Using Workflows

Workflows chain multiple PM skills into end-to-end sequences for common product management processes. Instead of invoking skills one at a time, a workflow runs them in order, passing context forward from each step to the next.

PM Skills includes 9 pre-built workflows covering feature development, research, strategy, experimentation, and more.

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Which Workflow Should I Use?

Use this decision tree to find the right starting point based on your situation.

flowchart TD
    START([What are you trying to do?]) --> Q1{Building or shipping<br/>a feature?}
    Q1 -->|Yes| Q2{How much uncertainty?}
    Q1 -->|No| Q3{Research or<br/>strategy focused?}

    Q2 -->|Low - requirements clear| FK[Feature Kickoff]
    Q2 -->|High - need to validate| LS[Lean Startup]
    Q2 -->|Full lifecycle| TD[Triple Diamond]

    Q3 -->|Research| Q4{Have raw research<br/>data already?}
    Q3 -->|Strategy| Q5{Technical or<br/>business strategy?}
    Q3 -->|Neither| Q6{What phase<br/>are you in?}

    Q4 -->|Yes| CD[Customer Discovery]
    Q4 -->|No - need alignment| SA[Stakeholder Alignment]

    Q5 -->|Technical| TechD[Technical Discovery]
    Q5 -->|Business| PS[Product Strategy]

    Q6 -->|Sprint prep| SP[Sprint Planning]
    Q6 -->|Post-launch| PLL[Post-Launch Learning]
    Q6 -->|End-to-end| TD

Still unsure? Start with Feature Kickoff for most feature work, or Triple Diamond when you need comprehensive coverage.

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Workflow Comparison Matrix

Workflow	Use Case	Skills	Complexity	Duration
Feature Kickoff	Standard feature development	5	Medium	Session
Customer Discovery	Research to problem framing	4	Medium	Session
Sprint Planning	Sprint-ready stories from backlog	3	Light	Quick
Product Strategy	Strategic initiative framing	5	Heavy	Multi-session
Post-Launch Learning	Ship-to-learn feedback loop	5	Heavy	Multi-session
Stakeholder Alignment	Leadership buy-in	4	Medium	Session
Lean Startup	Rapid build-measure-learn	4	Medium	Session
Technical Discovery	Feasibility and architecture	3	Light	Quick
Triple Diamond	Comprehensive product development	25	Heavy	Multi-session

Complexity key:

• Light (3 skills) — Focused, can finish in under 2 hours
• Medium (4-5 skills) — A working session, typically half a day
• Heavy (5+ skills or broad scope) — Multiple sessions over days

Duration key:

• Quick — Under 2 hours
• Session — Half day (3-6 hours)
• Multi-session — Multiple days

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Invoking Workflows

Claude Code (slash commands)

Each workflow has a /workflow-{name} slash command:

/workflow-feature-kickoff "Save for Later feature for shopping cart"

/workflow-lean-startup "Test whether users want dark mode"

/workflow-sprint-planning "Q3 backlog for payments team"

All 9 workflow commands:

Command	Workflow
/workflow-feature-kickoff	Feature Kickoff
/workflow-customer-discovery	Customer Discovery
/workflow-sprint-planning	Sprint Planning
/workflow-product-strategy	Product Strategy
/workflow-post-launch-learning	Post-Launch Learning
/workflow-stakeholder-alignment	Stakeholder Alignment
/workflow-lean-startup	Lean Startup
/workflow-technical-discovery	Technical Discovery
/workflow-triple-diamond	Triple Diamond

Other AI platforms

If your platform does not support slash commands, reference the workflow by name:

Run the Feature Kickoff workflow for adding a
"Save for Later" feature to our shopping cart.

The AI will recognize the workflow name and run the skills in sequence.

What happens when you invoke a workflow

The AI works through each skill in order, using the output of each step as context for the next:

Starting Feature Kickoff workflow...

Step 1/5: Problem Statement
[Produces problem statement]

Step 2/5: Hypothesis
[Produces hypothesis based on problem statement]

Step 3/5: PRD
[Produces PRD based on hypothesis]

Step 4/5: User Stories
[Produces user stories from PRD]

Step 5/5: Launch Checklist
[Produces launch checklist]

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Customizing Workflows

You do not have to run every workflow exactly as defined. All workflows support these modifications at invocation time.

Skip steps you don’t need

Run the Feature Kickoff workflow, but skip the launch checklist --
we have an existing template for that.

Add extra steps

Run Feature Kickoff, and also include edge-cases
after the user stories.

Stop mid-workflow for review

Run Feature Kickoff through the PRD step,
then stop for review before continuing.

Provide existing artifacts

If you already have outputs from earlier work, feed them in to skip ahead:

Here is our existing problem statement: [paste or attach].
Run Feature Kickoff starting from the hypothesis step.

Combine workflows

Chain workflows together for broader coverage:

Run Customer Discovery first, then feed the results
into Feature Kickoff to take it through to launch.

This effectively creates a custom sequence: interview-synthesis, jtbd-canvas, opportunity-tree, problem-statement, hypothesis, prd, user-stories, launch-checklist.

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Building Custom Workflows

You can create new workflows by adding a Markdown file to the _workflows/ directory.

Workflow file structure

Each workflow file follows this pattern:

# Workflow Name

> One-line description

Longer description of when and why to use this workflow.

## Workflow Metadata

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| **Workflow** | Workflow Name |
| **Command** | `/workflow-your-name` |
| **Skills** | `skill-a` -> `skill-b` -> `skill-c` |
| **Phases Covered** | Define, Deliver |
| **Estimated Duration** | 2-4 hours |
| **Prerequisite Inputs** | What the user needs to bring |
| **Final Output** | What the workflow produces |

## When to Use
...

## Core Sequence
### Step 1: Skill Name
**Skill:** skill-reference
**Purpose:** Why this step exists
**Key Outputs:** What it produces
...

Steps to create a new workflow

1. Pick your skill sequence. Review the skills catalog and select 3-8 skills that form a logical chain.
2. Create the file. Add _workflows/your-workflow-name.md following the structure above.
3. Add a slash command. Create commands/workflow-your-workflow-name.md so users can invoke it with /workflow-your-workflow-name.
4. Register in the docs. Add an entry in docs/workflows/index.md and update the nav in mkdocs.yml if you want it in the documentation site.
5. Test the sequence. Run the workflow end-to-end to verify that each skill’s output provides useful context for the next step.

Design tips

• 3-8 skills is the sweet spot. Fewer than 3 is just individual skill use; more than 8 gets unwieldy.
• Order matters. Each skill should build on the output of the previous one.
• Document “When to Use” and “Don’t Use When.” This helps users pick the right workflow.
• Include optional extensions. Suggest skills that can be added for more depth without making them mandatory.

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Workflow Reference

For full details on each workflow — skill sequences, step-by-step guides, examples, and optional extensions — see the Workflows section.

Workflow	Skills Chained
Feature Kickoff	problem-statement, hypothesis, prd, user-stories, launch-checklist
Customer Discovery	interview-synthesis, jtbd-canvas, opportunity-tree, problem-statement
Sprint Planning	refinement-notes, user-stories, edge-cases
Product Strategy	competitive-analysis, stakeholder-summary, opportunity-tree, solution-brief, adr
Post-Launch Learning	instrumentation-spec, dashboard-requirements, experiment-results, retrospective, lessons-log
Stakeholder Alignment	stakeholder-summary, problem-statement, solution-brief, launch-checklist
Lean Startup	hypothesis, experiment-design, experiment-results, pivot-decision
Technical Discovery	spike-summary, adr, design-rationale
Triple Diamond	All 26 phase skills across 6 phases

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Part of PM Skills — Open-source Product Management skills for AI agents