Project Management Skill

PROJECT.md-first project management, goal setting, scope definition, and sprint planning.

When This Skill Activates

• Creating or updating PROJECT.md files
• Defining project goals and scope
• Planning sprints or milestones
• Validating alignment with goals
• Project roadmap creation
• Keywords: "project.md", "goals", "scope", "sprint", "milestone", "roadmap"

---

PROJECT.md Template

Core Structure

# Project Context - [PROJECT NAME]

**Last Updated**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Project**: [Brief one-line description]
**Version**: vX.Y.Z

---

## GOALS ⭐

**What success looks like for this project**:

1. **[Primary Goal]** - [Description of what "done" means]
2. **[Secondary Goal]** - [Description]
3. **[Tertiary Goal]** - [Description]

**Success Metrics**:

- **[Metric 1]**: [Target value] (how we measure goal 1)
- **[Metric 2]**: [Target value] (how we measure goal 2)
- **[Metric 3]**: [Target value] (how we measure goal 3)

---

## SCOPE

**What's IN Scope** ✅ (Features we build):

**[Category 1]**:

- ✅ **[Feature 1]** - [Description]
- ✅ **[Feature 2]** - [Description]

**[Category 2]**:

- ✅ **[Feature 3]** - [Description]
- ✅ **[Feature 4]** - [Description]

**What's OUT of Scope** ❌ (Explicitly not building):

- ❌ **[Anti-feature 1]** - [Why we're not building this]
- ❌ **[Anti-feature 2]** - [Why we're not building this]

---

## CONSTRAINTS

**Technical Constraints**:

- **[Constraint 1]**: [Description and rationale]
- **[Constraint 2]**: [Description and rationale]

**Resource Constraints**:

- **Budget**: [Amount/limit]
- **Timeline**: [Deadline or duration]
- **Team size**: [Number of developers]

**External Dependencies**:

- **[Dependency 1]**: [Impact on project]
- **[Dependency 2]**: [Impact on project]

---

## ARCHITECTURE

**High-Level Design**:
[Brief description of system architecture]

**Key Technologies**:

- **Language**: [Python, JavaScript, etc.]
- **Framework**: [Django, React, etc.]
- **Database**: [PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.]
- **Infrastructure**: [AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, etc.]

**Design Principles**:

1. **[Principle 1]** - [Why this matters]
2. **[Principle 2]** - [Why this matters]

---

## CURRENT SPRINT

**Sprint**: [Sprint name or number]
**Dates**: [Start] to [End]
**Goal**: [What we're achieving this sprint]

**In Progress**:

- [ ] [Task 1] (assigned to [name])
- [ ] [Task 2] (assigned to [name])

**Planned**:

- [ ] [Task 3]
- [ ] [Task 4]

---

## ROADMAP

### Phase 1: [Name] (Months 1-2)

- [ ] [Milestone 1]
- [ ] [Milestone 2]

### Phase 2: [Name] (Months 3-4)

- [ ] [Milestone 3]
- [ ] [Milestone 4]

### Phase 3: [Name] (Months 5-6)

- [ ] [Milestone 5]
- [ ] [Milestone 6]

---

## DECISIONS

**Key Architectural Decisions**:

1. **[Decision 1]** - [Rationale] (see ADR-001)
2. **[Decision 2]** - [Rationale] (see ADR-002)

**Deferred Decisions**:

- **[Decision]** - [Why we're waiting and what we need to know]

---

## RISKS

**High Priority**:

- **[Risk 1]**: [Impact] - [Mitigation strategy]

**Medium Priority**:

- **[Risk 2]**: [Impact] - [Mitigation strategy]

---

## TEAM

**Roles**:

- **Tech Lead**: [Name]
- **Product Owner**: [Name]
- **Developers**: [Names]
- **Reviewers**: [Names]

**Communication**:

- **Daily standup**: [Time and location]
- **Sprint planning**: [Frequency]
- **Retro**: [Frequency]

---

**For detailed ADRs**: See `docs/adr/`
**For sprint history**: See `docs/sprints/`

---

Goal-Setting Frameworks

SMART Goals

Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Relevant - Time-bound

Bad Goal (Vague)

## GOALS

1. Make the app better
2. Improve performance
3. Add features

Good Goal (SMART)

## GOALS

1. **Reduce page load time from 5s to < 2s** (Performance)
   - Specific: Page load time
   - Measurable: 5s → 2s
   - Achievable: Yes (optimization techniques exist)
   - Relevant: User experience critical for retention
   - Time-bound: By end of Q2

2. **Increase test coverage from 60% to 85%** (Quality)
   - Specific: Test coverage metric
   - Measurable: 60% → 85%
   - Achievable: Yes (identify untested code)
   - Relevant: Reduces bugs in production
   - Time-bound: By v2.0 release

3. **Launch mobile app for iOS and Android** (Expansion)
   - Specific: Mobile apps (both platforms)
   - Measurable: App store submissions approved
   - Achievable: Yes (team has mobile expertise)
   - Relevant: 70% of traffic is mobile web
   - Time-bound: Beta by Q3, GA by Q4

---

OKRs (Objectives & Key Results)

Objective: Inspirational, qualitative goal

Key Results: Measurable outcomes (3-5 per objective)

Example OKR

## GOALS

**Objective**: Become the fastest AI training platform

**Key Results**:

- KR1: Training time for LoRA < 10 minutes (currently 45 min)
- KR2: 95% of users rate training speed as "fast" or "very fast"
- KR3: Support 10K concurrent training jobs (currently 1K)

**Success Metrics**:

- Training time: < 10 min ✅
- User satisfaction: 95% positive ✅
- Concurrent jobs: 10K ✅

---

Scope Definition Best Practices

The "In vs Out" Template

Purpose: Prevent scope creep by being explicit

## SCOPE

**What's IN Scope** ✅:

**MVP Features** (v1.0 launch):

- ✅ **User authentication** (email/password, OAuth)
- ✅ **Basic CRUD operations** (create, read, update, delete)
- ✅ **Search functionality** (full-text search)
- ✅ **Mobile responsive design** (works on phones/tablets)

**What's OUT of Scope** ❌:

- ❌ **Advanced analytics** - Deferred to v2.0 (needs dedicated team)
- ❌ **Real-time collaboration** - Too complex for MVP
- ❌ **AI-powered recommendations** - Requires ML expertise we don't have yet
- ❌ **White-labeling** - Enterprise feature for later

The "Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, Won't Have" (MoSCoW) Method

## SCOPE (MoSCoW)

**Must Have** (Non-negotiable for launch):

- User login
- Data persistence
- Error handling

**Should Have** (Important but not critical):

- Email notifications
- Export to CSV
- Dark mode

**Could Have** (Nice to have if time permits):

- Keyboard shortcuts
- Bulk operations
- Advanced filters

**Won't Have** (Explicitly not in this release):

- Mobile app
- Offline mode
- Multi-language support

---

Constraint Documentation

Types of Constraints

1. Technical Constraints

## CONSTRAINTS

**Technical Constraints**:

- **Python 3.11+**: Required for new type hints and performance improvements
- **PostgreSQL only**: No NoSQL - need ACID transactions for financial data
- **< 500MB Docker image**: Deploy to edge locations with limited bandwidth
- **RESTful API**: No GraphQL - team lacks expertise, adds complexity

2. Resource Constraints

**Resource Constraints**:

- **Budget**: $50K total (includes infrastructure, tools, contractors)
- **Timeline**: 3-month deadline (hard constraint - board presentation)
- **Team**: 2 full-time devs (cannot hire more until Q3)
- **Infrastructure**: AWS only (existing credits, no multi-cloud)

3. Legal/Compliance Constraints

**Compliance Constraints**:

- **GDPR**: Must support data export and deletion (EU users)
- **HIPAA**: Healthcare data requires encryption at rest and in transit
- **SOC 2**: Annual audit required - need logging and access controls
- **Age restriction**: COPPA compliance - no users under 13

4. External Dependencies

**External Dependencies**:

- **OpenAI API**: Training features depend on GPT-4 availability
- **Stripe**: Payment processing (single point of failure)
- **AWS S3**: File storage (if S3 goes down, uploads fail)
- **Partner API**: Data sync requires their API stability

---

Sprint Planning

Sprint Template

## CURRENT SPRINT

**Sprint 5**: "Search & Filter"
**Dates**: 2025-11-01 to 2025-11-14 (2 weeks)
**Goal**: Users can search and filter results efficiently

**Capacity**: 80 story points (2 devs × 2 weeks × 20 pts/week)

**In Progress** (40 pts):

- [ ] Implement full-text search (13 pts) - @alice - 50% done
- [ ] Add filter UI component (8 pts) - @bob - 25% done
- [ ] Optimize query performance (13 pts) - @alice - blocked (waiting on DB migration)
- [ ] Update search documentation (3 pts) - @bob - 10% done
- [ ] Write integration tests (3 pts) - unassigned

**Planned Next** (20 pts):

- [ ] Add autocomplete to search (8 pts)
- [ ] Implement saved searches (5 pts)
- [ ] Add pagination (5 pts)
- [ ] Fix search bug #127 (2 pts)

**Done This Sprint** (18 pts):

- [x] Design search UX mockups (5 pts)
- [x] Set up Elasticsearch (8 pts)
- [x] Spike: Evaluate search libraries (5 pts)

**Blocked**:

- Query optimization blocked on DB migration (see issue #145)

**Risks**:

- Elasticsearch setup more complex than expected (3 days vs 1 day estimate)
- Bob out sick 2 days - may not finish filter UI

**Sprint Retrospective Topics**:

- Estimation accuracy (search tasks underestimated)
- Dependency management (DB migration caused blocker)

---

Sprint Planning Checklist

Before Sprint Planning:

• Backlog groomed - Stories estimated and prioritized
• Dependencies identified - External blockers noted
• Team capacity known - Account for holidays, PTO
• Previous sprint reviewed - Retro insights captured

During Sprint Planning:

• Sprint goal defined - One sentence, clear outcome
• Stories committed - Team agrees on workload
• Tasks broken down - Stories decomposed into tasks
• Assignments made - Owners identified (optional)
• Definition of done agreed - What "done" means

During Sprint:

• Daily standup - 15 min sync (blockers, progress)
• Update sprint board - Move tasks, update progress
• Flag blockers early - Don't wait until sprint end
• Adjust scope if needed - Remove low-priority items

End of Sprint:

• Demo/Review - Show completed work to stakeholders
• Retrospective - What went well, what to improve
• Update metrics - Velocity, burndown, etc.
• Close sprint - Move incomplete items to backlog

---

Milestone Planning

Milestone Template

## ROADMAP

### Milestone 1: MVP Launch (Months 1-2)

**Goal**: Production-ready app with core features

**Features**:

- [x] User authentication
- [x] CRUD operations
- [ ] Search functionality (Sprint 5)
- [ ] Mobile responsive design
- [ ] Error handling

**Success Criteria**:

- ✅ 50 beta users signed up
- ✅ < 5 critical bugs
- ✅ 80%+ test coverage
- ⏳ Sub-2s page load time

**Dependencies**:

- AWS account approved (done)
- Design mockups complete (done)
- Database schema finalized (in progress)

**Risks**:

- Third-party API integration delayed (mitigation: build fallback)

---

Roadmap Granularity

Month 1-3 (Detailed):

### Phase 1: Foundation (Months 1-3)

**Month 1**:

- Week 1-2: User auth + database setup
- Week 3-4: CRUD operations + basic UI

**Month 2**:

- Week 1-2: Search + filters
- Week 3-4: Mobile responsive + testing

**Month 3**:

- Week 1-2: Performance optimization
- Week 3-4: Beta launch + bug fixes

Month 4-6 (Less Detailed):

### Phase 2: Growth (Months 4-6)

- Analytics dashboard
- Advanced features (saved searches, exports)
- Scaling infrastructure

Month 7-12 (High-Level):

### Phase 3: Scale (Months 7-12)

- Enterprise features
- API for third-party integrations
- International expansion

---

Alignment Validation

Checking Alignment

When evaluating a feature request, ask:

1. Does it serve a GOAL?

Feature: Add social media sharing
Goal alignment: ✅ YES - Goal 2 is "Increase user growth"
Rationale: Sharing drives viral growth

2. Is it IN SCOPE?

Feature: Add video calling
Scope check: ❌ NO - Out of scope (requires real-time infrastructure)
Recommendation: Defer to Phase 3 or reject

3. Does it violate CONSTRAINTS?

Feature: Use MongoDB instead of PostgreSQL
Constraint check: ❌ YES - Violates "PostgreSQL only" constraint
Rationale: Team lacks NoSQL expertise, ACID transactions required

4. Does it contribute to current SPRINT goal?

Feature: Add dark mode
Sprint goal: "Search & Filter" ❌ NO
Recommendation: Add to backlog for later sprint

---

Alignment Decision Tree

Is feature request aligned?
│
├─ Does it serve a GOAL?
│  ├─ NO → Reject (explain why)
│  └─ YES → Continue
│
├─ Is it IN SCOPE?
│  ├─ NO → Defer or reject
│  └─ YES → Continue
│
├─ Does it violate CONSTRAINTS?
│  ├─ YES → Modify or reject
│  └─ NO → Continue
│
└─ Is it the right time (sprint/phase)?
   ├─ NO → Add to backlog for later
   └─ YES → Approve and prioritize

---

PROJECT.md Best Practices

Keep It Living

❌ BAD: Outdated PROJECT.md

**Last Updated**: 2023-01-15 # 2 years ago!
**Current Sprint**: Sprint 3 # Actually on Sprint 15

✅ GOOD: Living document

**Last Updated**: 2025-10-25 # Updated this week
**Current Sprint**: Sprint 15 - "Performance Optimization"

Practice: Update PROJECT.md weekly or after major decisions

---

Be Specific, Not Generic

❌ BAD: Vague goals

## GOALS

1. Make users happy
2. Build good software
3. Ship features

✅ GOOD: Specific goals

## GOALS

1. **Achieve NPS score of 50+** (currently 32)
2. **Reduce P0 bugs to < 5 per month** (currently 15)
3. **Ship search feature by Nov 15** (hard deadline for demo)

---

Include "Why"

❌ BAD: No rationale

## CONSTRAINTS

- Python 3.11+ required

✅ GOOD: Explains why

## CONSTRAINTS

- **Python 3.11+**: Required for new type hints (improves IDE support) and
  10-25% performance improvements in CPython 3.11

---

Link to Details

❌ BAD: Everything in PROJECT.md

## ARCHITECTURE

[20 pages of architecture documentation inline]

✅ GOOD: Link to detailed docs

## ARCHITECTURE

**High-Level**: Microservices with event-driven communication

**Details**: See `docs/adr/` for architectural decisions and `docs/architecture.md`
for system diagrams

---

Integration with [PROJECT_NAME]

[PROJECT_NAME] project management practices:

• PROJECT.md location: .claude/PROJECT.md (version-controlled)
• Update frequency: Weekly or after major decisions
• Alignment checks: orchestrator agent validates before work begins
• Sprint tracking: Optional GitHub integration (issues, milestones)
• ADRs: Linked from PROJECT.md, stored in docs/adr/

---

Templates

Minimal PROJECT.md (Startups/MVPs)

# [PROJECT NAME]

**Last Updated**: YYYY-MM-DD

## GOAL

[One sentence: What does success look like?]

## SCOPE

**Building**: [List 3-5 must-have features]
**Not building**: [List 2-3 anti-features]

## CONSTRAINTS

- **Timeline**: [Deadline]
- **Tech stack**: [Key technologies]

## CURRENT FOCUS

[What we're working on this week/sprint]

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Comprehensive PROJECT.md (Teams/Enterprises)

Use the full template at the top of this skill (includes goals, scope, constraints, architecture, sprints, roadmap, risks, team).

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Additional Resources

Books:

• "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries
• "Inspired" by Marty Cagan
• "Measure What Matters" (OKRs) by John Doerr

Frameworks:

• SMART goals
• OKRs (Objectives & Key Results)
• MoSCoW prioritization
• SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)

Tools:

• GitHub Issues + Milestones
• Linear, Jira, Asana (project tracking)
• Miro, FigJam (roadmap visualization)

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Version: 1.0.0 Type: Knowledge skill (no scripts) See Also: architecture-patterns (ADRs), documentation-guide, git-workflow