Template Creation Process

Discover: Interview stakeholders to understand needs
Analyze: Review existing content patterns
Design: Create template structure and placeholders
Implement: Build template with macros and formatting
Test: Validate with sample data — confirm template renders correctly in preview before publishing
Document: Create usage instructions
Publish: Deploy to appropriate space/project via MCP (see MCP Operations below)
Verify: Confirm deployment success; roll back to previous version if errors occur
Train: Educate users on template usage
Monitor: Track adoption and gather feedback
Iterate: Refine based on usage

Template Modification Process

Assess: Review change request and impact
Version: Create new version, keep old available
Modify: Update template structure/content
Test: Validate changes don't break existing usage; preview updated template before publishing
Migrate: Provide migration path for existing content
Communicate: Announce changes to users
Support: Assist users with migration
Archive: Deprecate old version after transition; confirm deprecated template is unlisted, not deleted

Blueprint Development

Define blueprint scope and purpose
Design multi-page structure
Create page templates for each section
Configure page creation rules
Add dynamic content (Jira queries, user data)
Test blueprint creation flow end-to-end with a sample space
Verify all macro references resolve correctly before deployment
HANDOFF TO: Atlassian Admin for global deployment

Confluence Templates Library

See references/template-design-patterns.md for template design patterns and references/governance-framework.md for the governance model. For deployment-ready storage-format markup, use the bundled scaffolder (see Template scaffolder below). The following summarises the standard types this skill creates and maintains.

Confluence Template Types

Template	Purpose	Key Macros Used
Meeting Notes	Structured meeting records with agenda, decisions, and action items	`{date}`, `{tasks}`, `{panel}`, `{info}`, `{note}`
Project Charter	Org-level project scope, stakeholder RACI, timeline, and budget	`{panel}`, `{status}`, `{timeline}`, `{info}`
Sprint Retrospective	Agile ceremony template with What Went Well / Didn't Go Well / Actions	`{panel}`, `{expand}`, `{tasks}`, `{status}`
PRD	Feature definition with goals, user stories, functional/non-functional requirements, and release plan	`{panel}`, `{status}`, `{jira}`, `{warning}`
Decision Log	Structured option analysis with decision matrix and implementation tracking	`{panel}`, `{status}`, `{info}`, `{tasks}`

Standard Sections included across all Confluence templates:

Header panel with metadata (owner, date, status)
Clearly labelled content sections with inline placeholder instructions
Action items block using {tasks} macro
Related links and references

Complete Example: Meeting Notes Template

Format warning: The example below is legacy wiki markup ({panel}, h2., {tasks}), shown for human readability. Wiki markup is NOT Confluence storage format and will be rejected by mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage / updateConfluencePage, which expect storage format (XHTML, <ac:structured-macro> elements) or ADF. To get the deployment-ready storage-format equivalent, run the scaffolder: python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py meeting-notes (see Template scaffolder).

{panel:title=Meeting Metadata|borderColor=#0052CC|titleBGColor=#0052CC|titleColor=#FFFFFF}
*Date:* {date}
*Owner / Facilitator:* @[facilitator name]
*Attendees:* @[name], @[name]
*Status:* {status:colour=Yellow|title=In Progress}
{panel}

h2. Agenda
# [Agenda item 1]
# [Agenda item 2]
# [Agenda item 3]

h2. Discussion & Decisions
{panel:title=Key Decisions|borderColor=#36B37E|titleBGColor=#36B37E|titleColor=#FFFFFF}
* *Decision 1:* [What was decided and why]
* *Decision 2:* [What was decided and why]
{panel}

{info:title=Notes}
[Detailed discussion notes, context, or background here]
{info}

h2. Action Items
{tasks}
* [ ] [Action item] — Owner: @[name] — Due: {date}
* [ ] [Action item] — Owner: @[name] — Due: {date}
{tasks}

h2. Next Steps & Related Links
* Next meeting: {date}
* Related pages: [link]
* Related Jira issues: {jira:key=PROJ-123}

Storage-format examples for the other built-in types (decision-log, runbook, project-kickoff) come from python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py --list; design patterns for the remaining types (Project Charter, Sprint Retrospective, PRD) are in references/template-design-patterns.md.

Jira Templates Library

Jira Template Types

Template	Purpose	Key Sections
User Story	Feature requests in As a / I want / So that format	Acceptance Criteria (Given/When/Then), Design links, Technical Notes, Definition of Done
Bug Report	Defect capture with reproduction steps	Environment, Steps to Reproduce, Expected vs Actual Behavior, Severity, Workaround
Epic	High-level initiative scope	Vision, Goals, Success Metrics, Story Breakdown, Dependencies, Timeline

Standard Sections included across all Jira templates:

Clear summary line
Acceptance or success criteria as checkboxes
Related issues and dependencies block
Definition of Done (for stories)

Macro Usage Guidelines

Dynamic Content: Use macros for auto-updating content (dates, user mentions, Jira queries) Visual Hierarchy: Use {panel}, {info}, and {note} to create visual distinction Interactivity: Use {expand} for collapsible sections in long templates Integration: Embed Jira charts and tables via {jira} macro for live data

Template scaffolder — generate storage-format markup

The bundled scaffolder emits Confluence storage-format XHTML — the exact body format createConfluencePage/updateConfluencePage accept. It is the canonical deployment path for this skill:

# List available template types (meeting-notes, decision-log, runbook, project-kickoff, custom)
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py --list

# Generate a template body (storage-format XHTML)
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py meeting-notes

# Custom template with chosen sections and macros, JSON output for programmatic use
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py custom --sections "Overview,Goals,Action Items" --macros "toc,status,info" --format json

Consume the output: take the CONFLUENCE STORAGE FORMAT MARKUP block (text mode) or the markup field (JSON mode) and pass it verbatim as the body of mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage. Apply the suggested labels via the Confluence UI afterwards (label tools are not on the MCP).

Atlassian MCP Integration

Primary Tool: Atlassian Remote MCP server (bundled .mcp.json, server key atlassian). Tools surface as mcp__atlassian__<toolName> (camelCase). Canonical tool list: project-management/references/atlassian-mcp-tools.md. Never invent tool names — if a capability isn't in that list, it is not available via MCP; route to the web UI or REST API.

Template Operations via MCP

Obtain cloudId once via mcp__atlassian__getAccessibleAtlassianResources. Replace angle-bracket placeholders with real values; discover exact parameter names from each tool's schema at call time.

Create a Confluence template page (body from the scaffolder above):

mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage (cloudId, space, title="Template: Meeting Notes",
  body=<storage-format XHTML from template_scaffolder.py>, parent page id optional)

Labels (template, meeting-notes) must be applied in the Confluence UI — there is no MCP label tool.

Update an existing template page (read first to get the current version):

mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<existing page id>)
mcp__atlassian__updateConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<id>, version=<current + 1>,
  body=<updated storage-format content>)

Jira issue description templates: there is no MCP tool for field configuration (default_value on the description field, screens, field contexts). Configure description defaults in the Jira admin UI (Settings > Issues > Field configurations) or via REST (/rest/api/3/fieldconfiguration). What MCP CAN do: create issues pre-filled with template text via mcp__atlassian__createJiraIssue (pass the template body as the description), and inspect required fields per issue type with mcp__atlassian__getJiraIssueTypeMetaWithFields.

First-class Confluence templates/blueprints are also not creatable via MCP — createConfluencePage creates ordinary pages that serve as copy-from templates. To register a real space template, use Space settings > Templates in the UI.

Deploy a template page to multiple spaces (batch):

# Repeat per target space:
mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage (cloudId, space=<target>, title="Template: Meeting Notes", body=<storage-format content>)
# Verify each create before proceeding:
mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<id returned by create>)
# Assert the returned body is non-empty and contains the expected <ac:structured-macro> elements

Validation checkpoint after deployment:

Retrieve the created/updated page via mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage and assert it renders without macro errors
Check that Jira-macro embeds resolve against the target Jira project
Confirm task blocks are interactive in the published view
If any check fails: revert using mcp__atlassian__updateConfluencePage with version: <current + 1> and the previous version body

Best Practices & Governance

Org-Specific Standards:

Track template versions with version notes in the page header
Mark outdated templates with a {warning} banner before archiving; archive (do not delete)
Maintain usage guides linked from each template
Gather feedback on a quarterly review cycle; incorporate usage metrics before deprecating

Quality Gates (apply before every deployment):

Example content provided for each section
Tested with sample data in preview
Version comment added to change log
Feedback mechanism in place (comments enabled or linked survey)

Governance Process:

Request and justification
Design and review
Testing with pilot users
Documentation
Approval
Deployment (via MCP or manual)
Training
Monitoring

Handoff Protocols

Handoff summary (governance context in references/governance-framework.md):

Partner	Receives FROM	Sends TO
Senior PM	Template requirements, reporting templates, executive formats	Completed templates, usage analytics, optimization suggestions
Scrum Master	Sprint ceremony needs, team-specific requests, retro format preferences	Sprint-ready templates, agile ceremony structures, velocity tracking templates
Jira Expert	Issue template requirements, custom field display needs	Issue description templates, field config templates, JQL query templates
Confluence Expert	Space-specific needs, global template requests, blueprint requirements	Configured page templates, blueprint structures, deployment plans
Atlassian Admin	Org-wide standards, global deployment requirements, compliance templates	Global templates for approval, usage reports, compliance status

atlassian-templates

Atlassian Template & Files Creator Expert

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