Generate Epics

Purpose / When to Activate

Activate when:

• Starting a new product
• Adding a significant feature or domain
• Restructuring product scope
• Breaking down a PRD into actionable outcomes

Works with or without a PRD.

Process

1. Read the Epic template at contexts/artefacts/epics/_template.epic.md before writing any Epic file.

   CRITICAL — ID Collision Guard (MUST execute before assigning any Epic ID):

   • a) Scan contexts/backlog/active.backlog.yaml to find the highest existing Epic number (e.g., if E52 is the last, the next Epic must be E53 or higher).
   • b) Also scan contexts/artefacts/epics/ for existing .epic.md files to catch any that may not yet be in the backlog.
   • c) For each Epic file to be created, check if the file already exists at contexts/artefacts/epics/{id}.epic.md. If it exists with different content, STOP immediately — surface the conflict to the human.
   • d) The new Epic ID = max(existing IDs) + 1. Never reuse an Epic ID, even if the previous Epic was deleted or superseded.
   • Rationale: In a past incident, two concurrent sessions both assigned the same Epic ID to different epics. The second overwrote the first's stories. This guard prevents recurrence.

2. Think in user outcomes, not features

3. Keep Epics high-level and value-focused

4. Avoid implementation detail

5. Limit to 3–7 Epics maximum

6. For each Epic, answer: "What meaningful user result will this create?"

7. Set domain based on the Epic's primary intent (e.g., engineering, marketing, legal). Leave empty if not applicable.

8. Output using the canonical Epic template

Outputs

Template: contexts/artefacts/epics/_template.epic.md

Produces files at contexts/artefacts/epics/{id}.epic.md.

Key sections per Epic:

• Purpose: what user outcome this delivers and why it matters
• Scope: high-level description of what is included
• Out of Scope: what is explicitly excluded
• Stories: list of story IDs (descriptive only; authoritative tracking is in the backlog)
• Success Metrics: how to know the Epic delivered value
• Dependencies: other Epics or external factors this depends on

Quality Checks

• Each Epic expresses a user outcome, not a technical feature
• Maximum 7 Epics per initiative
• No implementation detail present
• Each Epic is independently valuable
• No Epic ID collision — the assigned ID does not exist in the backlog or on disk with different content

Non-Goals

This skill must NOT:

• Generate Stories (use generate-stories)
• Make technical architecture decisions
• Produce more than 7 Epics per initiative

Epics are the bridge between vision and execution.