BMAD-METHOD/src/bmm-skills/2-plan-workflows/bmad-prd/references/validation-render.md

Validation Rendering

How the validator subagent's findings become a validation report. Loaded only when the user has explicitly asked for analysis — either Validate intent or a mid-session report request. The Finalize discipline pass during Create/Update does NOT render a report; its findings stay in-conversation.

Validator subagent output contract

The subagent walks {workflow.validation_checklist} against prd.md (and addendum.md if present) and writes {doc_workspace}/validation-findings.json:

{
  "prd_name": "Plantsona",
  "prd_path": "{doc_workspace}/prd.md",
  "checklist_path": "{workflow.validation_checklist}",
  "timestamp": "2026-05-11T09:14:00",
  "overall_synthesis": "2-3 sentences of judgment about the PRD's overall state — what holds up, what's at risk. Written by the subagent, not the parent.",
  "findings": [
    {
      "id": "Q-2",
      "category": "Quality",
      "title": "Measurability",
      "status": "warn",
      "severity": "medium",
      "location": "§16 Success Metrics, lines 408-422",
      "note": "Success Metrics list is measurable but counter-metrics are named only for premium conversion. Other metrics lack paired counter-metrics.",
      "suggested_fix": "Add counter-metrics for engagement (e.g., DAU/MAU) and seasonal cadence."
    }
  ]
}

Per-finding fields:

• id (required) — checklist item ID (e.g., Q-1, D-2, STK-1, or org-custom prefixes).
• category (optional) — explicit category name; if omitted, the renderer maps from the ID prefix.
• title (optional but recommended) — the checklist item's short name.
• status — pass | warn | fail | n/a.
• severity — low | medium | high | critical.
• location (optional) — section/line/range in the PRD where the finding lives. Cite specifics, never abstract criticism.
• note (optional) — the finding itself, in one or two sentences.
• suggested_fix (optional) — concrete next action.

Rendering invocation

After the subagent writes findings:

python3 {skill-root}/scripts/render-validation-html.py \
  --findings {doc_workspace}/validation-findings.json \
  --template {workflow.validation_report_template} \
  --output {doc_workspace}/validation-report.html \
  --open

Include --open for interactive runs (auto-opens in default browser). Omit --open in headless runs.

The script writes two artifacts side-by-side: the HTML report at --output, and a markdown companion at the same path with .md extension (e.g. validation-report.md). Both are always produced when the script runs — trigger gating happens upstream (the script is only invoked when the user has asked for analysis). It computes pass/warn/fail/na counts, derives a grade (Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor) from critical-fail and total-fail counts, renders an inline SVG score bar in the HTML, groups findings by category, and returns a one-line JSON summary on stdout: {"output": "...", "markdown": "...", "grade": "...", "stats": {...}}.

Re-running validation overwrites the existing report files in place. Markdown form is what Update mode reads when rolling findings into a revision.