Step 5: Epic Quality Review

STEP GOAL:

To validate epics and stories against the best practices defined in create-epics-and-stories workflow, focusing on user value, independence, dependencies, and implementation readiness.

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 an EPIC QUALITY ENFORCER
✅ You know what good epics look like - challenge anything deviating
✅ Technical epics are wrong - find them
✅ Forward dependencies are forbidden - catch them
✅ Stories must be independently completable

Step-Specific Rules:

🎯 Apply create-epics-and-stories standards rigorously
🚫 Don't accept "technical milestones" as epics
💬 Challenge every dependency on future work
🚪 Verify proper story sizing and structure

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

🎯 Systematically validate each epic and story
💾 Document all violations of best practices
📖 Check every dependency relationship
🚫 FORBIDDEN to accept structural problems

EPIC QUALITY REVIEW PROCESS:

1. Initialize Best Practices Validation

"Beginning Epic Quality Review against create-epics-and-stories standards.

I will rigorously validate:

Epics deliver user value (not technical milestones)
Epic independence (Epic 2 doesn't need Epic 3)
Story dependencies (no forward references)
Proper story sizing and completeness

Any deviation from best practices will be flagged as a defect."

2. Epic Structure Validation

A. User Value Focus Check

For each epic:

Epic Title: Is it user-centric (what user can do)?
Epic Goal: Does it describe user outcome?
Value Proposition: Can users benefit from this epic alone?

Red flags (violations):

"Setup Database" or "Create Models" - no user value
"API Development" - technical milestone
"Infrastructure Setup" - not user-facing
"Authentication System" - borderline (is it user value?)

B. Epic Independence Validation

Test epic independence:

Epic 1: Must stand alone completely
Epic 2: Can function using only Epic 1 output
Epic 3: Can function using Epic 1 & 2 outputs
Rule: Epic N cannot require Epic N+1 to work

Document failures:

"Epic 2 requires Epic 3 features to function"
Stories in Epic 2 referencing Epic 3 components
Circular dependencies between epics

3. Story Quality Assessment

A. Story Sizing Validation

Check each story:

Clear User Value: Does the story deliver something meaningful?
Independent: Can it be completed without future stories?

Common violations:

"Setup all models" - not a USER story
"Create login UI (depends on Story 1.3)" - forward dependency

B. Acceptance Criteria Review

For each story's ACs:

Given/When/Then Format: Proper BDD structure?
Testable: Each AC can be verified independently?
Complete: Covers all scenarios including errors?
Specific: Clear expected outcomes?

Issues to find:

Vague criteria like "user can login"
Missing error conditions
Incomplete happy path
Non-measurable outcomes

4. Dependency Analysis

A. Within-Epic Dependencies

Map story dependencies within each epic:

Story 1.1 must be completable alone
Story 1.2 can use Story 1.1 output
Story 1.3 can use Story 1.1 & 1.2 outputs

Critical violations:

"This story depends on Story 1.4"
"Wait for future story to work"
Stories referencing features not yet implemented

B. Database/Entity Creation Timing

Validate database creation approach:

Wrong: Epic 1 Story 1 creates all tables upfront
Right: Each story creates tables it needs
Check: Are tables created only when first needed?

5. Special Implementation Checks

A. Starter Template Requirement

Check if Architecture specifies starter template:

If YES: Epic 1 Story 1 must be "Set up initial project from starter template"
Verify story includes cloning, dependencies, initial configuration

B. Greenfield vs Brownfield Indicators

Greenfield projects should have:

Initial project setup story
Development environment configuration
CI/CD pipeline setup early

Brownfield projects should have:

Integration points with existing systems
Migration or compatibility stories

6. Best Practices Compliance Checklist

For each epic, verify:

Epic delivers user value
Epic can function independently
Stories appropriately sized
No forward dependencies
Database tables created when needed
Clear acceptance criteria
Traceability to FRs maintained

7. Quality Assessment Documentation

Document all findings by severity:

🔴 Critical Violations

Technical epics with no user value
Forward dependencies breaking independence
Epic-sized stories that cannot be completed

🟠 Major Issues

Vague acceptance criteria
Stories requiring future stories
Database creation violations

🟡 Minor Concerns

Formatting inconsistencies
Minor structure deviations
Documentation gaps

8. Autonomous Review Execution

This review runs autonomously to maintain standards:

Apply best practices without compromise
Document every violation with specific examples
Provide clear remediation guidance
Prepare recommendations for each issue

REVIEW COMPLETION:

After completing epic quality review:

Update {outputFile} with all quality findings
Document specific best practices violations
Provide actionable recommendations
Load ./step-06-final-assessment.md for final readiness assessment

CRITICAL STEP COMPLETION NOTE

This step executes autonomously. Load ./step-06-final-assessment.md only after complete epic quality review is documented.

🚨 SYSTEM SUCCESS/FAILURE METRICS

✅ SUCCESS:

All epics validated against best practices
Every dependency checked and verified
Quality violations documented with examples
Clear remediation guidance provided
No compromise on standards enforcement

❌ SYSTEM FAILURE:

Accepting technical epics as valid
Ignoring forward dependencies
Not verifying story sizing
Overlooking obvious violations

Master Rule: Enforce best practices rigorously. Find all violations.