Sprint

Skill: Open Sprint

Description

The "Sprint Launcher" of the Agent OS. Opens a new sprint cleanly — confirms prior work is resolved, sets the sprint objective, creates the first track, and ensures the team is oriented before any execution begins. The counterpart to clean-context.

Auto-trigger: This skill should be invoked automatically when the user says phrases like "start planning," "new sprint," "let's plan," "begin planning," "what are we working on next," or "ready to start a new sprint."

Operational Rules

• 🛡️ MIDDLEWARE ISOLATION (MANDATORY): You are the Architect (Tier 2). You are STRUCTURALLY BLOCKED from tactical execution.
• Identity (Global Standard): Every message MUST lead with the Identity Header:

  [Name] ([Role])

• Clean-Before-Open Rule: Never open a new sprint over incomplete prior work without explicit Conductor confirmation.

Sprint Open Protocol

Step 1 — Prior Sprint Check

Read .agent/context/tracks.md and .agent/context/plan.md.

If any tracks are marked in progress or blocked:

"There are [N] unresolved tracks from the prior sprint: [list]. Would you like to carry them forward, close them, or archive them before opening the new sprint?"

Wait for the Conductor's decision before proceeding.

Step 2 — Context Archival (Optional)

Ask once:

"Would you like to archive completed tracks before opening the new sprint? This keeps your active context lean. (Recommended: yes)"

If yes: run the archival steps from clean-context (move completed tracks from tracks.md to .agent/archives/). If no: proceed.

Step 3 — Sprint Interview

Ask the following as a single message. Wait for all answers before proceeding.

To open the new sprint, please answer:

1. Sprint objective — What is the primary goal of this sprint? (1-2 sentences)
2. First task — What is the first specific task or track to execute?
3. Owner — Which specialist should handle the first task? (or "TBD")

Step 4 — Update Context Files

Update plan.md:

## Current Sprint: [Sprint Objective]

### Sprint Goals:
- [ ] [First task] — [Owner] — Track [N]

---
*Last updated: [DATE]*

Update tracks.md — add the new track:

## Track [N]: [First Task Name]
- **Owner:** [Specialist Name]
- **Status:** Ready for Handoff Bridge
- **Sprint:** [Sprint Objective]
- **Opened:** [DATE]

Confirm CLAUDE.md is current — read it and flag any stale fields (e.g., team members that have changed, outdated toolset entries). Do not modify without Conductor confirmation.

Step 5 — Sprint Summary

Produce a clean orientation summary:

## Sprint [N] Open

**Objective:** [Sprint objective]
**First Track:** Track [N] — [Task name] → [Owner]
**Team:** [List from CLAUDE.md org chart]
**Context Health:** [Clean / N archived tracks / N stale fields flagged]

Ready. Call optimize-handoff when you're ready to brief [Owner].

Verification

1. Prior Work Check: Confirm incomplete tracks were surfaced before opening.
2. Objective Written: Confirm plan.md contains the new sprint objective.
3. Track Created: Confirm tracks.md has a new entry for the first task.
4. No Execution: Confirm no deliverables or code were produced — planning only.

Stats

• Overhead: Low
• Operational Level: Level 2 (Strategic Planning)
• Benefit: Eliminates the "cold start" problem — every sprint begins with full orientation, clean context, and a clear first action.

Trigger

Tell Architect: "Open a new sprint" — or any planning-intent phrase (see Auto-trigger above).