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BMM Implementation Workflows (Phase 4)

Reading Time: ~8 minutes

Overview

Phase 4 (Implementation) workflows manage the iterative sprint-based development cycle using a story-centric workflow where each story moves through a defined lifecycle from creation to completion.

Key principle: One story at a time, move it through the entire lifecycle before starting the next.

Complete Workflow Context

Phase 4 is the final phase of the BMad Method workflow. To see how implementation fits into the complete methodology:

Complete workflow showing Phases 1-4. Phase 4 (Implementation) is the rightmost column, showing the iterative epic and story cycles detailed below.

Phase 4 Workflow Lifecycle

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graph TB
    subgraph Setup["<b>SPRINT SETUP - Run Once</b>"]
        direction TB
        SprintPlanning["<b>SM: sprint-planning</b><br/>Initialize sprint status file"]
    end

    subgraph EpicCycle["<b>EPIC CYCLE - Repeat Per Epic</b>"]
        direction TB
        EpicContext["<b>SM: epic-tech-context</b><br/>Generate epic technical guidance"]
        ValidateEpic["<b>SM: validate-epic-tech-context</b><br/>(Optional validation)"]

        EpicContext -.->|Optional| ValidateEpic
        ValidateEpic -.-> StoryLoopStart
        EpicContext --> StoryLoopStart[Start Story Loop]
    end

    subgraph StoryLoop["<b>STORY LIFECYCLE - Repeat Per Story</b>"]
        direction TB

        CreateStory["<b>SM: create-story</b><br/>Create next story from queue"]
        ValidateStory["<b>SM: validate-create-story</b><br/>(Optional validation)"]
        StoryContext["<b>SM: story-context</b><br/>Assemble dynamic context"]
        StoryReady["<b>SM: story-ready-for-dev</b><br/>Mark ready without context"]
        ValidateContext["<b>SM: validate-story-context</b><br/>(Optional validation)"]
        DevStory["<b>DEV: develop-story</b><br/>Implement with tests"]
        CodeReview["<b>DEV: code-review</b><br/>Senior dev review"]
        StoryDone["<b>DEV: story-done</b><br/>Mark complete, advance queue"]

        CreateStory -.->|Optional| ValidateStory
        ValidateStory -.-> StoryContext
        CreateStory --> StoryContext
        CreateStory -.->|Alternative| StoryReady
        StoryContext -.->|Optional| ValidateContext
        ValidateContext -.-> DevStory
        StoryContext --> DevStory
        StoryReady -.-> DevStory
        DevStory --> CodeReview
        CodeReview -.->|Needs fixes| DevStory
        CodeReview --> StoryDone
        StoryDone -.->|Next story| CreateStory
    end

    subgraph EpicClose["<b>EPIC COMPLETION</b>"]
        direction TB
        Retrospective["<b>SM: epic-retrospective</b><br/>Post-epic lessons learned"]
    end

    subgraph Support["<b>SUPPORTING WORKFLOWS</b>"]
        direction TB
        CorrectCourse["<b>SM: correct-course</b><br/>Handle mid-sprint changes"]
        WorkflowStatus["<b>Any Agent: workflow-status</b><br/>Check what's next"]
    end

    Setup --> EpicCycle
    EpicCycle --> StoryLoop
    StoryLoop --> EpicClose
    EpicClose -.->|Next epic| EpicCycle
    StoryLoop -.->|If issues arise| CorrectCourse
    StoryLoop -.->|Anytime| WorkflowStatus
    EpicCycle -.->|Anytime| WorkflowStatus

    style Setup fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px,color:#000
    style EpicCycle fill:#c5e1a5,stroke:#33691e,stroke-width:3px,color:#000
    style StoryLoop fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#6a1b9a,stroke-width:3px,color:#000
    style EpicClose fill:#ffcc80,stroke:#e65100,stroke-width:3px,color:#000
    style Support fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#e65100,stroke-width:3px,color:#000

    style SprintPlanning fill:#90caf9,stroke:#0d47a1,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style EpicContext fill:#aed581,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style ValidateEpic fill:#c5e1a5,stroke:#33691e,stroke-width:1px,color:#000
    style CreateStory fill:#ce93d8,stroke:#4a148c,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style ValidateStory fill:#e1bee7,stroke:#6a1b9a,stroke-width:1px,color:#000
    style StoryContext fill:#ce93d8,stroke:#4a148c,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style StoryReady fill:#ce93d8,stroke:#4a148c,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style ValidateContext fill:#e1bee7,stroke:#6a1b9a,stroke-width:1px,color:#000
    style DevStory fill:#a5d6a7,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style CodeReview fill:#a5d6a7,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style StoryDone fill:#a5d6a7,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style Retrospective fill:#ffb74d,stroke:#e65100,stroke-width:2px,color:#000

Quick Reference

Workflow	Agent	When	Purpose
sprint-planning	SM	Once at Phase 4 start	Initialize sprint tracking file
epic-tech-context	SM	Per epic	Generate epic-specific technical guidance
validate-epic-tech-context	SM	Optional after epic-tech-context	Validate tech spec against checklist
create-story	SM	Per story	Create next story from epic backlog
validate-create-story	SM	Optional after create-story	Independent validation of story draft
story-context	SM	Optional per story	Assemble dynamic story context XML
validate-story-context	SM	Optional after story-context	Validate story context against checklist
story-ready-for-dev	SM	Optional per story	Mark story ready without generating context
develop-story	DEV	Per story	Implement story with tests
code-review	DEV	Per story	Senior dev quality review
story-done	DEV	Per story	Mark complete and advance queue
epic-retrospective	SM	After epic complete	Review lessons and extract insights
correct-course	SM	When issues arise	Handle significant mid-sprint changes
workflow-status	Any	Anytime	Check "what should I do now?"

Agent Roles

SM (Scrum Master) - Primary Implementation Orchestrator

Workflows: sprint-planning, epic-tech-context, validate-epic-tech-context, create-story, validate-create-story, story-context, validate-story-context, story-ready-for-dev, epic-retrospective, correct-course

Responsibilities:

Initialize and maintain sprint tracking
Generate technical context (epic and story level)
Orchestrate story lifecycle with optional validations
Mark stories ready for development
Handle course corrections
Facilitate retrospectives

DEV (Developer) - Implementation and Quality

Workflows: develop-story, code-review, story-done

Responsibilities:

Implement stories with tests
Perform senior developer code reviews
Mark stories complete and advance queue
Ensure quality and adherence to standards

Story Lifecycle States

Stories move through these states in the sprint status file:

TODO - Story identified but not started
IN PROGRESS - Story being implemented (create-story → story-context → dev-story)
READY FOR REVIEW - Implementation complete, awaiting code review
DONE - Accepted and complete

Typical Sprint Flow

Sprint 0 (Planning Phase)

Complete Phases 1-3 (Analysis, Planning, Solutioning)
PRD/GDD + Architecture complete
V6: Epics+Stories created via create-epics-and-stories workflow (runs AFTER architecture)

Sprint 1+ (Implementation Phase)

Start of Phase 4:

SM runs sprint-planning (once)

Per Epic:

SM runs epic-tech-context
SM optionally runs validate-epic-tech-context

Per Story (repeat until epic complete):

SM runs create-story
SM optionally runs validate-create-story
SM runs story-context OR story-ready-for-dev (choose one)
SM optionally runs validate-story-context (if story-context was used)
DEV runs develop-story
DEV runs code-review
If code review passes: DEV runs story-done
If code review finds issues: DEV fixes in develop-story, then back to code-review

After Epic Complete:

SM runs epic-retrospective
Move to next epic (start with epic-tech-context again)

As Needed:

Run workflow-status anytime to check progress
Run correct-course if significant changes needed

Key Principles

One Story at a Time

Complete each story's full lifecycle before starting the next. This prevents context switching and ensures quality.

Epic-Level Technical Context

Generate detailed technical guidance per epic (not per story) using epic-tech-context. This provides just-in-time architecture without upfront over-planning.

Story Context (Optional)

Use story-context to assemble focused context XML for each story, pulling from PRD, architecture, epic context, and codebase docs. Alternatively, use story-ready-for-dev to mark a story ready without generating context XML.

Quality Gates

Every story goes through code-review before being marked done. No exceptions.

Continuous Tracking

The sprint-status.yaml file is the single source of truth for all implementation progress.

Common Patterns

Level 0-1 (Quick Flow)

tech-spec (PM)
  → sprint-planning (SM)
  → story loop (SM/DEV)

Level 2-4 (BMad Method / Enterprise)

PRD (PM) → Architecture (Architect)
  → create-epics-and-stories (PM)  ← V6: After architecture!
  → implementation-readiness (Architect)
  → sprint-planning (SM, once)
  → [Per Epic]:
      epic-tech-context (SM)
      → story loop (SM/DEV)
      → epic-retrospective (SM)
  → [Next Epic]

Phase 2: Planning Workflows
Phase 3: Solutioning Workflows
Quick Spec Flow - Level 0-1 fast track
Scale Adaptive System - Understanding project levels

Troubleshooting

Q: Which workflow should I run next? A: Run workflow-status - it reads the sprint status file and tells you exactly what to do.

Q: Story needs significant changes mid-implementation? A: Run correct-course to analyze impact and route appropriately.

Q: Do I run epic-tech-context for every story? A: No! Run once per epic, not per story. Use story-context or story-ready-for-dev per story instead.

Q: Do I have to use story-context for every story? A: No, it's optional. You can use story-ready-for-dev to mark a story ready without generating context XML.

Q: Can I work on multiple stories in parallel? A: Not recommended. Complete one story's full lifecycle before starting the next. Prevents context switching and ensures quality.

Q: What if code review finds issues? A: DEV runs develop-story to make fixes, re-runs tests, then runs code-review again until it passes.

Q: When do I run validations? A: Validations are optional quality gates. Use them when you want independent review of epic tech specs, story drafts, or story context before proceeding.

Phase 4 Implementation - One story at a time, done right.

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