Purpose
The requirements-extractor skill provides structured methods for parsing GitHub issues to extract and organize requirements information. It ensures that all requirements are properly identified, categorized, and documented in a format suitable for downstream design and implementation phases.
When to Use
This skill auto-activates when you:
- Analyze GitHub issues for requirements
- Parse feature requests or bug reports
- Extract acceptance criteria from issue descriptions
- Identify user stories (As a... I want... So that...)
- Distinguish functional from non-functional requirements
- Clarify ambiguous or missing requirements
Provided Capabilities
1. Requirement Identification
- Functional Requirements: What the system must do
- Non-Functional Requirements: Quality attributes (performance, security, usability, scalability)
- Business Requirements: Business goals and objectives
- User Requirements: User-facing capabilities
- System Requirements: Technical system capabilities
2. Acceptance Criteria Extraction
- Parse acceptance criteria from issue body
- Identify testable conditions
- Convert narratives to checkable criteria
- Flag missing or ambiguous criteria
3. User Story Parsing
- Identify user story format: "As a [role], I want [feature], so that [benefit]"
- Extract role, feature, and benefit components
- Parse epic stories vs. individual stories
- Link related stories
4. Requirement Categorization
- Must Have (P0): Critical for MVP
- Should Have (P1): Important but not critical
- Could Have (P2): Desirable but optional
- Won't Have (P3): Out of scope for this release
5. Requirement Validation
- Check for completeness using requirements-checklist.md
- Identify ambiguous language
- Flag conflicting requirements
- Ensure testability
Usage Guide
Step 1: Fetch Issue Content
gh issue view <issue-number> --json title,body,labels,comments --repo matteocervelli/llms
Step 2: Parse Issue Structure
Look for these patterns in issue body:
Functional Requirements Indicators:
- "The system must..."
- "The feature should..."
- "Users can..."
- "When X happens, then Y..."
Non-Functional Requirements Indicators:
- "Response time..."
- "Must handle N concurrent users..."
- "Should be accessible to..."
- "Must comply with..."
- "Performance target..."
Acceptance Criteria Indicators:
- "Acceptance Criteria:"
- "Definition of Done:"
- Checklist items:
- [ ] - "Given... When... Then..." (BDD format)
User Stories Indicators:
- "As a..."
- "User persona..."
- "Use case..."
Step 3: Extract Functional Requirements
Parse statements that describe what the system does:
### Functional Requirements
1. **[FR-001]** User Authentication: System must authenticate users via email/password
2. **[FR-002]** Data Export: Users can export data to CSV, JSON, or PDF formats
3. **[FR-003]** Real-time Updates: System must push updates to clients within 5 seconds
Naming Convention: FR-XXX for functional requirements
Step 4: Extract Non-Functional Requirements
Parse quality attributes:
### Non-Functional Requirements
#### Performance
- **[NFR-P-001]** API response time must be < 200ms for 95th percentile
- **[NFR-P-002]** System must handle 1000 concurrent users
#### Security
- **[NFR-S-001]** All data transmission must use TLS 1.3+
- **[NFR-S-002]** Passwords must be hashed with bcrypt (cost factor ≥12)
#### Usability
- **[NFR-U-001]** UI must be WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliant
- **[NFR-U-002]** All actions must be reversible within 30 seconds
#### Scalability
- **[NFR-SC-001]** Architecture must support horizontal scaling
- **[NFR-SC-002]** Database must handle 10M+ records without degradation
Naming Convention: NFR-[Category]-XXX
Step 5: Extract Acceptance Criteria
Convert issue acceptance criteria to structured format:
### Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] **AC-001**: User can log in with valid credentials
- Given valid email and password
- When user submits login form
- Then user is redirected to dashboard
- And session token is created
- [ ] **AC-002**: Invalid login shows error message
- Given invalid credentials
- When user submits login form
- Then error message displays: "Invalid email or password"
- And user remains on login page
- And login attempt is logged
- [ ] **AC-003**: Forgot password link is visible
- Given user is on login page
- When user views page
- Then "Forgot Password?" link is visible
- And link navigates to password reset flow
Naming Convention: AC-XXX for acceptance criteria
Step 6: Parse User Stories
Extract user stories in standard format:
### User Stories
**Story 1**: User Login
- **As a** registered user
- **I want to** log in with my email and password
- **So that** I can access my personalized dashboard
- **Priority**: Must Have (P0)
- **Acceptance Criteria**: AC-001, AC-002, AC-003
**Story 2**: Guest Browsing
- **As a** guest visitor
- **I want to** browse public content without logging in
- **So that** I can evaluate the platform before registering
- **Priority**: Should Have (P1)
- **Acceptance Criteria**: AC-004, AC-005
Step 7: Categorize by Priority
Use MoSCoW method:
### Requirement Priorities
#### Must Have (P0) - Critical for MVP
- FR-001: User Authentication
- FR-003: Real-time Updates
- NFR-S-001: TLS encryption
#### Should Have (P1) - Important
- FR-002: Data Export
- NFR-U-001: WCAG compliance
#### Could Have (P2) - Desirable
- FR-005: Dark mode support
- NFR-P-003: CDN integration
#### Won't Have (P3) - Out of scope
- FR-010: AI-powered recommendations (future release)
Step 8: Validate Using Checklist
Use requirements-checklist.md to validate each requirement:
# Check against requirements checklist
# Manually verify each criterion from requirements-checklist.md
Validation Criteria:
- ✅ Clear and unambiguous
- ✅ Testable
- ✅ Complete
- ✅ Consistent (no conflicts)
- ✅ Traceable to business goals
- ✅ Feasible with available resources
Step 9: Flag Issues
Identify and document:
### Requirement Issues
**Ambiguous Requirements**:
- FR-007: "System should be fast" → Needs quantification (What is "fast"?)
- FR-012: "Easy to use" → Needs specific usability criteria
**Missing Requirements**:
- No error handling requirements specified for API failures
- Logging and monitoring requirements not defined
- Backup and recovery procedures not mentioned
**Conflicting Requirements**:
- FR-015 requires real-time sync, but NFR-P-005 sets 5-minute update interval
Best Practices
1. Be Thorough
- Read entire issue including comments
- Check linked issues and PRs
- Review labels and milestones
- Look for implicit requirements
2. Use Standard Formats
- Consistent naming conventions
- Structured templates
- Clear categorization
- Numbered identifiers
3. Validate Completeness
- Every requirement has ID
- Every requirement is testable
- Every requirement has priority
- Every requirement traces to business goal
4. Handle Ambiguity
- Flag vague language
- Request clarification
- Document assumptions
- Provide examples
5. Consider Non-Obvious Requirements
- Error handling
- Logging and monitoring
- Performance under load
- Data migration needs
- Backward compatibility
- Accessibility
- Internationalization
- Privacy and compliance
Resources
requirements-checklist.md
Comprehensive checklist for validating requirements including:
- Completeness criteria
- Clarity criteria
- Consistency checks
- Testability validation
- Feasibility assessment
extraction-patterns.md
Common patterns for identifying requirements in natural language:
- Keywords and phrases
- Sentence structures
- Issue templates
- Standard formats (BDD, user stories)
Example Usage
Input (GitHub Issue)
Title: Add user authentication feature
Description:
As a user, I want to log in with my email and password so that I can access my personal data.
The system should support:
- Email/password login
- "Remember me" option
- Forgot password flow
- Account lockout after 5 failed attempts
Acceptance Criteria:
- [ ] User can log in with valid credentials
- [ ] Invalid login shows error message
- [ ] Password reset email sent within 1 minute
- [ ] Locked accounts show appropriate message
Output (Extracted Requirements)
## Requirements
### Functional Requirements
1. **[FR-001]** Email/Password Authentication: System must authenticate users via email and password
2. **[FR-002]** Remember Me: System must provide "remember me" checkbox to maintain session
3. **[FR-003]** Password Reset: System must send password reset email when user requests
4. **[FR-004]** Account Lockout: System must lock account after 5 consecutive failed login attempts
### Non-Functional Requirements
#### Security
- **[NFR-S-001]** Password storage must use bcrypt hashing
- **[NFR-S-002]** Session tokens must expire after 24 hours (unless "remember me")
- **[NFR-S-003]** Login attempts must be rate-limited (max 10/hour per IP)
#### Performance
- **[NFR-P-001]** Password reset email must be sent within 1 minute
- **[NFR-P-002]** Login response time must be < 500ms
#### Usability
- **[NFR-U-001]** Error messages must not reveal whether email exists
- **[NFR-U-002]** Locked account message must provide unlock instructions
### Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] **AC-001**: User can log in with valid email/password
- [ ] **AC-002**: Invalid login shows generic error message
- [ ] **AC-003**: Password reset email sent within 1 minute of request
- [ ] **AC-004**: Account locked after 5 failed attempts with clear message
- [ ] **AC-005**: "Remember me" extends session to 30 days
### User Stories
**Story 1**: User Login
- **As a** registered user
- **I want to** log in with email and password
- **So that** I can access my personal data
- **Priority**: Must Have (P0)
Integration
This skill is used by:
- analysis-specialist agent during Phase 1: Requirements Analysis
- Activates automatically when agent analyzes GitHub issues
- Provides structured output for analysis document generation
Version: 2.0.0 Auto-Activation: Yes (when extracting requirements) Phase: 1 (Requirements Analysis) Created: 2025-10-29
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