Main Workflow Router

End-to-End Orchestration Skill

When to Invoke

ALWAYS auto-invoke at the start of any BMAD project:

• User says "start project", "new project", "initialize BMAD", "begin"
• User says "what's next?", "where am I?", "check status", "workflow status"
• User begins describing a product idea without mentioning BMAD explicitly
• At the beginning of ANY product development conversation
• User asks for guidance on the development process

Special auto-behaviors:

• If no workflow-status.md exists → automatically run initialization workflow
• If workflow-status.md exists → read current status and recommend next action
• If user mentions a specific phase → route to the appropriate skill
• If user is mid-project → check phase completion and suggest next step

Routing intelligence based on user intent:

FIRST: Assess complexity level (0-4)

• Level 0-1 (bug fix, small change, simple feature) → Route to OpenSpec
• Level 2-4 (new product, complex feature, architecture) → Route to BMAD

For OpenSpec work (Level 0-1):

• Mentions "bug", "fix", "small change", "quick" → openspec-change-proposal
• Has proposal, says "implement", "apply" → openspec-change-implementation
• Change complete, says "archive", "close" → openspec-change-closure

For BMAD work (Level 2-4):

• Mentions "idea", "brainstorm", "explore" → bmad-discovery-research
• Mentions "PRD", "requirements", "plan" → bmad-product-planning
• Mentions "UX", "UI", "design" → bmad-ux-design
• Mentions "architecture", "tech stack", "build" → bmad-architecture-design
• Mentions "test strategy", "QA", "ATDD" → bmad-test-strategy
• Mentions "stories", "breakdown", "backlog" → bmad-story-planning
• Mentions "implement story", "code", "develop" → bmad-development-execution

Critical decision: OpenSpec vs BMAD

• Small, well-defined, existing codebase → OpenSpec
• Greenfield, complex, or needs discovery → BMAD
• When in doubt, ask user about complexity level

Do NOT invoke when:

• User is clearly asking for a specific skill (let that skill handle it)
• User is in the middle of implementing code (appropriate skill is active)
• User is asking technical questions unrelated to workflow

Auto-Activation Behavior

This skill applies specialized routing heuristics whenever it auto-invokes:

1. Conversation Start Detection

When a conversation begins and the user mentions:

• Product development topics
• Project ideas or features
• Building or creating something
• BMAD or OpenSpec methodology

Auto-action: Initialize workflow files if none exist and recommend the right path.

2. Status Check Detection

When user asks:

• "Where am I?"
• "What's next?"
• "What should I do now?"
• "Check workflow status"

Auto-action: Read workflow-status.md, summarize phase progress, and suggest next skill.

3. Phase Transition Detection

When a downstream skill completes its phase:

• Analyst delivers discovery brief → confirm Planning readiness
• PM delivers PRD/epics → prepare Solutioning
• Architecture delivers decision doc → move to Implementation

Auto-action: Update workflow status and queue the appropriate next capability.

4. Routing Intelligence

Based on user intent, automatically route to:

• Mentions "idea", "brainstorm" → bmad-discovery-research
• Mentions "PRD", "requirements" → bmad-product-planning
• Mentions "UX", "UI" → bmad-ux-design
• Mentions "architecture", "tech stack" → bmad-architecture-design
• Mentions "test strategy", "QA" → bmad-test-strategy
• Mentions "stories", "backlog" → bmad-story-planning
• Mentions "implement", "code" → bmad-development-execution
• Mentions "small change", "bug" → openspec-change-proposal

5. Safety Checks

Before routing, verify:

• Required artifacts from previous phase exist
• Quality gates in CHECKLIST.md are satisfied
• No unresolved blockers in workflow-status.md

If checks fail, halt routing and request the missing prerequisites.

Mission

Serve as the global orchestrator for all product development work, intelligently routing between BMAD (Level 2-4 complex projects) and OpenSpec (Level 0-1 lightweight changes). Assess scope, initialize appropriate state management, and sequence skills through correct phase gates for optimal workflow efficiency.

Inputs Required

• project_summary: current objective, level, and stakeholder context
• artifacts_index: list of delivered files and their status
• status_files: docs/bmad-workflow-status.md, docs/sprint-status.yaml, or equivalents if they exist

Outputs

• workflow-status.md - Project status tracking document (generated from assets/workflow-status-template.md.template)
• Updated workflow and sprint status records via scripts/workflow_status.py and scripts/sprint_status.py
• Recommendation for the next skill to activate with rationale and prerequisites
• Logged artifacts and blockers for stakeholder visibility

Template location: .claude/skills/main-workflow-router/assets/workflow-status-template.md.template

Process

1. Assess Complexity & Choose Workflow

   • Determine project level (0-4) from user description
   • Level 0-1: Route to OpenSpec (propose → implement → archive)
   • Level 2-4: Route to BMAD (analysis → planning → solutioning → implementation)
   • When ambiguous: Ask clarifying questions about scope and complexity

2. Initialize State Management

   • For BMAD: Create/update docs/bmad-workflow-status.md and docs/sprint-status.yaml
   • For OpenSpec: Scaffold change workspace in openspec/changes/<change-id>/
   • Use helper scripts: workflow_status.py, sprint_status.py, scaffold_change.py

3. Review Context & Prerequisites

   • Check existing artifacts from previous phases
   • Validate gate criteria from preceding skills
   • Identify missing prerequisites or blockers

4. Route to Next Skill

   • For OpenSpec: openspec-change-proposal → openspec-change-implementation → openspec-change-closure
   • For BMAD: Route through phases (analyst → pm → ux/architecture/tea → stories → dev)
   • Communicate required inputs and outstanding risks

5. Update State & Report Progress

   • Update workflow status files
   • Log completed artifacts and next actions
   • Highlight blockers and recommend remediation
   • Escalate from OpenSpec to BMAD if scope grows beyond Level 1

Quality Gates

All items in CHECKLIST.md must be satisfied to progress between phases. Never advance without required artifacts.

Error Handling

• When status files are absent, run initialization scripts and request missing information.
• If prerequisites are not met, halt progression and notify the responsible skill with specific gaps.
• Downgrade to lightweight workflows (e.g., OpenSpec) when project level is 0-1 and BMAD overhead is unnecessary.

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