Backlog Workflow

A structured workflow for taking features from backlog to implementation using specialized agents.

Workflow Overview

Backlog → Triage → PRD → Plan → Refine → PRD (refined) → Implement → Code

Manual mode: Each step is human-triggered. Agents do not auto-chain.

Conductor mode: Run the conductor workflow to orchestrate all phases automatically until complete or blocked.

Workflow Actions

Action	Agent	Purpose	Optional command alias
Triage	triager	Select task from backlog, create blank PRD	/triage
Plan [slug]	planner	Create implementation plan	/plan [slug]
Refine [slug]	refiner	Complete and validate PRD	/refine [slug]
Implement [slug]	implementer	Execute plan on feature branch	/implement [slug]
Conduct	conductor	Orchestrate all phases in a loop	/conduct
Conduct phased run	conductor	Run specific phases only (e.g., triage,plan)	/conduct --phases X
Conduct targeted run	conductor	Process specific feature only	/conduct --slug X

Slash commands are optional convenience wrappers. The workflow is designed to work with plain prompts and subagent invocation across tools.

Agents

Agents are minimal — they define role, boundaries, and tools. Methodology lives in skills.

Agent	Branch	Writes To	Methodology Skill
triager	main	.backlog/prds/, .backlog/backlog.md	skills/backlog/triage/SKILL.md
refiner	main	.backlog/prds/	skills/backlog/refine/SKILL.md
planner	main	.backlog/plans/, .backlog/prds/	skills/backlog/plan/SKILL.md
implementer	feature/*	Source code	skills/backlog/implement/SKILL.md
conductor	main + feat	.backlog/, source code, action log	Orchestrates all of the above

Naming Convention

The workflow uses descriptive slugs instead of numeric IDs:

Artifact	Format	Example
Backlog entry	[slug] Title	[user-auth] User Authentication
PRD file	PRD-[slug].md	PRD-user-auth.md
Plan file	PLAN-[slug].md	PLAN-user-auth.md
Branch	feat/[slug]	feat/user-auth

Slugs: lowercase kebab-case, max 30 characters.

Status Flow

PRD Statuses

blank → refined → needs_review → approved

Only a human sets approved. The refiner sets refined or needs_review.

Plan Statuses

draft → needs_review → approved → implemented | partially_implemented

Only a human sets approved. The planner sets draft or needs_review.

Human Checkpoints

• After Triage: Review selected task, adjust if needed
• After Plan: Review plan, mark as approved if ready
• After Refine: Review PRD, mark as approved if ready
• After Implement: Review code, create PR manually

Project Setup

Each project using this workflow needs a .backlog/ directory:

your-project/
└── .backlog/
    ├── backlog.md
    ├── prds/
    └── plans/

Example Usage

Manual Mode (step-by-step)

# Triage the highest priority task
"Use the triager agent to pick the highest-priority pending task and create a PRD."

# Create implementation plan
"Use the planner agent to create the implementation plan for user-auth."

# Refine a specific PRD
"Use the refiner agent to refine PRD-user-auth."

# Execute the plan
"Use the implementer agent to implement the approved plan for user-auth."

Conductor Mode (automated)

# Run full pipeline until complete or blocked
"Use the conductor agent to run the backlog pipeline until complete or blocked."

# Run only triage and plan phases
"Use the conductor agent and run only phases: triage,plan."

# Process specific feature only
"Use the conductor agent and process only slug: user-auth."

# Named conductor for parallel operation
"Use conductor name frontend and run phases triage,plan."

Parallel Conductors

Multiple conductors can run in parallel when handling different phases:

# Terminal 1: Create PRDs and plans
"Use conductor name frontend and run phases triage,plan."

# Terminal 2: Review plans
"Use conductor name reviewer and run phase refine."

# Terminal 3: Implement approved plans
"Use conductor name builder and run phase implement."