Drop bmad-distillator integration from bmad-product-brief (finalize step,
update mode, headless JSON, constraints) and clean up customize.toml comments.
Distillation is the wrong layer — story self-containment via epic solution
design docs is the right answer for downstream context.
Also commit pending bmad-prd changes: working mode selector (Express vs
Facilitative), open-items triage into phase-blocking/resolvable/deferred
buckets, persistence wording fix, and facilitation-guide reference.
SKILL.md trim (4.7K -> ~3.2K tokens, 124 -> 93 lines):
- Cut anchor enumerations (HIPAA/PCI/NIST list, API/Mobile/Web list, hobby->regulated list, "fast/easy/scalable/intuitive", input enumerations, etc.) the LLM already knows
- Cut derivable reasoning (synonyms-cause-drift explanation, hobby-vs-enterprise examples, etc.)
- Cut good/bad examples that anchor LLM attention (password/SendGrid example, persona quote, "let me also add this nearby thing")
- Drop SMART-ceremony language from Measurable bullet (keep judgment-not-ritual; SMART principles fine)
Progressive disclosure to references/:
- Headless mode rules + JSON minimal example moved to references/headless.md (loaded only when invoked headless)
- On Activation step 6 gates mode detection: headless -> read references/headless.md and follow
Swappable validation checklist:
- New assets/prd-validation-checklist.md (15 items: Quality / Discipline / Structural / Stakes-gated, each one line)
- New customize.toml field validation_checklist (override per org)
- Used by Validate intent AND Finalize Step 3 -- same subagent, same checklist, two moments
- Replaces bmad-validate-prd's 13-step micro-file architecture; kept the valuable check dimensions (density, measurability, traceability, implementation leakage, etc.) and dropped the ceremony
HTML validation report:
- New scripts/render-validation-html.py (PEP 723, stdlib only, ~175 lines) renders structured findings JSON into a styled HTML report with pass/warn/fail grade, inline SVG score bar, category grouping
- New assets/validation-report-template.html (inline CSS, native <details>, no JS, no external deps) -- swappable via customize.toml validation_report_template
- New references/validation-render.md documents the subagent output contract and renderer invocation; loaded only when validate flow runs
- Auto-opens browser on interactive runs; headless skips the open
Mode flow consistency:
- Create and Update both now explicitly "proceed to ## Finalize"
- Validate / analyze is standalone -- explicit "does NOT enter ## Finalize"; renderer auto-opens the HTML
- analyze is a synonym for validate; intent detection routes both
- Update mode no longer has its own light-close validation step (Finalize Step 3 covers it)
- Add Finalize "Open-items review" step (new step 4): counts OQs / [ASSUMPTION] / [NOTE FOR PM], walks them with user, flags high density as red flag against agreed stakes
- Validate now treats open-items density as a first-class finding category
- Resume / continuity surfaces open items deterministically as the first orientation step
- Drop the PRD's own distillate output and the bmad-distillator finalize step. Downstream workflows (UX, architecture, story creation) source-extract from prd.md directly via the canonical source-extractor pattern. Headless schemas, customize.toml comments, and template updated accordingly.
- Drop "status: draft" from PRD frontmatter and template; version/state transitions logged to decision-log.md instead. Finalize step 7 records the version transition entry.
- Add PRD Discipline bullet: personas must be research-grounded or marked [ILLUSTRATIVE]; must drive decisions; 2-4 personas max. Discipline pass enforces.
- Expand File roles bullet: competitive-analysis detail beyond a one-line landscape and operational/cost mechanics (rate-limiting, compression) belong in addendum
Consolidates the legacy create-prd/edit-prd/validate-prd trio into a single
lean facilitator with create/update/validate intent modes, following the
bmad-product-brief pattern. Both skills gain external_sources and
external_handoffs customize.toml fields for routing through corporate MCP
tools (Confluence, Jira, etc.) with graceful degradation, plus a File roles
constraint clarifying decision-log (audit trail) vs addendum (preserved
depth for downstream docs).
Brian Madison