- Add deployment-aware handler generation (filters web-only/ide-only commands)
- Remove unused run-workflow handler type (ghost handler cleanup)
- Implement missing validate-workflow and data handler generation
- Update schema validation to support exactly 6 active handler types
- Clean up activation templates and web bundler logic
- Prevent generation of unused handler instructions for better performance
- All 62 tests pass with backward compatibility maintained
MAJOR BREAKING CHANGES: Phase 4 completely reengineered for developer efficiency and quality
🚀 **Phase 4 Streamlined & Supercharged:**
- **Reduced from 11 to 5 essential workflows** (55% reduction in complexity)
- **Eliminated redundant steps** that created token waste and confusion
- **Created single source of truth** story files with comprehensive implementation context
- **Achieved more reliable results** with fewer steps and better developer guidance
💡 **Revolutionary Dev Agent Behavior Fixes:**
- **Story file is now LAW:** Tasks/subtasks sequence is absolutely binding
- **Red-green-refactor enforcement:** Tests written first, validated, then implementation
- **Zero tolerance for cheating:** Tests must ACTUALLY exist and pass before marking complete
- **Sequential execution only:** No more "doing whatever you want" - follow the story exactly
- **Continuous execution:** No premature pausing until all tasks complete
🎯 **Quality Competition System:**
- **Enhanced story context engine** prevents common LLM development mistakes
- **Quality competition between LLMs** ensures optimal story preparation
- **Comprehensive anti-pattern prevention** stops wheel reinvention and wrong approaches
- **Developer optimization focus** for maximum clarity with minimum verbosity
📋 **Enhanced Definition of Done:**
- **27-point validation checklist** covers all implementation aspects
- **Multiple validation gates** prevent claiming work that isn't actually done
- **Comprehensive test requirements** ensure no functionality goes untested
- **File tracking and documentation** for complete project visibility
🔧 **Technical Improvements:**
- **Variable consistency** throughout all workflow files
- **XML instruction format** for better workflow engine compatibility
- **Proper ask tag handling** for user interaction clarity
- **Project context integration** without blocking implementation
- **Fixed all agent schema compliance** for proper array formatting
**Result:** Phase 4 now delivers superior development outcomes with:
- ✅ **55% fewer workflows** to learn and maintain
- ✅ **Dramatically reduced token usage** and context switching
- ✅ **Eliminated dev agent behavioral issues** that caused quality problems
- ✅ **Faster time-to-completion** with more reliable, predictable results
- ✅ **Better developer experience** with clearer guidance and validation
This represents the most significant Phase 4 improvement since BMAD Method inception - fundamentally fixing developer workflow quality while drastically simplifying the implementation process.
Major Changes:
- Add sample custom agents demonstrating installable agent system
- commit-poet: Generates semantic commit messages (BMAD Method repo sample)
- toolsmith: Development tooling expert with knowledge base covering bundlers, deployment, docs, installers, modules, and tests (BMAD Method repo sample)
- Both agents demonstrate custom agent architecture and are installable to projects via BMAD installer system
- Include comprehensive installation guides and sidecar knowledge bases
- Add bmad-quick-flow methodology for rapid development
- create-tech-spec: Direct technical specification workflow
- quick-dev: Flexible execution workflow supporting both tech-spec-driven and direct instruction development
- quick-flow-solo-dev (Barry): 1 man show agent specialized in bmad-quick-flow methodology
- Comprehensive documentation for quick-flow approach and solo development
- Remove deprecated tech-spec workflow track
- Delete entire tech-spec workflow directory and templates
- Remove quick-spec-flow.md documentation (replaced by quick-flow docs)
- Clean up unused epic and story templates
- Fix custom agent installation across IDE installers
- Repair antigravity and multiple IDE installers to properly support custom agents
- Enable custom agent installation via quick installer, agent installer, regular installer, and special agent installer
- All installation methods now accessible via npx with full documentation
Infrastructure:
- Update BMM module configurations and team setups
- Modify workflow status paths to support quick-flow integration
- Reorganize documentation with new agent and workflow guides
- Add custom/ directory for user customizations
- Update platform codes and installer configurations
## The Tale of the Frame Expert
Once upon a time, BMad Method had a specialized agent called Frame Expert.
This agent was the master of all visual artifacts - flowcharts, diagrams,
wireframes, data flows. Whenever anyone needed a diagram, they called upon
Frame Expert. The agent lived in its own isolated domain with four dedicated
workflows and a library of shared templates.
## The Awakening
But something felt wrong. Teams using BMad Method were meant to mirror real
agile teams - Product Managers, Architects, UX Designers, Tech Writers,
Developers. Each agent represented an authentic role you'd find in any
software team.
Except Frame Expert.
No real agile team has a "Frame Expert" or "Diagram Specialist" who creates
all visual artifacts. In real teams, Architects diagram system architecture.
PMs flowchart processes. UX Designers wireframe interfaces. Tech Writers
create documentation diagrams. The visuals emerge from the domain experts
who need them, not from a centralized diagram factory.
Frame Expert was an abstraction that made technical sense but violated the
very soul of BMad Method - authentic agile role modeling.
## The Transformation
And so Frame Expert was dissolved, its knowledge distributed to those who
truly needed it:
**The Architect** inherited system architecture diagrams and data flows -
the blueprints of technical systems they design.
**The Product Manager** received process flowcharts - the visual maps of
features and workflows they orchestrate.
**The UX Designer** claimed wireframes - the interface sketches that bring
their vision to life.
**The Tech Writer** gained all diagram types - the visual aids that clarify
their documentation.
Each agent now creates diagrams in their domain, using their expertise,
serving their purpose.
## The Shared Knowledge
But the wisdom of diagram creation itself - the Excalidraw templates, the
component libraries, the validation patterns - this knowledge was too
valuable to scatter. It was elevated to core resources, where both BMM
agents AND the new CIS presentation-master agent could draw upon it.
Shared infrastructure for common needs. Distributed execution for domain
expertise.
## The Ripple Effects
With diagrams now properly distributed, other misalignments became visible:
Epic creation was happening in Phase 2 (Planning), before Architecture
existed. But epics need architectural context - API contracts, data models,
technical decisions. So epic creation migrated to Phase 3 (Solutioning),
after Architecture provides that foundation.
Workflow paths were updated. Documentation gained visual flowcharts showing
the complete journey. Agent naming standards were clarified - filenames are
stable roles, persona names are user dreams.
## What Changed
**Removed:**
- frame-expert.agent.yaml (the centralized specialist)
- All frame-expert workflows and shared resources
- Phase 2 epic creation workflow (wrong timing)
- game-design workflow path (consolidated to method track)
- v6-open-items.md (planning doc, now complete)
**Distributed Diagram Capabilities:**
- Architect: create-excalidraw-diagram, create-excalidraw-dataflow
- PM: create-excalidraw-flowchart
- Tech Writer: create-excalidraw-{diagram,dataflow,flowchart}, generate-mermaid
- UX Designer: create-excalidraw-wireframe
**Created:**
- src/core/resources/ (shared diagram context for all modules)
- src/modules/cis/agents/presentation-master.agent.yaml (visual comms specialist)
- src/modules/bmm/workflows/3-solutioning/create-epics-and-stories/ (epic creation's new home)
- src/modules/bmm/workflows/diagrams/ (distributed diagram implementations)
- src/modules/bmm/docs/images/ (workflow visualization assets)
**Enhanced:**
- All agent definitions with domain-appropriate diagram workflows
- Documentation with embedded workflow diagrams and visual guides
- Agent compilation docs with critical naming convention rules
- All 4 workflow paths (enterprise/method × brownfield/greenfield)
**Fixed:**
- Epic creation now in Phase 3 after Architecture
- Story context path variables in BMGD module
- PRD workflow descriptions (epics moved to Phase 3)
## For Users
The Frame Expert commands are gone. In their place:
- Need architecture diagrams? Ask `/architect`
- Need process flows? Ask `/pm`
- Need wireframes? Ask `/ux-designer`
- Need documentation visuals? Ask `/tech-writer`
Each expert creates diagrams in their domain, with their context, using
their judgment.
This is how real teams work.
- Installation path is now fully configurable, allowing users to specify custom installation directories during setup
- Default installation location changed to .bmad (hidden directory) for cleaner project root organization
Web Bundle Improvements:
- All web bundles (single agent and team) now include party mode support for multi-agent collaboration!
- Advanced elicitation capabilities integrated into standalone agents
- All bundles enhanced with party mode agent manifests
- Added default-party.csv files to bmm, bmgd, and cis module teams
- The default party file is what will be used with single agent bundles. teams can customize for different party configurations before web bundling through a setting in the team yaml file
- New web bundle outputs for all agents (analyst, architect, dev, pm, sm, tea, tech-writer, ux-designer, game-*, creative-squad)
Phase 4 Workflow Updates (In Progress):
- Initiated shift to separate phase 4 implementation artifacts from documentation
- Phase 4 implementation artifacts (stories, code review, sprint plan, context files) will move to dedicated location outside docs folder
- Installer questions and configuration added for artifact path selection
- Updated workflow.yaml files for code-review, sprint-planning, story-context, epic-tech-context, and retrospective workflows to support this, but still might require some udpates
Additional Changes:
- New agent and action command header models for standardization
- Enhanced web-bundle-activation-steps fragment
- Updated web-bundler.js to support new structure
- VS Code settings updated for new .bmad directory
- Party mode instructions and workflow enhanced for better orchestration
IDE Installer Updates:
- Show version number of installer in cli
- improved Installer UX
- Gemini TOML Improved to have clear loading instructions with @ commands
- All tools agent launcher mds improved to use a central file template critical indication isntead of hardcoding in 2 different locations.
- Deduplicate module lists in manifest generator using Set to prevent duplicate entries in installed manifests
- Update GitHub Copilot tool names to match official VS Code documentation (November 2025)
- Clean up legacy bmad/, bmd/, and web-bundles directories
Brian Madison