BMAD-METHOD/docs/improvements/epic-workflows-v1.md

Epic Workflows Improvement Plan v1

Date: 2026-01-02 Workflows Reviewed: epic-execute, epic-chain Status: Active

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Overview

This document captures the review findings and improvement roadmap for the epic-execute and epic-chain workflows. These workflows automate story execution with context isolation between development and review phases.

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What's Working Well

1. Context Isolation Architecture

The decision to run dev and review in separate Claude contexts is the key innovation:

• Prevents reviewer bias from seeing implementation struggles
• Maximizes context window for each phase
• Simulates real code review where reviewers see code "cold"
• Uses git staging as the communication medium between phases

2. Severity-Based Fix Policy

The issue severity system (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW) with threshold-based fixing is pragmatic:

• Prevents over-engineering on minor issues
• Ensures critical issues always get fixed
• Documents low-severity for future cleanup sprints

Location: step-03-code-review.md:17-27

3. Structured Documentation Trail

The Dev Agent Record and Code Review Record sections create an auditable history:

• Understanding why decisions were made
• Debugging issues later
• Training/improving the workflow

4. Chain Dependency Analysis

Epic-chain's analysis phase detecting both explicit and implicit dependencies shows good foresight.

Location: instructions.md:57-88

5. Shell Scripts Quality

• Clean argument parsing
• Proper error handling with set -e
• Good logging with timestamps
• Flexible story discovery (multiple naming conventions)
• Resume capability with --start-from

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Improvement Areas

HIGH Priority

1. Security: --dangerously-skip-permissions Flag

Location: epic-execute.sh:291-292

result=$(claude --dangerously-skip-permissions -p "$dev_prompt" 2>&1) || true

Problem: This bypasses safety checks and is concerning for production use.

Proposed Fix:

• Document the security implications clearly in README
• Add a --require-approval mode that doesn't use this flag
• Have the script detect and prompt for dangerous operations
• Consider environment variable to explicitly opt-in: BMAD_ALLOW_DANGEROUS=true

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2. Missing Test Execution Validation

Location: epic-execute.sh (dev phase)

Problem: The dev prompt says "Run tests and fix any failures" but the shell script doesn't verify tests actually passed. The completion signal (IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETE) is trusted without validation.

Proposed Fix:

# After dev phase, before review
execute_test_verification() {
    local test_cmd="${TEST_COMMAND:-npm test}"

    log ">>> VERIFYING TESTS"

    if ! $test_cmd 2>&1; then
        log_error "Tests failing after dev phase"
        return 1
    fi

    log_success "Tests passing"
    return 0
}

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3. Add Pre-flight Confirmation

Location: epic-execute.sh (after story discovery)

Problem: No validation step shows the user which stories will be executed before starting.

Proposed Fix:

# After discovering stories, before execution
display_execution_plan() {
    echo ""
    log "Execution Plan:"
    for story in "${STORIES[@]}"; do
        echo "  - $(basename "$story")"
    done
    echo ""

    if [ "$AUTO_APPROVE" != true ]; then
        read -p "Proceed with execution? (y/n) " -n 1 -r
        echo
        if [[ ! $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
            log "Execution cancelled by user"
            exit 0
        fi
    fi
}

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MEDIUM Priority

4. Context Handoff is Placeholder

Location: epic-chain.sh:411-432

Problem: Current handoff only lists files changed:

$(git diff --name-only HEAD~${story_count} HEAD 2>/dev/null | head -20)

The documented template in instructions.md:288-312 describes rich context (patterns, decisions, gotchas) but this isn't generated.

Proposed Fix:

generate_rich_handoff() {
    local epic_id="$1"
    local next_epic="$2"
    local handoff_file="$3"

    local handoff_prompt="You are generating a context handoff document.

## Task
Create a handoff from Epic $epic_id to Epic $next_epic.

## Recently Modified Files
$(git diff --name-only HEAD~${story_count} HEAD 2>/dev/null)

## Epic Content
$(cat "${EPIC_FILES_LIST[$current_idx]}")

## Generate a handoff document with:
1. Patterns Established - coding conventions, architectural decisions
2. Key Decisions - major technical choices with rationale
3. Gotchas & Lessons Learned - issues encountered, workarounds
4. Files to Reference - key files that establish patterns
5. Test Patterns - testing conventions used

Output as markdown."

    claude -p "$handoff_prompt" > "$handoff_file"
}

---

5. No Rollback Mechanism

Problem: If review fails or execution gets interrupted mid-story, there's no easy way to rollback.

Proposed Fix:

# At start of epic execution
create_checkpoint() {
    CHECKPOINT=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
    echo "$CHECKPOINT" > "/tmp/bmad-checkpoint-$EPIC_ID"
    log "Checkpoint created: $CHECKPOINT"
}

# On failure or user abort
rollback_to_checkpoint() {
    if [ -f "/tmp/bmad-checkpoint-$EPIC_ID" ]; then
        local checkpoint=$(cat "/tmp/bmad-checkpoint-$EPIC_ID")
        read -p "Rollback to checkpoint $checkpoint? (y/n) " -n 1 -r
        echo
        if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
            git reset --hard "$checkpoint"
            log_success "Rolled back to checkpoint"
        fi
    fi
}

---

6. Wire Up Configuration File

Location: config/default-config.yaml exists but isn't used

Problem: The configuration documented in workflow.md:104-122 isn't actually loaded by the shell script.

Proposed Fix:

# Load configuration
load_config() {
    local config_file="$BMAD_DIR/_cfg/epic-execute.yaml"

    if [ -f "$config_file" ]; then
        # Parse YAML (requires yq or similar)
        AUTO_COMMIT=$(yq '.auto_commit // true' "$config_file")
        RUN_TESTS_BEFORE_REVIEW=$(yq '.run_tests_before_review // true' "$config_file")
        REVIEW_MODE=$(yq '.review_mode // "standard"' "$config_file")
        log "Loaded config from $config_file"
    else
        # Defaults
        AUTO_COMMIT=true
        RUN_TESTS_BEFORE_REVIEW=true
        REVIEW_MODE="standard"
    fi
}

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7. Remove or Implement --parallel Flag

Location: epic-execute.sh:11, 93-96

Problem: The --parallel flag exists in argument parsing but isn't implemented.

Proposed Fix: Either:

• Remove the flag entirely until implemented
• Add a clear error: log_error "--parallel not yet implemented"
• Implement parallel execution for independent stories

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LOW Priority

8. Prompt Duplication

Problem: Prompts are duplicated between step files (documentation) and shell script (execution).

Proposed Fix: Source prompts from step files:

build_dev_prompt() {
    local story_file="$1"
    local template="$WORKFLOW_DIR/steps/step-02-dev-story.md"

    # Extract prompt template section
    # Substitute variables
    export story_id=$(basename "$story_file" .md)
    export story_file_contents=$(cat "$story_file")

    cat "$template" | envsubst
}

---

9. Missing sprint-status.yaml Update

Location: workflow.md:73 mentions this but it's not implemented

Proposed Fix: Add after successful completion:

update_sprint_status() {
    local status_file="$PROJECT_ROOT/docs/sprints/sprint-status.yaml"

    if [ -f "$status_file" ]; then
        # Update epic status to completed
        # This requires yq or similar YAML tool
        yq -i ".epics.\"$EPIC_ID\".status = \"done\"" "$status_file"
        yq -i ".epics.\"$EPIC_ID\".completed_at = \"$(date -Iseconds)\"" "$status_file"
    fi
}

---

10. Story Discovery Edge Cases

Location: epic-execute.sh:181-206

Problem:

• Relies on consistent naming conventions
• Content grep could false-positive
• No warning when stories found in unexpected locations

Proposed Fix: Add source tracking and validation:

# Track where each story was found
declare -A STORY_SOURCES

for story in "${STORIES[@]}"; do
    source_dir=$(dirname "$story")
    STORY_SOURCES["$story"]="$source_dir"
done

# Warn about unexpected locations
for story in "${STORIES[@]}"; do
    if [[ "${STORY_SOURCES[$story]}" != "$STORIES_DIR" ]]; then
        log_warn "Story found in non-standard location: $story"
    fi
done

---

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Critical Fixes

• Add test verification step
• Add pre-flight confirmation
• Document --dangerously-skip-permissions risks

Phase 2: Reliability

• Implement rollback mechanism
• Wire up configuration file
• Fix or remove --parallel flag

Phase 3: Quality of Life

• Generate rich context handoffs
• Source prompts from step files
• Add sprint-status.yaml updates

Phase 4: Advanced Features

• Implement parallel story execution
• Add --interactive mode for step-by-step approval
• Track execution metrics (time per story, fix rate)

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Ratings Summary

Aspect	Rating	Notes
Architecture	Excellent	Context isolation is the right approach
Documentation	Very Good	Clear workflow diagrams, step files
Shell Scripts	Good	Well-structured, needs hardening
Error Handling	Fair	Basic coverage, needs rollback
Security	Needs Work	--dangerously-skip-permissions
Completeness	Good	Some features documented but not implemented

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References

• src/modules/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/epic-execute/
• src/modules/bmm/workflows/4-implementation/epic-chain/
• scripts/epic-execute.sh
• scripts/epic-chain.sh