# Approve Story for Development

## Purpose
Product Owner validation and approval of story for development readiness. Validates business value, epic alignment, and acceptance criteria accuracy before development begins.

## Inputs
- `story_file`: Path to the story file requiring approval (e.g., "docs/stories/epic1.story2.story.md")
- `epic_number`: Epic number for alignment validation

## Task Execution

### 1. Load Story and Epic Context
- Read the complete story file
- Read the parent epic file (located via `docs/prd/epic-{epic_number}-*.md` or `docs/epics/epic-{epic_number}-*.md`) for context
- Extract story status, user story, acceptance criteria, and business context
- Understand the story's role within the epic objectives

### 2. Execute Story Approval Checklist
- Use `story-approval-checklist.md` as validation framework
- Systematically evaluate each checklist category:
  - Business Value Alignment
  - Acceptance Criteria Validation  
  - Scope and Priority Assessment
  - User Experience Consideration
  - Development Readiness

### 3. Business Value Assessment
- Validate user story articulates clear WHO, WHAT, WHY
- Confirm story contributes meaningfully to epic business objectives
- Assess if story addresses real user need vs technical convenience
- Evaluate business risk of implementing vs not implementing

### 4. Acceptance Criteria Validation
- Review each AC for business accuracy and completeness
- Ensure ACs reflect actual business rules and user expectations
- Verify ACs are testable from user/business perspective
- Check for clarity and measurability of success criteria

### 5. Scope and Priority Review
- Validate story scope aligns with MVP boundaries
- Confirm story can be completed in single iteration
- Assess priority appropriateness for current epic phase
- Review dependencies and prerequisites

### 6. User Experience Evaluation
- Consider story impact on overall user journey
- Evaluate usability implications of proposed functionality
- Review edge cases and error scenarios from user perspective
- Assess integration with existing user workflows

### 7. Development Readiness Check
- Confirm development team will have clear requirements
- Validate success criteria are well-defined
- Ensure PO availability for clarification during development
- Review acceptance process for completed story

### 8. Make Approval Decision
Based on checklist validation, determine:

**APPROVED**: 
- All critical criteria met
- Story ready for development
- Update story status to "Approved"
- Log approval decision and timestamp

**CONDITIONAL**:
- Minor issues requiring specific changes
- Document required changes clearly
- Keep story status as "Draft"
- Provide actionable feedback for revision

**REJECTED**:
- Significant issues requiring major revision
- Keep story status as "Draft"  
- Document revision requirements
- Return to epic planning if needed

### 9. Document Decision and Next Steps
- Record approval decision in story file
- Add PO approval section with:
  - Decision (APPROVED/CONDITIONAL/REJECTED)
  - Business confidence level (High/Medium/Low)
  - Key findings or concerns
  - Required changes (if conditional)
  - Risk assessment
- Update story status appropriately

## Success Criteria
- Story has been thoroughly evaluated from business perspective
- Clear approval decision made with supporting rationale
- Story status updated according to decision
- Required changes documented if story needs revision
- Development team has clear guidance for proceeding

## Outputs
- `approval_decision`: "APPROVED", "CONDITIONAL", or "REJECTED"
- `story_status`: Updated story status ("Approved" or remains "Draft")
- `business_confidence`: Risk assessment of story value delivery
- `required_changes`: List of changes needed (if conditional/rejected)

## Failure Actions
- If story has critical business value issues: REJECTED with specific feedback
- If epic alignment is unclear: Request epic clarification before proceeding
- If ACs don't reflect business needs: CONDITIONAL with AC revision requirements
- If scope too large: CONDITIONAL with scope reduction guidance

## Quality Gates
- All checklist categories evaluated with evidence
- Business value clearly articulated and validated
- Epic alignment confirmed with specific examples
- ACs tested against real user scenarios mentally
- Development readiness confirmed from PO perspective