This skill orchestrates the /finalize phase, the final step after successful deployment to production, direct-prod, or local build.
For Epic Workflows (v5.0+):
- Generate comprehensive walkthrough.md with velocity metrics, sprint results, lessons learned
- Run post-mortem audit with pattern detection (after 2-3 epics)
- Offer workflow healing with improvement recommendations
- Detect patterns for custom skills/commands generation
For Feature Workflows:
- Standard finalization (roadmap, artifacts, docs, branches)
Inputs: Deployed feature/epic, phase artifacts, ship report, state.yaml Outputs: walkthrough.md (epics only), updated roadmap, archived artifacts, updated documentation Expected duration: 10-15 minutes (features), 20-30 minutes (epics with walkthrough)
<quick_start> After deployment completes, finalize the workflow:
Epic Workflows (NEW in v5.0): 0. Generate walkthrough - Comprehensive epic summary with velocity metrics, sprint results, lessons learned, pattern detection
- Run post-mortem audit - Final effectiveness analysis with improvement recommendations
- Offer workflow healing - Apply discovered improvements with user approval
All Workflows (features + epics):
- Update roadmap - Move to "Shipped" with completion date, version, production URL
- Archive artifacts - Verify all phase artifacts in specs/NNN-slug/ or epics/NNN-slug/
- Update documentation - README, CHANGELOG, user guides (if applicable)
- Clean up branches - Delete feature branch locally and remotely
- Commit finalization - Small commit documenting workflow closure
Key principles:
- Clean closure preserves knowledge and enables learning
- Epic walkthroughs enable self-improving workflow system
- Pattern detection (after 2-3 epics) suggests custom automation </quick_start>
If deployment incomplete, return to /ship phase.
Detect epic vs feature workflow and generate comprehensive walkthrough for epics.
Detection:
if [ -f "epics/*/epic-spec.xml" ]; then
WORKSPACE_TYPE="epic"
EPIC_DIR=$(dirname "epics/*/epic-spec.xml")
else
WORKSPACE_TYPE="feature"
# Skip to Step 1 (standard finalization)
continue
fi
If feature workflow: Skip this step entirely, proceed to Step 1
If epic workflow: Generate walkthrough before standard finalization
Walkthrough Generation Pipeline:
-
Gather all epic artifacts:
- epic-spec.xml (epic specification)
- research.xml (research phase output)
- plan.xml (plan phase output with meta-prompting)
- sprint-plan.xml (task breakdown with dependency graph)
- state.yaml (state tracking across phases)
- audit-report.xml (workflow effectiveness analysis)
- preview-report.xml (manual testing decision)
- Sprint results from epics/NNN-slug/sprints/*/
-
Calculate velocity metrics:
- Expected parallelization multiplier (from sprint-plan.xml)
- Actual parallelization multiplier (from audit-report.xml)
- Time saved in hours (parallel vs sequential execution)
- Duration from start to completion
-
Extract key information:
- Epic goal and success metrics
- Phases completed with timestamps
- Sprint execution results (status, tasks, duration, contracts, tests)
- Validation results (optimization, preview decision)
- Key files modified
- Next steps (enhancements, technical debt, monitoring needs)
-
Generate walkthrough.xml and walkthrough.md:
- Use template:
.spec-flow/templates/walkthrough.xml - Populate with metrics, sprint results, lessons learned
- Write both machine-readable (XML) and human-readable (Markdown) versions
- Use template:
-
Run post-mortem audit:
- Invoke
/audit-workflow --post-mortem - Analyze velocity accuracy (expected vs actual)
- Detect bottlenecks and inefficiencies
- Generate improvement recommendations
- Invoke
-
Pattern detection (if 2+ epics completed):
- Analyze patterns across completed epics
- Detect code generation patterns (service boilerplate repeated 3x)
- Detect architectural patterns (all services use DI + Repository)
- Detect workflow patterns (always clarify auth approach)
- Suggest custom skills/commands if confidence ā„80%
-
Offer workflow healing:
- Display immediate improvements from audit recommendations
- Categorize by priority (immediate vs deferred)
- Offer
/heal-workflowto apply improvements - Save deferred improvements for pattern-based optimization
-
Commit walkthrough:
git add epics/*/walkthrough.xml
git add epics/*/walkthrough.md
git add epics/*/audit-report.xml
git commit -m "docs: generate epic walkthrough
[EPIC SUMMARY]
Epic: ${epic_slug}
Duration: ${duration_hours}h
Velocity: ${velocity_multiplier}x (saved ${time_saved}h)
[SPRINTS COMPLETED]
Total: ${total_sprints}
Execution: ${execution_strategy}
Tasks: ${tasks_completed}/${total_tasks}
[QUALITY METRICS]
Audit Score: ${audit_score}/100
Phase Efficiency: ${phase_efficiency}/100
[LESSONS LEARNED]
- What worked: ${what_worked_summary}
- What struggled: ${what_struggled_summary}
{IF recommendations > 0}
Improvement recommendations: ${recommendations_count}
Run /heal-workflow to apply improvements
{ENDIF}
š¤ Generated with Claude Code
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"
- Present walkthrough summary to user with:
- Velocity metrics (expected vs actual, time saved)
- Sprint results (status, tasks, duration, tests)
- Quality metrics (audit score, phase efficiency, parallelization score)
- What worked / what struggled / lessons learned
- Improvement recommendations (if any)
- Pattern detection results (if 2+ epics completed)
After walkthrough complete: Proceed to Step 1 (standard finalization)
Validation: For epics, walkthrough.xml and walkthrough.md exist in epics/NNN-slug/
See reference.md for epic walkthrough generation details.
Move feature from "In Progress" to "Shipped" section in roadmap.
Actions:
- Open
.spec-flow/memory/roadmap.md - Find feature in "In Progress" section
- Move to "Shipped" section with completion details
Required information:
- Completion date (deployment date)
- Version number (from CHANGELOG or ship report)
- Production URL (if applicable)
- Links to ship report and release notes
Example:
## Shipped
### Student Progress Dashboard (v1.3.0) - Shipped 2025-10-21
- **Production URL**: https://app.example.com/students/progress
- **Ship Report**: specs/042-student-progress-dashboard/ship-summary.md
- **Release Notes**: CHANGELOG.md#v1.3.0
- **Impact**: Teachers can now track student progress with completion rates and time spent
Validation: Feature appears in "Shipped" section with all required details.
See reference.md for roadmap update checklist.
Verify all workflow artifacts archived in specs/NNN-slug/ directory.
Required artifacts checklist:
- spec.md (feature specification)
- plan.md (implementation plan)
- tasks.md (task breakdown)
- optimization-report.md (quality gates results)
- preview-checklist.md (manual testing checklist - if applicable)
- ship-summary.md (deployment report)
- release-notes.md (user-facing release notes)
- state.yaml (workflow state tracking)
Optional artifacts:
- clarifications.md (if /clarify phase ran)
- analysis-report.md (if /validate phase ran)
- staging-ship-report.md (if staging deployment happened)
Validation steps:
# List all artifacts in feature directory
ls -la specs/NNN-slug/
# Should see all required files
# No temporary files (.tmp, .bak, etc.)
If artifacts missing:
- Check for artifacts in wrong locations (root directory, temp folders)
- Regenerate missing artifacts if possible
- Document missing artifacts in finalization commit message
See reference.md for complete artifact checklist.
Update user-facing documentation for shipped feature.
README.md updates (if user-facing feature):
## Features
- **Student Progress Dashboard** - Track student completion rates and time spent
- View individual student progress
- Filter by class, subject, or time period
- Export progress reports to CSV
CHANGELOG.md updates:
## [1.3.0] - 2025-10-21
### Added
- Student progress dashboard with completion tracking
- CSV export for progress reports
- Filtering by class, subject, and time period
### Changed
- Improved dashboard load time from 3s to 1.2s
### Fixed
- Fixed timeout issue with large datasets (pagination added)
User guides (for complex features):
- Create docs/features/student-progress-dashboard.md
- Include screenshots, usage instructions, FAQs
- Link from README.md
Validation: Documentation accurately reflects shipped feature.
See reference.md for documentation standards.
Delete feature branch locally and remotely (if applicable).
Local branch deletion:
# Verify branch is merged
git branch --merged main | grep feature/042-student-progress-dashboard
# Delete local branch
git branch -d feature/042-student-progress-dashboard
Remote branch deletion (if pushed to remote):
# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/042-student-progress-dashboard
# Verify deletion
git branch -r | grep feature/042-student-progress-dashboard # Should return nothing
If branch not merged:
- Verify feature deployed successfully
- If deployed, force delete:
git branch -D feature/... - Document why branch not merged in commit message
Validation: Feature branch no longer exists locally or remotely.
See reference.md for branch cleanup guidelines.
Create small commit documenting workflow closure.
Commit format:
git add .spec-flow/memory/roadmap.md README.md CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "chore: finalize student-progress-dashboard (v1.3.0)
Updated roadmap, README, and CHANGELOG
Archived artifacts in specs/042-student-progress-dashboard/"
Commit message format:
- Type:
chore(finalization is housekeeping) - Subject:
finalize [feature-name] ([version]) - Body: List what was updated (roadmap, docs, etc.)
Update state.yaml:
finalization:
status: completed
completion_date: 2025-10-21
version: v1.3.0
artifacts_archived: true
documentation_updated: true
branches_cleaned: true
Validation: Finalization commit pushed to main branch.
See reference.md for commit best practices.
- Roadmap updated (feature in "Shipped" section with completion date, version, URL)
- All artifacts archived (checklist 100% complete)
- Documentation updated (README, CHANGELOG, user guides if applicable)
- Branches cleaned up (feature branch deleted locally and remotely)
- Finalization committed (chore commit with workflow closure details)
- state.yaml updated (finalization.status = completed)
Workflow is now cleanly closed and ready for retrospective analysis.
<anti_patterns> ā Don't: Skip roadmap update, leave feature in "In Progress" ā Do: Always move to "Shipped" with completion date and links
Why: Roadmap becomes stale and inaccurate. Team loses visibility into what shipped and when.
Impact:
- Historical tracking lost
- Roadmap doesn't reflect reality
- Hard to analyze velocity over time
Example (bad):
Feature deploys to production
/finalize skips roadmap update
Roadmap still shows feature "In Progress"
6 months later: "Did we ship this? When?"
Example (good):
Feature deploys to production
/finalize updates roadmap immediately
Roadmap shows "Shipped 2025-10-21, v1.3.0"
6 months later: Clear historical record
Why: Knowledge loss compounds over time. Users can't discover features if not documented.
Impact:
- Feature discovery issues (users don't know feature exists)
- Onboarding friction (new team members confused)
- Version history unclear (what changed when?)
Example (bad):
Ship feature, skip README update
3 months later: User asks "Do we have progress tracking?"
Answer: "Yes, we shipped that 3 months ago" (not documented)
Example (good):
Ship feature, update README immediately
README: "Student Progress Dashboard - Track completion"
User discovers feature organically from README
Why: Branch clutter makes it hard to find active work.
Impact:
- Git branch list becomes unusable (100+ stale branches)
- Hard to identify active development
- Wastes storage (remote branches)
Example (bad):
git branch -a
# Shows 87 feature branches (only 3 active)
# Which branches are safe to delete? Unknown.
Example (good):
git branch -a
# Shows 3 feature branches (all active)
# Clear signal: current work only
Why: Finalization changes should be tracked in git history.
Impact:
- Changes not backed up
- No clear signal when workflow closed
- Hard to audit finalization process
Example (bad):
Update roadmap, README, CHANGELOG
Git status: 3 modified files
Never commit (lose changes on machine wipe)
Example (good):
Update roadmap, README, CHANGELOG
git commit -m "chore: finalize feature (v1.3.0)"
Clear git history marker: finalization happened
Why: Artifacts contain valuable context for future maintenance.
Impact:
- Context loss (why was feature built this way?)
- Hard to debug issues (no spec to reference)
- Can't analyze past decisions (no plan to review)
Example (bad):
Ship feature, delete spec.md and plan.md
6 months later: "Why did we implement it this way?"
Answer: Unknown (artifacts deleted)
Example (good):
Ship feature, archive all artifacts
6 months later: "Why did we implement it this way?"
Answer: Check specs/042-.../spec.md (clear rationale)
<best_practices> Run /finalize immediately after deployment succeeds:
- Don't defer finalization "for later"
- Don't batch multiple finalizations
- Run while deployment fresh in memory
Result: Accurate documentation, fewer missed steps
- Verify each artifact present
- Check for artifacts in wrong locations
- Document missing artifacts if any
Result: Complete archival, no lost context
- README: Feature list with one-line descriptions
- CHANGELOG: Version entry with Added/Changed/Fixed
- User guides: Detailed instructions for complex features
Result: Feature discoverability, clear version history
- Verify branch merged before deleting
- Delete local and remote branches
- Keep git branch list clean (active work only)
Result: Clear signal of active development, reduced clutter
- Type: chore
- Subject: finalize [feature-name] ([version])
- Body: List updates (roadmap, docs, artifacts)
Result: Clear git history marker, auditable finalization </best_practices>
<success_criteria> Finalization phase complete when:
- Roadmap updated (feature moved to "Shipped" with date, version, URL, links)
- All artifacts archived (100% checklist complete in specs/NNN-slug/)
- Documentation updated (README, CHANGELOG, user guides if applicable)
- Branches cleaned up (feature branch deleted locally and remotely)
- Finalization committed (chore commit documenting closure)
- state.yaml updated (finalization.status = completed)
Workflow is cleanly closed and ready for retrospective analysis. </success_criteria>
<quality_standards> Good finalization:
- Immediate (runs right after deployment)
- Complete (all artifacts archived, all docs updated)
- Clean (branches deleted, commit made)
- Documented (roadmap + README + CHANGELOG updated)
Bad finalization:
- Deferred (runs days/weeks later, details forgotten)
- Incomplete (missing artifacts, incomplete docs)
- Messy (branches not deleted, no commit)
- Undocumented (roadmap stale, README outdated) </quality_standards>
Issue: Missing artifacts (spec.md, plan.md, etc.) Solution: Check root directory, temp folders, or regenerate if possible. Document missing in commit.
Issue: Feature branch won't delete (not merged)
Solution: Verify feature deployed successfully, then force delete with git branch -D. Document in commit.
Issue: Unclear what version to use Solution: Check CHANGELOG for next version number, or use deployment date as version (v2025.10.21)
Issue: Don't know what to put in CHANGELOG Solution: Review ship-summary.md and release-notes.md for user-facing changes. Focus on Added/Changed/Fixed.
<reference_guides> Finalization procedures:
- Roadmap Update Checklist (reference.md#roadmap-updates) - Required information and format
- Artifact Archival Guide (reference.md#artifact-archival) - Complete checklist and validation
- Documentation Standards (reference.md#documentation-updates) - README, CHANGELOG, user guide formats
Examples:
- Complete Finalization (examples.md#complete-finalization) - All steps done correctly
- Rushed Cleanup (examples.md#rushed-cleanup) - What happens when steps skipped
Workflow closure: After finalization completes, feature workflow is closed. Retrospective analysis can begin to learn from past work. </reference_guides>