BMAD-METHOD/src/bmm/workflows/2-plan-workflows/prd/steps-c/step-03-success.md

9.3 KiB

name description nextStepFile outputFile advancedElicitationTask partyModeWorkflow
step-03-success Define comprehensive success criteria covering user, business, and technical success ./step-04-journeys.md {planning_artifacts}/prd.md {project-root}/_bmad/core/workflows/advanced-elicitation/workflow.xml {project-root}/_bmad/core/workflows/party-mode/workflow.md

Step 3: Success Criteria Definition

Progress: Step 3 of 11 - Next: User Journey Mapping

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES (READ FIRST):

  • 🛑 NEVER generate content without user input

  • 📖 CRITICAL: ALWAYS read the complete step file before taking any action - partial understanding leads to incomplete decisions

  • 🔄 CRITICAL: When loading next step with 'C', ensure the entire file is read and understood before proceeding

  • ALWAYS treat this as collaborative discovery between PM peers

  • 📋 YOU ARE A FACILITATOR, not a content generator

  • 💬 FOCUS on defining what winning looks like for this product

  • 🎯 COLLABORATIVE discovery, not assumption-based goal setting

  • YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT In your Agent communication style with the config {communication_language}

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

  • 🎯 Show your analysis before taking any action
  • ⚠️ Present A/P/C menu after generating success criteria content
  • 💾 ONLY save when user chooses C (Continue)
  • 📖 Update output file frontmatter, adding this step name to the end of the list of stepsCompleted
  • 🚫 FORBIDDEN to load next step until C is selected

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

  • Current document and frontmatter from previous steps are available
  • Executive Summary and Project Classification already exist in document
  • Input documents from step-01 are available (product briefs, research, brainstorming)
  • No additional data files needed for this step
  • Focus on measurable, specific success criteria
  • LEVERAGE existing input documents to inform success criteria

YOUR TASK:

Define comprehensive success criteria that cover user success, business success, and technical success, using input documents as a foundation while allowing user refinement.

SUCCESS DISCOVERY SEQUENCE:

1. Begin Success Definition Conversation

Check Input Documents for Success Indicators: Analyze product brief, research, and brainstorming documents for success criteria already mentioned.

If Input Documents Contain Success Criteria: Guide user to refine existing success criteria:

  • Acknowledge what's already documented in their materials
  • Extract key success themes from brief, research, and brainstorming
  • Help user identify gaps and areas for expansion
  • Probe for specific, measurable outcomes: When do users feel delighted/relieved/empowered?
  • Ask about emotional success moments and completion scenarios
  • Explore what "worth it" means beyond what's already captured

If No Success Criteria in Input Documents: Start with user-centered success exploration:

  • Guide conversation toward defining what "worth it" means for users
  • Ask about the moment users realize their problem is solved
  • Explore specific user outcomes and emotional states
  • Identify success "aha!" moments and completion scenarios
  • Focus on user experience of success first

2. Explore User Success Metrics

Listen for specific user outcomes and help make them measurable:

  • Guide from vague to specific: NOT "users are happy" → "users complete [key action] within [timeframe]"
  • Ask about emotional success: "When do they feel delighted/relieved/empowered?"
  • Identify success moments: "What's the 'aha!' moment?"
  • Define completion scenarios: "What does 'done' look like for the user?"

3. Define Business Success

Transition to business metrics:

  • Guide conversation to business perspective on success
  • Explore timelines: What does 3-month success look like? 12-month success?
  • Identify key business metrics: revenue, user growth, engagement, or other measures?
  • Ask what specific metric would indicate "this is working"
  • Understand business success from their perspective

4. Challenge Vague Metrics

Push for specificity on business metrics:

  • "10,000 users" → "What kind of users? Doing what?"
  • "99.9% uptime" → "What's the real concern - data loss? Failed payments?"
  • "Fast" → "How fast, and what specifically needs to be fast?"
  • "Good adoption" → "What percentage adoption by when?"

5. Connect to Product Differentiator

Tie success metrics back to what makes the product special:

  • Connect success criteria to the product's unique differentiator
  • Ensure metrics reflect the specific value proposition
  • Adapt success criteria to domain context:
    • Consumer: User love, engagement, retention
    • B2B: ROI, efficiency, adoption
    • Developer tools: Developer experience, community
    • Regulated: Compliance, safety, validation
    • GovTech: Government compliance, accessibility, procurement

6. Smart Scope Negotiation

Guide scope definition through success lens:

  • Help user distinguish MVP (must work to be useful) from growth (competitive) and vision (dream)
  • Guide conversation through three scope levels:
    1. MVP: What's essential for proving the concept?
    2. Growth: What makes it competitive?
    3. Vision: What's the dream version?
  • Challenge scope creep conversationally: Could this wait until after launch? Is this essential for MVP?
  • For complex domains: Ensure compliance minimums are included in MVP

7. Generate Success Criteria Content

Prepare the content to append to the document:

Content Structure:

When saving to document, append these Level 2 and Level 3 sections:

## Success Criteria

### User Success

[Content about user success criteria based on conversation]

### Business Success

[Content about business success metrics based on conversation]

### Technical Success

[Content about technical success requirements based on conversation]

### Measurable Outcomes

[Content about specific measurable outcomes based on conversation]

## Product Scope

### MVP - Minimum Viable Product

[Content about MVP scope based on conversation]

### Growth Features (Post-MVP)

[Content about growth features based on conversation]

### Vision (Future)

[Content about future vision based on conversation]

8. Present MENU OPTIONS

Present the success criteria content for user review, then display menu:

  • Show the drafted success criteria and scope definition (using structure from section 7)
  • Ask if they'd like to refine further, get other perspectives, or proceed
  • Present menu options naturally as part of the conversation

Display: "Select: [A] Advanced Elicitation [P] Party Mode [C] Continue to User Journey Mapping (Step 4 of 11)"

Menu Handling Logic:

  • IF A: Read fully and follow: {advancedElicitationTask} with the current success criteria content, process the enhanced success metrics that come back, ask user "Accept these improvements to the success criteria? (y/n)", if yes update content with improvements then redisplay menu, if no keep original content then redisplay menu
  • IF P: Read fully and follow: {partyModeWorkflow} with the current success criteria, process the collaborative improvements to metrics and scope, ask user "Accept these changes to the success criteria? (y/n)", if yes update content with improvements then redisplay menu, if no keep original content then redisplay menu
  • IF C: Append the final content to {outputFile}, update frontmatter by adding this step name to the end of the stepsCompleted array, then read fully and follow: {nextStepFile}
  • IF Any other: help user respond, then redisplay menu

EXECUTION RULES:

  • ALWAYS halt and wait for user input after presenting menu
  • ONLY proceed to next step when user selects 'C'
  • After other menu items execution, return to this menu

APPEND TO DOCUMENT:

When user selects 'C', append the content directly to the document using the structure from step 7.

SUCCESS METRICS:

User success criteria clearly identified and made measurable Business success metrics defined with specific targets Success criteria connected to product differentiator Scope properly negotiated (MVP, Growth, Vision) A/P/C menu presented and handled correctly Content properly appended to document when C selected

FAILURE MODES:

Accepting vague success metrics without pushing for specificity Not connecting success criteria back to product differentiator Missing scope negotiation and leaving it undefined Generating content without real user input on what success looks like Not presenting A/P/C menu after content generation Appending content without user selecting 'C'

CRITICAL: Reading only partial step file - leads to incomplete understanding and poor decisions CRITICAL: Proceeding with 'C' without fully reading and understanding the next step file CRITICAL: Making decisions without complete understanding of step requirements and protocols

DOMAIN CONSIDERATIONS:

If working in regulated domains (healthcare, fintech, govtech):

  • Include compliance milestones in success criteria
  • Add regulatory approval timelines to MVP scope
  • Consider audit requirements as technical success metrics

NEXT STEP:

After user selects 'C' and content is saved to document, load ./step-04-journeys.md to map user journeys.

Remember: Do NOT proceed to step-04 until user explicitly selects 'C' from the A/P/C menu and content is saved!