bmad-correct-course

Correct Course - Sprint Change Management Workflow

Goal: Manage significant changes during sprint execution by analyzing impact across all project artifacts and producing a structured Sprint Change Proposal.

Your Role: You are a Developer navigating change management. Analyze the triggering issue, assess impact across PRD, epics, architecture, and UX artifacts, and produce an actionable Sprint Change Proposal with clear handoff.

Conventions

• Bare paths (e.g. checklist.md) resolve from the skill root.
• {skill-root} resolves to this skill's installed directory (where customize.toml lives).
• {project-root}-prefixed paths resolve from the project working directory.
• {skill-name} resolves to the skill directory's basename.

On Activation

Step 1: Resolve the Workflow Block

Run: uv run {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --project-root {project-root} --key workflow

If the script fails, resolve the workflow block yourself by reading these three files in base → team → user order and applying the same structural merge rules as the resolver:

1. {skill-root}/customize.toml — defaults
2. {project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.toml — team overrides
3. {project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.user.toml — personal overrides

Any missing file is skipped. Scalars override, tables deep-merge, arrays of tables keyed by code or id replace matching entries and append new entries, and all other arrays append.

Step 2: Execute Prepend Steps

Execute each entry in {workflow.activation_steps_prepend} in order before proceeding.

Step 3: Load Persistent Facts

Treat every entry in {workflow.persistent_facts} as foundational context you carry for the rest of the workflow run. Entries prefixed file: are paths or globs under {project-root} — load the referenced contents as facts. All other entries are facts verbatim.

Step 4: Load Config

Run: uv run {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_config.py --project-root {project-root} --key core.project_name --key modules.bmm.implementation_artifacts --key modules.bmm.planning_artifacts --key modules.bmm.project_knowledge

• date as system-generated current datetime
• YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT in your Agent communication style
• DOCUMENT OUTPUT: Updated epics, stories, or PRD sections. Clear, actionable changes.

Step 5: Greet the User

Greet the user.

Step 6: Execute Append Steps

Execute each entry in {workflow.activation_steps_append} in order.

Activation is complete. If activation_steps_prepend or activation_steps_append were non-empty, confirm every entry was executed in order before proceeding. Do not begin the main workflow until all activation steps have been completed.

Paths

• default_output_file = {planning_artifacts}/sprint-change-proposal-{date}.md

Input Files

Input	Path	Load Strategy
PRD	{planning_artifacts}/*prd*.md (whole) or {planning_artifacts}/*prd*/*.md (sharded)	FULL_LOAD
Epics	{planning_artifacts}/*epic*.md (whole) or {planning_artifacts}/*epic*/*.md (sharded)	FULL_LOAD
Architecture	{planning_artifacts}/*architecture*.md (whole) or {planning_artifacts}/*architecture*/*.md (sharded)	FULL_LOAD
UX Design	{planning_artifacts}/*ux*.md (whole) or {planning_artifacts}/*ux*/*.md (sharded)	FULL_LOAD
Spec	{planning_artifacts}/*spec-*.md (whole)	FULL_LOAD
Project Context	AGENTS.md in the affected repo (the bmad:context block)	FULL_LOAD

Execution

Document Discovery - Loading Project Artifacts

Strategy: Course correction needs broad project context to assess change impact accurately. Load all available planning artifacts.

Discovery Process for FULL_LOAD documents (PRD, Epics, Architecture, UX Design, Spec):

1. Search for whole document first - Look for files matching the whole-document pattern (e.g., *prd*.md, *epic*.md, *architecture*.md, *ux*.md, *spec-*.md)
2. Check for sharded version - If whole document not found, look for a directory with index.md (e.g., prd/index.md, epics/index.md)
3. If sharded version found:
   • Read index.md to understand the document structure
   • Read ALL section files listed in the index
   • Process the combined content as a single document
4. Priority: If both whole and sharded versions exist, use the whole document

Discovery Process for Project Context:

1. Read AGENTS.md in the repo the change affects — the block between the bmad:context markers carries the policy, frozen paths, and conventions a course correction must respect.
2. Follow only the pointers that relate to the impacted areas — nested component files or linked rule files listed under "Where things are". Do not load them all.
3. This document is optional — skip if the repo has no AGENTS.md (greenfield projects).

Fuzzy matching: Be flexible with document names — users may use variations like prd.md, bmm-prd.md, product-requirements.md, etc.

Missing documents: Not all documents may exist. PRD and Epics are essential; Architecture, UX Design, Spec, and Document Project are loaded if available. HALT if PRD or Epics cannot be found.

HALT: "Cannot navigate change without clear understanding of the triggering issue. Please provide specific details about what needs to change and why."

HALT: "Need access to PRD and Epics to assess change impact. Please ensure these documents are accessible. Architecture and UI/UX will be used if available."

Identify blocking issues and work with user to resolve before continuing

For Story changes:

• Show old → new text format

• Include story ID and section being modified

• Provide rationale for each change

• Example format:

  Story: [STORY-123] User Authentication
  Section: Acceptance Criteria
  
  OLD:
  - User can log in with email/password
  
  NEW:
  - User can log in with email/password
  - User can enable 2FA via authenticator app
  
  Rationale: Security requirement identified during implementation
  

For PRD modifications:

• Specify exact sections to update
• Show current content and proposed changes
• Explain impact on MVP scope and requirements

For Architecture changes:

• Identify affected components, patterns, or technology choices
• Describe diagram updates needed
• Note any ripple effects on other components

For UI/UX specification updates:

• Reference specific screens or components
• Show wireframe or flow changes needed
• Connect changes to user experience impact

Collect all edit proposals and present together at end of step

Section 1: Issue Summary

• Clear problem statement describing what triggered the change
• Context about when/how the issue was discovered
• Evidence or examples demonstrating the issue

Section 2: Impact Analysis

• Epic Impact: Which epics are affected and how
• Story Impact: Current and future stories requiring changes
• Artifact Conflicts: PRD, Architecture, UI/UX documents needing updates
• Technical Impact: Code, infrastructure, or deployment implications

Section 3: Recommended Approach

• Present chosen path forward from checklist evaluation:
  • Direct Adjustment: Modify/add stories within existing plan
  • Potential Rollback: Revert completed work to simplify resolution
  • MVP Review: Reduce scope or modify goals
• Provide clear rationale for recommendation
• Include effort estimate, risk assessment, and timeline impact

Section 4: Detailed Change Proposals

• Include all refined edit proposals from Step 3
• Group by artifact type (Stories, PRD, Architecture, UI/UX)
• Ensure each change includes before/after and justification

Section 5: Implementation Handoff

• Categorize change scope:
  • Minor: Direct implementation by Developer agent
  • Moderate: Backlog reorganization needed (PO/DEV)
  • Major: Fundamental replan required (PM/Architect)
• Specify handoff recipients and their responsibilities
• Define success criteria for implementation

Present complete Sprint Change Proposal to user Write Sprint Change Proposal document to {default_output_file} HALT and give the user a choice:

• Continue — proceed to approval
• Edit — revise the proposal first

If the user chooses Edit, revise the proposal with them and write the updated document before continuing.

• Minor: Can be implemented directly by Developer agent
• Moderate: Requires backlog reorganization and PO/DEV coordination
• Major: Needs fundamental replan with PM/Architect involvement

Provide appropriate handoff based on scope:

Confirm handoff completion and next steps with user Document handoff in workflow execution log

Confirm all deliverables produced:

• Sprint Change Proposal document
• Specific edit proposals with before/after
• Implementation handoff plan

Report workflow completion to user: "Correct Course workflow complete!" Remind user of success criteria and next steps for Developer agent Run: uv run {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --project-root {project-root} --key workflow.on_complete — if the resolved value is non-empty, follow it as the final terminal instruction before exiting.