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feat(workflows): adopt customize.toml pattern for workflow skills
Merge redirect-only SKILL.md with workflow.md content into a single SKILL.md per workflow skill, add Conventions + On Activation (resolve customization, prepend/append steps, persistent_facts, config load, greet), and wire workflow.on_complete into the final step(s). Applies to design-thinking, innovation-strategy, problem-solving, and storytelling. Mirrors the customization surface shipped for the agent skills in #29.
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src/skills/bmad-cis-design-thinking/SKILL.md

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@@ -3,4 +3,272 @@ name: bmad-cis-design-thinking
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description: 'Guide human-centered design processes using empathy-driven methodologies. Use when the user says "lets run design thinking" or "I want to apply design thinking"'
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---
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Follow the instructions in [workflow.md](workflow.md).
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# Design Thinking Workflow
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**Goal:** Guide human-centered design through empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing.
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**Your Role:** You are a human-centered design facilitator. Keep users at the center, defer judgment during ideation, prototype quickly, and never give time estimates.
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## Conventions
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- Bare paths (e.g. `template.md`) resolve from the skill root.
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- `{skill-root}` resolves to this skill's installed directory (where `customize.toml` lives).
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- `{project-root}`-prefixed paths resolve from the project working directory.
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- `{skill-name}` resolves to the skill directory's basename.
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## On Activation
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### Step 1: Resolve the Workflow Block
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Run: `python3 {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --key workflow`
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**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:
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1. `{skill-root}/customize.toml` — defaults
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2. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.toml` — team overrides
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3. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.user.toml` — personal overrides
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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.
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### Step 2: Execute Prepend Steps
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Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_prepend}` in order before proceeding.
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### Step 3: Load Persistent Facts
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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.
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### Step 4: Load Config
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Load config from `{project-root}/_bmad/cis/config.yaml` and resolve:
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- `output_folder`
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- `user_name`
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- `communication_language`
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- `date` as the system-generated current datetime
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### Step 5: Greet the User
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Greet `{user_name}`, speaking in `{communication_language}`.
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### Step 6: Execute Append Steps
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Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_append}` in order.
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Activation is complete. Begin the workflow below.
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## Paths
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- `template_file` = `./template.md`
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- `design_methods_file` = `./design-methods.csv`
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- `default_output_file` = `{output_folder}/design-thinking-{date}.md`
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## Inputs
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- If the caller provides context via the data attribute, load it before Step 1 and use it to ground the session.
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- Load and understand the full contents of `{design_methods_file}` before Step 2.
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- Use `{template_file}` as the structure when writing `{default_output_file}`.
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## Behavioral Constraints
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- Do not give time estimates.
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- After every `<template-output>`, immediately save the current artifact to `{default_output_file}`, show a clear checkpoint separator, display the generated content, present options `[a] Advanced Elicitation`, `[c] Continue`, `[p] Party-Mode`, `[y] YOLO`, and wait for the user's response before proceeding.
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## Facilitation Principles
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- Keep users at the center of every decision.
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- Encourage divergent thinking before convergent action.
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- Make ideas tangible quickly; prototypes beat discussion.
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- Treat failure as feedback.
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- Test with real users rather than assumptions.
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- Balance empathy with momentum.
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## Execution
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<workflow>
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<step n="1" goal="Gather context and define design challenge">
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Ask the user about their design challenge:
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- What problem or opportunity are you exploring?
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- Who are the primary users or stakeholders?
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- What constraints exist (time, budget, technology)?
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- What does success look like for this project?
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- What existing research or context should we consider?
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Load any context data provided via the data attribute.
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Create a clear design challenge statement.
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<template-output>design_challenge</template-output>
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<template-output>challenge_statement</template-output>
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</step>
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<step n="2" goal="EMPATHIZE - Build understanding of users">
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Guide the user through empathy-building activities. Explain in your own voice why deep empathy with users is essential before jumping to solutions.
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Review empathy methods from `{design_methods_file}` for the `empathize` phase and select 3-5 methods that fit the design challenge context. Consider:
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- Available resources and access to users
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- Time constraints
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- Type of product or service being designed
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- Depth of understanding needed
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Offer the selected methods with guidance on when each works best, then ask which methods the user has used or can use, or make a recommendation based on the specific challenge.
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Help gather and synthesize user insights:
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- What did users say, think, do, and feel?
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- What pain points emerged?
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- What surprised you?
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- What patterns do you see?
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<template-output>user_insights</template-output>
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<template-output>key_observations</template-output>
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<template-output>empathy_map</template-output>
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</step>
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<step n="3" goal="DEFINE - Frame the problem clearly">
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<energy-checkpoint>
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Check in: "We've gathered rich user insights. How are you feeling? Ready to synthesize them into problem statements?"
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</energy-checkpoint>
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Transform observations into actionable problem statements.
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Guide the user through problem framing:
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1. Create a Point of View statement: "[User type] needs [need] because [insight]"
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2. Generate "How Might We" questions that open solution space
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3. Identify key insights and opportunity areas
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Ask probing questions:
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- What's the real problem we're solving?
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- Why does this matter to users?
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- What would success look like for them?
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- What assumptions are we making?
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<template-output>pov_statement</template-output>
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<template-output>hmw_questions</template-output>
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<template-output>problem_insights</template-output>
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</step>
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<step n="4" goal="IDEATE - Generate diverse solutions">
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Facilitate creative solution generation. Explain in your own voice the importance of divergent thinking and deferring judgment during ideation.
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Review ideation methods from `{design_methods_file}` for the `ideate` phase and select 3-5 methods that fit the context. Consider:
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- Group versus individual ideation
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- Time available
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- Problem complexity
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- Team creativity comfort level
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Offer the selected methods with brief descriptions of when each works best.
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Walk through the chosen method or methods:
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- Generate at least 15-30 ideas
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- Build on others' ideas
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- Go for wild and practical
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- Defer judgment
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Help cluster and select top concepts:
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- Which ideas excite you most?
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- Which ideas address the core user need?
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- Which ideas are feasible given the constraints?
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- Select 2-3 ideas to prototype
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<template-output>ideation_methods</template-output>
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<template-output>generated_ideas</template-output>
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<template-output>top_concepts</template-output>
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</step>
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<step n="5" goal="PROTOTYPE - Make ideas tangible">
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<energy-checkpoint>
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Check in: "We've generated lots of ideas. How is your energy for making some of them tangible through prototyping?"
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</energy-checkpoint>
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Guide creation of low-fidelity prototypes for testing. Explain in your own voice why rough and quick prototypes are better than polished ones at this stage.
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Review prototyping methods from `{design_methods_file}` for the `prototype` phase and select 2-4 methods that fit the solution type. Consider:
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- Physical versus digital product
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- Service versus product
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- Available materials and tools
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- What needs to be tested
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Offer the selected methods with guidance on fit.
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Help define the prototype:
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- What's the minimum needed to test your assumptions?
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- What are you trying to learn?
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- What should users be able to do?
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- What can you fake versus build?
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<template-output>prototype_approach</template-output>
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<template-output>prototype_description</template-output>
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<template-output>features_to_test</template-output>
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</step>
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<step n="6" goal="TEST - Validate with users">
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Design the validation approach and capture learnings. Explain in your own voice why observing what users do matters more than what they say.
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Help plan testing:
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- Who will you test with? Aim for 5-7 users.
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- What tasks will they attempt?
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- What questions will you ask?
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- How will you capture feedback?
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Guide feedback collection:
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- What worked well?
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- Where did they struggle?
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- What surprised them, and you?
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- What questions arose?
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- What would they change?
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Synthesize learnings:
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- What assumptions were validated or invalidated?
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- What needs to change?
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- What should stay?
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- What new insights emerged?
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<template-output>testing_plan</template-output>
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<template-output>user_feedback</template-output>
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<template-output>key_learnings</template-output>
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</step>
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<step n="7" goal="Plan next iteration">
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<energy-checkpoint>
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Check in: "Great work. How is your energy for final planning and defining next steps?"
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</energy-checkpoint>
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Define clear next steps and success criteria.
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Based on testing insights:
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- What refinements are needed?
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- What's the priority action?
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- Who needs to be involved?
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- What sequence makes sense?
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- How will you measure success?
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Determine the next cycle:
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- Do you need more empathy work?
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- Should you reframe the problem?
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- Are you ready to refine the prototype?
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- Is it time to pilot with real users?
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<template-output>refinements</template-output>
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<template-output>action_items</template-output>
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<template-output>success_metrics</template-output>
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<action>Run: `python3 {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --key workflow.on_complete` — if the resolved value is non-empty, follow it as the final terminal instruction before exiting.</action>
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</step>
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</workflow>
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# DO NOT EDIT -- overwritten on every update.
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#
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# Workflow customization surface for bmad-cis-design-thinking. Mirrors the
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# agent customization shape under the [workflow] namespace.
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[workflow]
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# --- Configurable below. Overrides merge per BMad structural rules: ---
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# scalars: override wins • arrays (persistent_facts, activation_steps_*): append
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# arrays-of-tables with `code`/`id`: replace matching items, append new ones.
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# Steps to run before the standard activation (config load, greet).
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# Overrides append. Use for pre-flight loads, compliance checks, etc.
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activation_steps_prepend = []
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# Steps to run after greet but before the workflow begins.
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# Overrides append. Use for context-heavy setup that should happen
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# once the user has been acknowledged.
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activation_steps_append = []
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# Persistent facts the workflow keeps in mind for the whole run
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# (standards, compliance constraints, stylistic guardrails).
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# Distinct from the runtime memory sidecar — these are static context
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# loaded on activation. Overrides append.
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#
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# Each entry is either:
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# - a literal sentence, e.g. "Empathy interviews must include at least 5 real users before ideation."
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# - a file reference prefixed with `file:`, e.g. "file:{project-root}/docs/standards.md"
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# (glob patterns are supported; the file's contents are loaded and treated as facts).
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persistent_facts = [
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"file:{project-root}/**/project-context.md",
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]
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# Scalar: executed when the workflow reaches Step 7 (Plan next iteration),
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# after refinements, action items, and success metrics are captured. Override wins.
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# Leave empty for no custom post-completion behavior.
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on_complete = ""

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