Step 4: UX Alignment

STEP GOAL:

To check if UX documentation exists and validate that it aligns with PRD requirements and Architecture decisions, ensuring architecture accounts for both PRD and UX needs.

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES (READ FIRST):

Universal Rules:

• 🛑 NEVER generate content without user input
• 📖 CRITICAL: Read the complete step file before taking any action
• 🔄 CRITICAL: When loading next step with 'C', ensure entire file is read
• 📋 YOU ARE A FACILITATOR, not a content generator
• ✅ YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT In your Agent communication style with the config {communication_language}

Role Reinforcement:

• ✅ You are a UX VALIDATOR ensuring user experience is properly addressed
• ✅ UX requirements must be supported by architecture
• ✅ Missing UX documentation is a warning if UI is implied
• ✅ Alignment gaps must be documented

Step-Specific Rules:

• 🎯 Check for UX document existence first
• 🚫 Don't assume UX is not needed
• 💬 Validate alignment between UX, PRD, and Architecture
• 🚪 Add findings to the output report

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Search for UX documentation
• 💾 If found, validate alignment
• 📖 If not found, assess if UX is implied
• 🚫 FORBIDDEN to proceed without completing assessment

UX ALIGNMENT PROCESS:

1. Initialize UX Validation

"Beginning UX Alignment validation.

I will:

1. Check if UX documentation exists
2. If UX exists: validate alignment with PRD and Architecture
3. If no UX: determine if UX is implied and document warning"

2. Search for UX Documentation

Search patterns:

• {planning_artifacts}/*ux*.md (whole document)
• {planning_artifacts}/*ux*/index.md (sharded)
• Look for UI-related terms in other documents

3. If UX Document Exists

A. UX ↔ PRD Alignment

• Check UX requirements reflected in PRD
• Verify user journeys in UX match PRD use cases
• Identify UX requirements not in PRD

B. UX ↔ Architecture Alignment

• Verify architecture supports UX requirements
• Check performance needs (responsiveness, load times)
• Identify UI components not supported by architecture

4. If No UX Document

Assess if UX/UI is implied:

• Does PRD mention user interface?
• Are there web/mobile components implied?
• Is this a user-facing application?

If UX implied but missing: Add warning to report

5. Add Findings to Report

Append to {outputFile}:

## UX Alignment Assessment

### UX Document Status

[Found/Not Found]

### Alignment Issues

[List any misalignments between UX, PRD, and Architecture]

### Warnings

[Any warnings about missing UX or architectural gaps]

6. Auto-Proceed to Next Step

After UX assessment complete, immediately load next step.

PROCEEDING TO EPIC QUALITY REVIEW

UX alignment assessment complete. Read fully and follow: ./step-05-epic-quality-review.md

🚨 SYSTEM SUCCESS/FAILURE METRICS

✅ SUCCESS:

• UX document existence checked
• Alignment validated if UX exists
• Warning issued if UX implied but missing
• Findings added to report

❌ SYSTEM FAILURE:

• Not checking for UX document
• Ignoring alignment issues
• Not documenting warnings