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Story Creator

Purpose

Creates Story documents in Linear from IDEAL plan (CREATE mode) or appends user-requested Stories to existing Epic (ADD mode). Invoked by ln-220-story-coordinator.

Universal factory worker for creating Stories. Supports two modes:

CREATE MODE: Epic has no Stories → create from IDEAL plan (5-10 Stories)
ADD MODE: Epic has Stories → append new Story(s) from user request

Invoked by ln-220-story-coordinator (Phase 5a for CREATE, Phase 5c for ADD).

When Invoked

1. ln-220-story-coordinator CREATE MODE (Phase 5a):

Epic has NO existing Stories (Linear query count = 0)
IDEAL plan generated (Phase 3)
Standards Research completed by ln-001 (Phase 2)
Parameters: epicData, idealPlan, standardsResearch, teamId, autoApprove

2. ln-220-story-coordinator ADD MODE (Phase 5c):

Epic HAS existing Stories, user wants to ADD more (not replan)
Single Story or few Stories from user request
Parameters: epicData, appendMode: true, newStoryDescription, standardsResearch, teamId

Input Parameters

For CREATE MODE (from ln-220-story-coordinator Phase 5a):

{
  epicData: {id, title, description},
  idealPlan: [
    {
      number: "US004",
      title: "Register OAuth client",
      statement: {persona, capability, value},
      ac: [GWT scenarios],
      technicalNotes: {architecture, integrations, performance},
      orchestratorBrief: {tech, keyFiles, approach, complexity},
      estimatedHours: 12,
      testCounts: {e2e: 2, integration: 5, unit: 11}
    }
  ],
  standardsResearch: "OAuth 2.0 (RFC 6749)...",
  teamId: "team-id",
  autoApprove: true
}

For ADD MODE (from ln-220-story-coordinator Phase 5c with appendMode):

{
  epicData: {id, title, description},
  appendMode: true,                    // Signals ADD MODE - append to existing
  newStoryDescription: "User's request for new Story",
  standardsResearch: "Focused research for new Story only",
  teamId: "team-id",
  autoApprove: false                   // User confirmation recommended
}

appendMode: true signals ADD MODE - append to existing Stories
newStoryDescription: User's request for new Story(s) to add
NO idealPlan - creates only what user requested (single Story or few)

Inputs

Input	Required	Source	Description
`epicId`	Yes	args, kanban, user	Epic to process

Resolution: Epic Resolution Chain. Status filter: Active (planned/started)

Tools Config

MANDATORY READ: Load shared/references/tools_config_guide.md, shared/references/storage_mode_detection.md, shared/references/input_resolution_pattern.md

Extract: task_provider = Task Management → Provider

Quality Criteria

MANDATORY READ: Load shared/references/creation_quality_checklist.md §Story Creation Checklist for validation criteria that ln-310 will enforce.

Workflow

[!NOTE] ADD MODE (appendMode: true): When adding Stories to existing Epic, workflow is simplified:

Phase 1: Generate only requested Story(s) from newStoryDescription

Skip full IDEAL plan comparison

Standards Research is focused only on new Story topics

Other phases proceed normally (INVEST, Preview, Create)

Phase 1: Generate Story Documents

Step 0: Resolve epicId (standalone only — skip if epicData provided by ln-220 orchestrator): Run Epic Resolution Chain per guide.

Step 1: Generate Documents

Load story template (see "Template Loading" section) and use 9 sections.

For EACH Story in IDEAL plan:

Section	Content
1. Story	As a [persona] / I want [capability] / So that [value]
2. Context	Current Situation (from Epic Scope Out) / Desired Outcome (from Epic Success Criteria)
3. Acceptance Criteria	Copy AC from idealPlan (3-5 GWT scenarios)
4. Implementation Tasks	Placeholder: "Tasks created via ln-300-task-coordinator after ln-310-multi-agent-validator"
5. Test Strategy	Copy test counts from idealPlan, Risk-Based Testing note
6. Technical Notes	INSERT Orchestrator Brief from `idealPlan[i].orchestratorBrief` (markers `<!-- ORCHESTRATOR_BRIEF_START/END -->`). INSERT Standards Research in Library Research subsection
7. Definition of Done	Standard checklist from template
8. Dependencies	Empty OR "Depends On: US00X" if ordering implies dependency
9. Assumptions	Extract from Technical Notes + AC: FEASIBILITY (infra), DEPENDENCY (APIs), DATA (format), SCOPE (exclusions). Default confidence: MEDIUM

Output: Array of N complete Story documents (5-10) with Standards Research inserted.

Phase 2: Validate INVEST

For EACH Story, check:

Criterion	Check	Pass	Fail
Independent	No circular dependencies	✅	❌ STOP
Negotiable	AC focus on WHAT not HOW	✅	❌ STOP
Valuable	Clear "So that" value	✅	❌ STOP
Estimable	Size within checklist #9 range	✅	❌ STOP
Small	AC/hours/tests per checklist #9	✅	❌ STOP
Testable	Measurable AC (GWT format)	✅	❌ STOP

Error if ANY Story fails → Report to orchestrator, stop execution.

Phase 3: Show Preview

STORY CREATION PREVIEW for Epic 7: OAuth Authentication

Will create 5 Stories:

1. US004: Register OAuth client
   Persona: Third-party developer | Capability: Register app, get credentials
   Value: Can integrate with API | AC: 4 | Estimate: 12h | Tests: 18

2. US005: Request access token
   Persona: API client | Capability: Exchange credentials for token
   Value: Authenticate to API | AC: 5 | Estimate: 18h | Tests: 24

... (3 more)

Total: 5 Stories, 62h, 90 tests

Standards Research: OAuth 2.0 (RFC 6749), RFC 7636 (PKCE), RFC 7009 (Revocation)
Story ordering: Dependency-aware (US004 → US005 → US006)
INVEST validation: ✓

Type "confirm" to create.

Phase 4: User Confirmation

If autoApprove=true: Skip confirmation → Phase 5 Otherwise: Wait for "confirm"

Phase 5: Create Stories + Update Kanban

Create Stories (provider-dependent):

IF task_provider == "linear":

for each Story:
  save_issue({
    title: Story.number + ": " + Story.title,
    description: Story.generated_document,
    project: epicData.id,
    team: teamId,
    labels: ["user-story"],
    state: "Backlog"
  })

ELSE (file mode):

for each Story:
  mkdir -p docs/tasks/epics/epic-{N}-{slug}/stories/us{NNN}-{story-slug}/tasks/
  Write("docs/tasks/epics/epic-{N}-{slug}/stories/us{NNN}-{story-slug}/story.md")
  // Include file headers: **Status:** Backlog, **Epic:** Epic {N}, **Labels:** user-story, **Created:** {date}

Update kanban_board.md:

Epic Grouping Algorithm:

Find ### Backlog
Search **Epic {epicNumber}: {epicTitle}**
- Found: use existing Epic group
- NOT found: create **Epic N: Epic Title**
Add Stories under Epic (2-space indent, 📖 emoji)

Format:

**Epic 7: OAuth Authentication**

  📖 [ID: US004 Register OAuth client](url)
    _(tasks not created yet)_
  📖 [ID: US005 Request access token](url)
    _(tasks not created yet)_

Update Epic Story Counters table:

Last Story: US008
Next Story: US009

Return:

STORIES CREATED for Epic 7: OAuth Authentication

✓ Created 5 Stories in Linear:
  1. [ID: US004 Register OAuth client](url)
  2. [ID: US005 Request access token](url)
  3. [ID: US006 Validate access token](url)
  4. [ID: US007 Refresh expired token](url)
  5. [ID: US008 Revoke token](url)

✓ kanban_board.md updated (Backlog + Epic Story Counters)
✓ Standards Research included: OAuth 2.0, RFC 7636 PKCE, RFC 7009 Revocation

Total: 5 Stories, 62h, 90 tests

NEXT STEPS:
1. Run ln-310-multi-agent-validator to validate Stories (Backlog → Todo)
2. Use ln-300-task-coordinator to create tasks

Critical Rules

Rule	Description
Standards Research Insertion	MUST insert in EVERY Story Technical Notes → Library Research (prevents outdated library choices causing rework in ln-400)
INVEST Validation	All Stories must pass before creation (stop if ANY fails)
Template Ownership	This skill owns story_template_universal.md in references/
Epic Grouping	Reuse Epic header if exists (search by Epic number), don't duplicate
Story Numbering	Sequential across ALL Epics (read Next Story from kanban_board.md)
No Code	Descriptions contain approach ONLY, not code

Definition of Done

✅ Phase 1:

All N Stories have 9 sections
Standards Research inserted in Technical Notes → Library Research

✅ Phase 2:

All Stories pass INVEST validation

✅ Phase 3:

Preview shown (summaries, totals, Standards Research, ordering)

✅ Phase 4:

autoApprove=true OR user confirmed

✅ Phase 5:

All N Stories created (Linear or file mode) (project=Epic, labels=user-story, state=Backlog)
kanban_board.md updated (Backlog + Epic Story Counters)
Summary returned (URLs + next steps)

Template Loading

MANDATORY READ: Load shared/references/template_loading_pattern.md for template copy workflow.

Template: story_template.md Local copy: docs/templates/story_template.md (in target project)

Reference Files

MANDATORY READ: shared/references/tools_config_guide.md
MANDATORY READ: shared/references/storage_mode_detection.md
Kanban update algorithm: shared/references/kanban_update_algorithm.md
Template loading: shared/references/template_loading_pattern.md
Linear creation workflow: shared/references/linear_creation_workflow.md

story_template.md

Location: shared/templates/story_template.md (centralized) Local Copy: docs/templates/story_template.md (in target project) Purpose: Universal Story template (9 sections) Template Version: 9.0.0

Integration

Called by: ln-220-story-coordinator

Phase 5a (CREATE MODE, count = 0) - full IDEAL plan
Phase 5c (ADD MODE, count ≥ 1, appendMode) - user-requested Story(s)

Returns:

Success: Story URLs + summary + next steps
Error: "Story USXXX violates INVEST: [details]"

Worker does NOT:

Query Linear for Epic (already in context)
Analyze Epic complexity (orchestrator Phase 3)
Research standards (orchestrator Phase 2 delegates to ln-001)
Build IDEAL plan (receives from orchestrator)

Version: 3.0.0 Last Updated: 2025-12-23

ln-221-story-creator