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Guide: Creating a BMAD Expansion Pack with the BMAD Method

This guide walks you through using the BMAD (Build Me a Dream) method to create your own expansion pack. This process is a form of "dogfooding," where we use the tool to build the tool.

Phase 1: Ideation & Planning (Using the Product Owner Agent)

The first step is to define the purpose and scope of your expansion pack. We will use the Product Owner (po) agent from bmad-core to facilitate this.

Step 1.1: Activate the Product Owner Agent

In your terminal, activate the po agent:

# This command is hypothetical, adapt to your BMAD alias
bmad activate po

Step 1.2: Define the Project Brief

Work with the po agent to create a project-brief-tmpl.yaml. This will define the "what" and "why" of your expansion pack.

Your Goal: Answer the agent's questions to fill out the brief. Key sections are:

problem_statement: What problem does your expansion pack solve?
solution_statement: How does it solve the problem?
target_users: Who will use this pack?
key_features: List the core features (e.g., new agents, workflows, tasks).
success_metrics: How do you know if it's successful?

Example Interaction:

You: "I want to create a new expansion pack for generating marketing copy."
PO Agent: "Excellent. Let's start with the problem statement. What specific challenge are marketing teams facing that this pack will address?"

The output of this step should be a completed project-brief.yaml file for your new expansion pack.

Phase 2: Architecture & Design (Using the Architect Agent)

Now that you have a brief, you need to design the components of your expansion pack. We'll use the Architect (architect) agent.

Step 2.1: Activate the Architect Agent

bmad activate architect

Step 2.2: Create the Architecture Document

Provide the project-brief.yaml to the architect agent. Its job is to translate the brief into a technical design.

Your Goal: Work with the agent to define:

New Agents: What are their names, roles, and capabilities? (e.g., seo-analyst, copywriter, social-media-strategist).
New Tasks: What specific, single-purpose tasks will these agents perform? (e.g., generate-headline, analyze-keywords, draft-tweet).
New Workflows: What multi-step processes will you create? (e.g., blog-post-workflow, ad-campaign-workflow).
Templates & Checklists: What reusable templates (ad-copy-tmpl.yaml) or checklists (seo-checklist.md) are needed?

The output of this phase is an architecture.yaml document that serves as the blueprint for your expansion pack.

Phase 3: Implementation (Using the Dev Agent)

This is where you create the actual files for your expansion pack. We'll use the Developer (dev) agent.

Step 3.1: Activate the Dev Agent

bmad activate dev

Step 3.2: Scaffold the Directory Structure

First, create the folder structure for your new pack.

mkdir -p expansion-packs/bmad-your-new-pack/{agents,agent-teams,checklists,data,tasks,templates,workflows}

Step 3.3: Create Each Component

Use the dev agent to generate the content for each file defined in your architecture.yaml.

Your Goal: For each component, instruct the dev agent to create the file.

Example Interaction (Creating an Agent):

You: "Create a new agent file named 'copywriter.md' in the 'agents' folder. The agent's purpose is to write compelling marketing copy based on a brief."
Dev Agent: "Understood. Here is the draft for 'copywriter.md'. Please review the prompt and let me know if it meets the requirements."

Repeat this process for all agents, tasks, workflows, templates, and checklists. The dev agent should write the YAML and Markdown files for you.

Phase 4: Testing & Refinement (Using the QA Agent)

Once the files are created, you need to test them. We'll use the QA (qa) agent.

Step 4.1: Activate the QA Agent

bmad activate qa

Step 4.2: Run Through a Workflow

Choose one of the workflows you created and try to execute it with the BMAD system.

Your Goal: Follow the workflow from start to finish, using the new agents and tasks.

Example Interaction:

You: "I am starting the 'blog-post-workflow'. The first step is to use the 'seo-analyst' agent to run the 'analyze-keywords' task."
QA Agent: "Acknowledged. Please provide the inputs for the 'analyze-keywords' task. I will be monitoring the output against the expected results defined in our test plan."

As you go, the qa agent will help you identify bugs, inconsistencies, or areas for improvement in your prompts, templates, and agent instructions.

Phase 5: Documentation & Packaging

The final step is to create the user-facing documentation and configuration.

Step 5.1: Create `config.yaml`

Create a config.yaml file in the root of your expansion pack directory. Fill in the metadata:

name: bmad-your-new-pack
version: 0.1.0
short-title: Your New Pack
description: >-
  A brief but clear description of what your expansion pack does.  
author: Your Name
slashPrefix: bmad-ynp

Step 5.2: Write the `README.md`

This is the most important piece of documentation. It should include:

An overview of the pack.
A list of the included agents and workflows.
Installation and usage instructions.
Example use cases.

You can use the dev or po agent to help you write a clear and comprehensive README.md based on all the components you've built.

By following this guide, you have successfully used the BMAD method to define, design, build, test, and document a new, ready-to-use expansion pack.

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