Discovery Phase
Optional research phase triggered when feature-forge identifies unknowns that require human investigation before planning can proceed.
Purpose
Section titled “Purpose”Not every feature needs discovery. When the feature-forge interview surfaces questions that cannot be answered from existing knowledge — user interviews needed, competitive analysis required, technical spikes pending — those unknowns route here. Discovery provides structure for research and converts findings into actionable epics and tickets.
Commands
Section titled “Commands”| Order | Command | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | discovery:create | Create a structured discovery workspace with research questions and hypotheses |
| 2 | discovery:synthesize | Consolidate research artifacts into findings, recommendations, and proposed tickets |
| 3 | discovery:approve | Resolve blocking decisions and create tickets in the ticketing system |
Between steps 1 and 2, humans conduct the actual research: user interviews, technical spikes, competitive analysis, design sprints.
Outputs
Section titled “Outputs”- Discovery document — Research questions, hypotheses, research plan
- Synthesis document — Consolidated findings, recommendations, proposed tickets with blocking decisions
- Tickets — Epics and tickets created in the ticketing system, grounded in research
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”- Feature-forge spec with Discovery Recommendation section (recommended)
- Ticketing system access (Jira)
- Documentation system access (Confluence)
External Skills
Section titled “External Skills”- feature-forge — Produces the spec that identifies unknowns triggering discovery
Next Steps
Section titled “Next Steps”After discovery, proceed to the Planning Phase to create the epic plan and implementation plan from the created tickets.