# Idea Phases

- Loaded by `idea-to-production` at every phase; it has no command of
  its own. Each phase runs through the installed skill named here. The
  gates live in the driver, never here.

**Phases, in this order:**

0. Context (brownfield only): project-context; read the existing PRD,
   architecture and spec; run the existing suite.
1. Ideas: brainstorming; cis innovation-strategy for the business model.
2. Brief: product-brief; forge-idea when the idea is shaky.
3. Research: deep-recon (market, technical, competitive).
4. Requirements: prd.
5. Design: architecture.
6. Screens: ux, if any.
7. Slicing: spec, create-epics-and-stories, sprint-planning.
8. Test plan: testarch-test-design.
9. Build: build per story (build-auto when autonomous), then code-review.
10. Tests: testarch-automate, testarch-trace.
11. Release: release record with rollback, feature flag, service objectives.
12. Operate: observability, request correlation, incident record, cost.
13. Maintain: retrospective, correct-course, dependency bumps, next idea.

**Brownfield deltas, by phase:**

- 1–3 shrink: forge-idea tests the idea against the existing code;
  research only where the change needs it.
- 4–7 update the existing PRD, architecture and spec instead of writing
  new ones; a change that contradicts the plan goes through correct-course.
- 8–11 protect: the test plan names regression tests for touched
  behaviour; build in small batches; changed user-facing behaviour ships
  behind a feature flag.

**Growing the playbook.** A new phase or delta goes here, never into the
driver. Keep at least ten lines free.