diff --git a/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/checklist.md b/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/checklist.md
index 6fc678994..bab1afb4e 100644
--- a/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/checklist.md
+++ b/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/checklist.md
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ This is a COMPETITION to create the **ULTIMATE story context** that makes LLM de
- The `{project-root}/_bmad/core/tasks/validate-workflow.xml` framework will automatically:
- Load this checklist file
- - Load the newly created story file (`{story_file_path}`)
+ - Load the story file (`{story_file}` when provided, otherwise `{default_output_file}`)
- Load workflow variables from `{installed_path}/workflow.yaml`
- Execute the validation process
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ This is a COMPETITION to create the **ULTIMATE story context** that makes LLM de
- **Story file**: The story file to review and improve
- **Workflow variables**: From workflow.yaml (implementation_artifacts, epics_file, etc.)
- **Source documents**: Epics, architecture, etc. (discovered or provided)
-- **Validation framework**: `validate-workflow.xml` (handles checklist execution)
+- **Validation framework**: `validate-workflow.xml` (handles checklist execution and report generation)
---
@@ -62,10 +62,20 @@ You will systematically re-do the entire story creation process, but with a crit
### **Step 1: Load and Understand the Target**
1. **Load the workflow configuration**: `{installed_path}/workflow.yaml` for variable inclusion
-2. **Load the story file**: `{story_file_path}` (provided by user or discovered)
+2. **Load the story file**: `{story_file}` first, fallback to `{default_output_file}` (or explicit `{document}` input)
3. **Load validation framework**: `{project-root}/_bmad/core/tasks/validate-workflow.xml`
-4. **Extract metadata**: epic_num, story_num, story_key, story_title from story file
-5. **Resolve all workflow variables**: implementation_artifacts, epics_file, architecture_file, etc.
+4. **Resolve variables deterministically**:
+ - Load config_source file if present
+ - Parse workflow.yaml key/value pairs
+ - For any value matching `{config_source}:key`, resolve from the loaded config source
+ - Resolve system path variables (for example `{project-root}`, `{installed_path}`) in every path value
+ - Resolve system-generated values (for example `{date}`) using current execution context
+ - Required for this checklist flow: `{epics_file}`, `{architecture_file}`, `{implementation_artifacts}`, `{project-root}`, `{installed_path}`, and at least one story locator (`{story_file}` or `{default_output_file}`)
+ - Optional/fallback-capable values: validation `{checklist}` input and validation `{report}` input
+ - Validation task input contract: `workflow` is required; `checklist`, `document`, and `report` are optional with deterministic fallback
+ - Note: create-story invoke-task passes `document={default_output_file}` explicitly, which overrides fallback discovery
+ - If any required value remains unresolved, stop and request explicit user input before continuing
+5. **Extract metadata**: epic_num, story_num, story_key, story_title from story file
6. **Understand current status**: What story implementation guidance is currently provided?
**Note:** If running in fresh context, user should provide the story file path being reviewed. If running from create-story workflow, the validation framework will automatically discover the checklist and story file.
diff --git a/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/instructions.xml b/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/instructions.xml
index f9433371f..8ddc1c08c 100644
--- a/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/instructions.xml
+++ b/src/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/create-story/instructions.xml
@@ -280,21 +280,16 @@
testing_requirements
-
- previous_story_intelligence
-
+ If previous story learnings are unavailable (for example this is story 1 in epic), set previous_story_intelligence to the canonical format: N/A: {one-line reason}
+ previous_story_intelligence
-
- git_intelligence_summary
-
+ If git analysis is unavailable or not relevant, set git_intelligence_summary to the canonical format: N/A: {one-line reason}
+ git_intelligence_summary
-
- latest_tech_information
-
+ If web research was not completed or not needed, set latest_tech_information to the canonical format: N/A: {one-line reason}
+ latest_tech_information
- Validate against checklist at {installed_path}/checklist.md using _bmad/core/tasks/validate-workflow.xmlSave story document unconditionally
+ Run {project-root}/_bmad/core/tasks/validate-workflow.xml with workflow={installed_path}/workflow.yaml checklist={installed_path}/checklist.md document={default_output_file}
diff --git a/src/core/tasks/validate-workflow.xml b/src/core/tasks/validate-workflow.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1463ddb70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/tasks/validate-workflow.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+
+
+ Validate a generated document against checklist requirements with deterministic variable resolution and produce an actionable pass/fail report
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ MANDATORY: Execute ALL steps in order. Do not skip any checklist item.
+ Always read COMPLETE files; do not sample with offsets.
+ If a file cannot be loaded in one read, read it in deterministic sequential chunks until full coverage is achieved and recorded.
+ Every non-N/A judgment must include concrete evidence from the document.
+ If a required path cannot be resolved, stop and ask for explicit user input.
+ Be strict and objective: no assumptions without evidence.
+ N/A is allowed only when an explicit conditional requirement is not applicable; never use N/A due to missing evidence.
+
+
+
+
+ Load workflow yaml from input {workflow}
+ Resolve variables in this order:
+ 1) load config_source file if present
+ 2) resolve all {config_source}:key references
+ 3) resolve system path variables ({project-root}, {installed_path})
+ 4) resolve system-generated values (date)
+
+ Determine checklist path in priority order:
+ - explicit input {checklist}
+ - workflow.yaml field "validation"
+ - sibling file checklist.md in workflow directory
+
+ Determine document path in priority order:
+ - explicit input {document}
+ - resolved variable {story_file} if present
+ - resolved variable {default_output_file} if present
+
+ Ask user: "Which document should I validate?" and WAIT
+ Normalize resolved workflow/checklist/document paths to absolute paths before loading files
+
+
+
+ Load full checklist content (use chunked sequential reads only when needed for large files, and record covered ranges)
+ Load full target document content (use chunked sequential reads only when needed for large files, and record covered ranges)
+ Extract story metadata when available (epic_num, story_num, story_id, story_key, title) from filename, heading, or frontmatter
+ Parse checklist into ordered sections and atomic validation items; assign each item a stable id (section_index.item_index)
+ Compute parsed_item_count and expected_item_count (from raw checklist requirement markers such as - [ ], - [x], and requirement list lines)
+ HALT with error: "Checklist parse divergence too large (parsed={parsed_item_count}, expected~={expected_item_count}); fix checklist formatting before validation"
+ Determine critical checks from explicit signals only:
+ - item-level markers: [CRITICAL], critical:true, MUST FIX
+ - section-level markers: headings containing CRITICAL (case-insensitive), MUST FIX, MUST-FIX, or the exact phrase "Must Fix Before Proceeding"
+ - XML section attributes: critical="true" or critical="yes"
+ - do not infer criticality from generic keywords alone
+
+ Detect conditional expressions in checklist items (for example: if/when/unless + variable references)
+ HALT with error: "Checklist is empty or unparsable"
+ Ask user to provide all missing referenced metadata fields (epic_num, story_num, story_id, story_key, title/story_title) and WAIT before evaluating checklist items
+
+
+
+ For every checklist item, evaluate one of: PASS, PARTIAL, FAIL, N/A
+ Initialize counters to zero before evaluation:
+ - pass_count, partial_count, fail_count, na_count
+ - critical_fail_count, critical_partial_count
+ - applicable_count, total_item_count, processed_item_count
+ - total_section_count, processed_section_count
+
+ For each item:
+ - restate requirement in one short sentence
+ - if item contains explicit condition (for example "If story_num > 1") and condition is false, mark N/A with the exact reason
+ - locate explicit evidence in document (include line references when possible)
+ - consider implied coverage only when explicit text is absent
+ - assign verdict and rationale
+ - if PARTIAL/FAIL, describe impact and a concrete fix
+ - update all counters immediately after each verdict
+
+ Process sections in deterministic order and increment processed_section_count after each section completes
+ HALT with error: "Validation incomplete: one or more checklist sections were not processed"
+ HALT with error: "Validation incomplete: one or more checklist items were not processed"
+ Compute applicable_count = pass_count + partial_count + fail_count
+ Compute pass_percent using applicable_count (if 0, set pass_percent=0)
+ Set gate_warning:
+ - "No applicable checklist items were evaluated; manual confirmation required" if applicable_count == 0
+ - "N/A" otherwise
+
+ Set gate decision deterministically:
+ - NEEDS_REVIEW if applicable_count == 0
+ - FAIL if critical_fail_count > 0
+ - FAIL if critical_partial_count > 0
+ - FAIL if fail_count > 0
+ - PASS otherwise
+
+ DO NOT SKIP ANY ITEM OR SECTION
+
+
+
+ Generate timestamp values:
+ - timestamp_utc for filenames in YYYYMMDD-HHmmss (UTC)
+ - generated_at_utc for report display in ISO-8601 UTC
+
+ Set report path:
+ - use explicit input {report} when provided
+ - else save to target document folder as validation-report-{timestamp_utc}.md
+
+ Write report with the format below
+ HALT with error: "Validation report could not be saved"
+
+
+ # Validation Report
+
+ - Document: {document}
+ - Checklist: {checklist}
+ - Workflow: {workflow}
+ - Date: {generated_at_utc}
+
+ ## Summary
+ - Overall pass rate: {pass_count}/{applicable_count} ({pass_percent}%)
+ - Critical failures: {critical_fail_count}
+ - Critical partials: {critical_partial_count}
+ - Gate decision: {PASS|FAIL|NEEDS_REVIEW}
+ - Gate warning: {gate_warning}
+
+ ## Section Results
+ ### {Section Name}
+ - PASS: {count}
+ - PARTIAL: {count}
+ - FAIL: {count}
+ - N/A: {count}
+
+ For each checklist item:
+ - [MARK] {item}
+ - Evidence: {quote or line reference}
+ - Analysis: {why mark is correct}
+ - Action (if PARTIAL/FAIL): {specific remediation}
+
+ ## Must Fix Before Proceeding
+ - {all critical FAIL and critical PARTIAL items}
+
+ ## Should Improve
+ - {all non-critical FAIL and non-critical PARTIAL items}
+
+ ## Final Recommendation
+ 1. {highest-priority fix}
+ 2. {second-priority fix}
+ 3. {third-priority fix}
+
+
+
+
+ Present concise summary with counts and gate decision
+ Provide report path
+ State clearly that workflow should not proceed until fixes are applied
+ Return control immediately and continue calling workflow execution
+ HALT and wait for user direction
+
+
+
+
+ HALT if workflow file cannot be loaded
+ HALT if checklist file cannot be loaded
+ HALT if target document cannot be determined after user prompt
+ HALT if any checklist section is skipped
+ HALT if validation report cannot be saved
+
+
+
+ Never skip checklist items
+ Every PASS/PARTIAL/FAIL must have evidence
+ Use deterministic variable resolution before asking the user
+ Always save a validation report file
+ N/A is valid only for explicit conditional non-applicability
+ Criticality must come from explicit checklist markers or critical sections
+
+