12 KiB
GSDMAD: Get Shit Done Method for Agile Development
Version: 1.0.0 Date: 2026-01-25 Philosophy: Combine BMAD's comprehensive tracking with GSD's intelligent execution
The Vision
BMAD excels at structure, tracking, and hospital-grade quality standards. GSD excels at smart execution, parallelization, and getting shit done fast.
GSDMAD takes the best of both:
- BMAD's story tracking, sprint management, and quality gates
- GSD's wave-based parallelization, checkpoint routing, and agent orchestration
Core Principles
- Comprehensive but not bureaucratic - Track what matters, skip enterprise theater
- Smart parallelization - Run independent work concurrently, sequential only when needed
- Separation of concerns - Different agents for implementation, validation, review
- Checkpoint-aware routing - Autonomous segments in subagents, decisions in main
- Hospital-grade quality - Lives may be at stake, quality >> speed
Architecture Comparison
BMAD v1.x (Old Way)
batch-super-dev orchestrator:
├─ Story 1: super-dev-pipeline (ONE agent, ALL steps)
│ └─ Step 1-11: init, gap, test, implement, validate, review, fix, complete
├─ Story 2: super-dev-pipeline (ONE agent, ALL steps)
└─ Story 3: super-dev-pipeline (ONE agent, ALL steps)
Problems:
- Single agent validates its own work (conflict of interest)
- No parallelization between stories
- Agent can lie about completion
- Sequential execution is slow
GSD (Inspiration)
execute-phase orchestrator:
├─ Wave 1: [Plan A, Plan B] in parallel
│ ├─ Agent for Plan A (segments if checkpoints)
│ └─ Agent for Plan B (segments if checkpoints)
├─ Wave 2: [Plan C]
│ └─ Agent for Plan C
└─ Wave 3: [Plan D, Plan E] in parallel
Strengths:
- Wave-based parallelization
- Checkpoint-aware segmentation
- Agent tracking and resume
- Lightweight orchestration
GSDMAD (New Way)
batch-super-dev orchestrator:
├─ Wave 1 (independent stories): [17-1, 17-3, 17-4] in parallel
│ ├─ Story 17-1:
│ │ ├─ Agent 1: Implement (steps 1-4)
│ │ ├─ Agent 2: Validate (steps 5-6) ← fresh context
│ │ ├─ Agent 3: Review (step 7) ← adversarial
│ │ └─ Agent 4: Fix (steps 8-9)
│ ├─ Story 17-3: (same multi-agent pattern)
│ └─ Story 17-4: (same multi-agent pattern)
│
├─ Wave 2 (depends on Wave 1): [17-5]
│ └─ Story 17-5: (same multi-agent pattern)
│
└─ Wave 3: [17-9, 17-10] in parallel
├─ Story 17-9: (same multi-agent pattern)
└─ Story 17-10: (same multi-agent pattern)
Benefits:
- Independent stories run in parallel (faster)
- Each story uses multi-agent validation (honest)
- Dependencies respected via waves
- Agent tracking for resume capability
Wave-Based Story Execution
Dependency Analysis
Before executing stories, analyze dependencies:
stories:
17-1: # Space Model
depends_on: []
wave: 1
17-2: # Space Listing
depends_on: [17-1] # Needs Space model
wave: 2
17-3: # Space Photos
depends_on: [17-1] # Needs Space model
wave: 2
17-4: # Delete Space
depends_on: [17-1] # Needs Space model
wave: 2
17-5: # Agreement Model
depends_on: [17-1, 17-4] # Needs Space model + delete protection
wave: 3
17-9: # Expiration Alerts
depends_on: [17-5] # Needs Agreement model
wave: 4
17-10: # Occupant Portal
depends_on: [17-5] # Needs Agreement model
wave: 4
Wave Execution:
- Wave 1: [17-1] (1 story)
- Wave 2: [17-2, 17-3, 17-4] (3 stories in parallel)
- Wave 3: [17-5] (1 story)
- Wave 4: [17-9, 17-10] (2 stories in parallel)
Time Savings:
- Sequential: 7 stories × 60 min = 420 min (7 hours)
- Wave-based: 1 + 60 + 60 + 60 = 180 min (3 hours) ← 57% faster
Multi-Agent Story Pipeline
Each story uses 4 agents with separation of concerns:
Phase 1: Implementation (Agent 1 - Builder)
Steps: 1-4 (init, pre-gap, write-tests, implement)
Role: Build the feature
Output: Code + tests (unverified)
Trust: LOW (assume agent will cut corners)
Agent 1 Prompt:
Implement story {{story_key}} following these steps:
1. Init: Load story, detect greenfield vs brownfield
2. Pre-Gap: Validate tasks, detect batchable patterns
3. Write Tests: TDD approach, write tests first
4. Implement: Write production code
DO NOT:
- Validate your own work (Agent 2 will do this)
- Review your own code (Agent 3 will do this)
- Update story checkboxes (Agent 4 will do this)
- Commit changes (Agent 4 will do this)
Just write the code and tests. Report what you built.
Phase 2: Validation (Agent 2 - Inspector)
Steps: 5-6 (post-validation, quality-checks)
Role: Independent verification
Output: PASS/FAIL with evidence
Trust: MEDIUM (no conflict of interest)
Agent 2 Prompt:
Validate story {{story_key}} implementation by Agent 1.
You have NO KNOWLEDGE of what Agent 1 did. Verify:
1. Files Exist:
- Check each file mentioned in story
- Verify file contains actual code (not TODO/stub)
2. Tests Pass:
- Run test suite: npm test
- Verify tests actually run (not skipped)
- Check coverage meets 90% threshold
3. Quality Checks:
- Run type-check: npm run type-check
- Run linter: npm run lint
- Run build: npm run build
- All must return zero errors
4. Git Status:
- Check uncommitted files
- List files changed
Output PASS or FAIL with specific evidence.
If FAIL, list exactly what's missing/broken.
Phase 3: Code Review (Agent 3 - Adversarial Reviewer)
Step: 7 (code-review)
Role: Find problems (adversarial stance)
Output: List of issues with severity
Trust: HIGH (wants to find issues)
Agent 3 Prompt:
Adversarial code review of story {{story_key}}.
Your GOAL is to find problems. Be critical. Look for:
SECURITY:
- SQL injection vulnerabilities
- XSS vulnerabilities
- Authentication bypasses
- Authorization gaps
- Hardcoded secrets
PERFORMANCE:
- N+1 queries
- Missing indexes
- Inefficient algorithms
- Memory leaks
BUGS:
- Logic errors
- Edge cases not handled
- Off-by-one errors
- Race conditions
ARCHITECTURE:
- Pattern violations
- Tight coupling
- Missing error handling
Rate each issue:
- CRITICAL: Security vulnerability or data loss
- HIGH: Will cause production bugs
- MEDIUM: Technical debt or maintainability
- LOW: Nice-to-have improvements
Output: List of issues with severity and specific code locations.
Phase 4: Fix Issues (Agent 4 - Fixer)
Steps: 8-9 (review-analysis, fix-issues)
Role: Fix critical/high issues
Output: Fixed code
Trust: MEDIUM (incentive to minimize work)
Agent 4 Prompt:
Fix issues from code review for story {{story_key}}.
Code review found {{issue_count}} issues:
{{review_issues}}
Priority:
1. Fix ALL CRITICAL issues (no exceptions)
2. Fix ALL HIGH issues (must do)
3. Fix MEDIUM issues if time allows (nice to have)
4. Skip LOW issues (gold-plating)
After fixing:
- Re-run tests (must pass)
- Update story checkboxes
- Update sprint-status.yaml
- Commit changes with message: "fix: {{story_key}} - address code review"
Phase 5: Final Verification (Main Orchestrator)
Steps: 10-11 (complete, summary)
Role: Final quality gate
Output: COMPLETE or FAILED
Trust: HIGHEST (user-facing)
Orchestrator Checks:
# 1. Verify git commits
git log --oneline -5 | grep "{{story_key}}"
[ $? -eq 0 ] || echo "FAIL: No commit found"
# 2. Verify story checkboxes increased
before=$(git show HEAD~2:{{story_file}} | grep -c "^- \[x\]")
after=$(grep -c "^- \[x\]" {{story_file}})
[ $after -gt $before ] || echo "FAIL: Checkboxes not updated"
# 3. Verify sprint-status updated
git diff HEAD~2 {{sprint_status}} | grep "{{story_key}}: done"
[ $? -eq 0 ] || echo "FAIL: Sprint status not updated"
# 4. Verify tests passed (parse agent output)
grep "PASS" agent_2_output.txt
[ $? -eq 0 ] || echo "FAIL: No test evidence"
Checkpoint-Aware Segmentation
Stories can have checkpoints for user interaction:
<step n="3" checkpoint="human-verify">
<output>Review the test plan before implementation</output>
<ask>Does this test strategy look correct? (yes/no)</ask>
</step>
Routing Rules:
- No checkpoints → Full autonomous (Agent 1 does steps 1-4)
- Verify checkpoints → Segmented execution:
- Segment 1 (steps 1-2): Agent 1a
- Checkpoint: Main context (user verifies)
- Segment 2 (steps 3-4): Agent 1b (fresh agent)
- Decision checkpoints → Stay in main context (can't delegate decisions)
This is borrowed directly from GSD's execute-plan.md segmentation logic.
Agent Tracking and Resume
Track all spawned agents for resume capability:
// .bmad/agent-history.json
{
"version": "1.0",
"max_entries": 50,
"entries": [
{
"agent_id": "a4868f1",
"story_key": "17-10",
"phase": "implementation",
"agent_type": "builder",
"timestamp": "2026-01-25T20:30:00Z",
"status": "spawned",
"completion_timestamp": null
}
]
}
Resume Capability:
# If session interrupted, check for incomplete agents
cat .bmad/agent-history.json | jq '.entries[] | select(.status=="spawned")'
# Resume agent using Task tool
Task(subagent_type="general-purpose", resume="a4868f1")
Workflow Files
New: batch-super-dev-v2.md
execution_mode: "wave_based" # wave_based | sequential
# Story dependency analysis (auto-computed or manual)
dependency_analysis:
enabled: true
method: "file_scan" # file_scan | manual | hybrid
# Wave execution
waves:
max_parallel_stories: 4 # Max stories per wave
agent_timeout: 3600 # 1 hour per agent
# Multi-agent validation
validation:
enabled: true
agents:
builder: {steps: [1,2,3,4]}
inspector: {steps: [5,6], fresh_context: true}
reviewer: {steps: [7], adversarial: true}
fixer: {steps: [8,9]}
Enhanced: super-dev-pipeline-v2.md
execution_mode: "multi_agent" # single_agent | multi_agent
# Agent configuration
agents:
builder:
steps: [1, 2, 3, 4]
description: "Implement story"
inspector:
steps: [5, 6]
description: "Validate implementation"
fresh_context: true
reviewer:
steps: [7]
description: "Adversarial code review"
fresh_context: true
adversarial: true
fixer:
steps: [8, 9]
description: "Fix review issues"
Implementation Phases
Phase 1: Multi-Agent Validation (Week 1)
- Update
super-dev-pipelineto support multi-agent mode - Create
agents/directory with agent prompts - Add agent tracking infrastructure
- Test on single story
Phase 2: Wave-Based Execution (Week 2)
- Add dependency analysis to
batch-super-dev - Implement wave grouping logic
- Add parallel execution within waves
- Test on Epic 17 (10 stories)
Phase 3: Checkpoint Segmentation (Week 3)
- Add checkpoint detection to stories
- Implement segment routing logic
- Test with stories that need user input
Phase 4: Agent Resume (Week 4)
- Add agent history tracking
- Implement resume capability
- Test interrupted session recovery
Benefits Summary
From BMAD:
- ✅ Comprehensive story tracking
- ✅ Sprint artifacts and status management
- ✅ Gap analysis and reconciliation
- ✅ Hospital-grade quality standards
- ✅ Multi-tenant patterns
From GSD:
- ✅ Wave-based parallelization (57% faster)
- ✅ Smart checkpoint routing
- ✅ Agent tracking and resume
- ✅ Lightweight orchestration
- ✅ Separation of concerns
New in GSDMAD:
- ✅ Multi-agent validation (no conflict of interest)
- ✅ Adversarial code review (finds real issues)
- ✅ Independent verification (honest reporting)
- ✅ Parallel story execution (faster completion)
- ✅ Best of both worlds
Migration Path
- Keep BMAD v1.x as fallback (
execution_mode: "single_agent") - Add GSDMAD as opt-in (
execution_mode: "multi_agent") - Test both modes on same epic, compare results
- Make GSDMAD default after validation
- Deprecate v1.x in 6 months
Key Insight: Trust but verify. Every agent's work is independently validated by a fresh agent with no conflict of interest. Stories run in parallel when possible, sequential only when dependencies require it.
Next Steps:
- Create
super-dev-pipeline-v2/directory - Write agent prompt files
- Update
batch-super-devfor wave execution - Test on Epic 17 stories
- Measure time savings and quality improvements