Workflows

The Workflows tab is a guided menu of ready-made actions. Pick a phase on the left, click a card, and answer a few questions in chat. Spec Kit then creates a wiki page, Azure Boards items, or a report.

You do not need to remember slash commands. Prefer this path if you are new or non-technical.

Start here (day one)

For a new project, these cards are enough to get moving:

1. Create a constitution with Spec Kit Commands (Create Constitution / /speckit.constitution) — once per project.
2. Governance → Create project foundation — builds the project foundation from that constitution.
3. Backlog — turn documents into epics, features, or stories (or use Intake for BRD/PRD uploads).
4. Open Visuals to sync Boards items level by level when you are ready.

The tables below list every card by phase. You do not need all of them on day one.

Before you start

1. Initialize Spec Kit for the project.
2. Make sure AI is connected. Organization admins and Project Administrators use Settings. If you do not see Settings, ask an admin.
3. For most Governance actions, create a constitution first with Spec Kit Commands (Create Constitution / /speckit.constitution).

How to run a command

1. Open Workflows.
2. Choose a phase (for example Governance).
3. Click a command card.
4. Answer the chat questions, then review and save.

Use View all capabilities → to see every command at once, or ← Back to current phase to return to one phase.

Governance

Sets the project ground rules: scope, quality checks, security, and audit trails.

Command	Purpose
Create project foundation	Builds a seven-section foundation doc from your wiki constitution. Use after the constitution exists. Needs a real constitution (not the empty starter).
Update project guidelines	Refreshes the Project Constitution from linked artifacts or the latest project information, with a short change summary. Attach a file first when updating from docs.
Publish project scope	Publishes what is in scope, out of scope, and boundary rules to the wiki. Best after the foundation doc exists.
Create delivery checklist	Creates “ready to start” (Definition of Ready / DoR) and/or “ready to finish” (Definition of Done / DoD) checklists. Used later by sprint readiness checks.
Define compliance & security rules	Writes security and compliance rules the team must follow before delivery.
Create traceability report	Maps requirements and decisions into an audit-ready report. Fuller if foundation, guardrails, and checklist already exist.

Typical flow: Create Constitution → Create project foundation → other Governance cards as needed.

Backlog

Turns documents into Azure Boards work: epics, features, and stories.

Command	Purpose
Generate epics from linked artifacts	Suggests top-level epics from wiki specs or stories, then can create them in Boards.
Split epics into features	Breaks large epics into child features with scope and acceptance notes.
Generate stories from selected feature	Creates user stories under a feature you choose.
Generate stories from linked artifacts	Turns BRD/PRD or wiki docs directly into stories, without splitting epics by hand.
Generate intake summary from BRD/PRD	Summarizes intake docs into scope, risks, and open questions.
Link artifacts to selected work item	Links wiki or spec paths to a Boards item for traceability.

Refine

Improves existing stories before the team commits to them.

Command	Purpose
Refine selected stories	Improves description and acceptance criteria; can write the better text back to Boards.
Standardize acceptance criteria	Rewrites criteria into one consistent format (for example Given/When/Then or bullets).
Detect missing requirements	Finds gaps such as edge cases, integrations, or non-functional needs.
Attach NFRs to stories	Maps non-functional requirements (NFRs) — such as performance, security, and accessibility — onto related stories.
Detect duplicates or overlaps	Reports similar stories. Does not change Boards by itself.
Highlight unclear or risky stories	Scores clarity and risk so you can fix the weak ones first.

Sprint plan

Helps you prepare for a sprint: goals, tasks, estimates, and readiness.

Command	Purpose
Generate sprint goal from selected items	Drafts a short sprint goal from the iteration or selected work items.
Generate dev tasks from selected stories	Creates implementation tasks under selected stories.
Estimate tasks from plan	Suggests effort for tasks based on a technical plan.
Identify cross-team dependencies	Lists dependencies on other teams or systems for the sprint.
Run readiness check (DoR validation)	Checks items against your DoR checklist and can save a report. Best after Create delivery checklist.

Develop

Supports the team while work is being built.

Command	Purpose
Generate technical plan for selected feature	Creates an implementation plan and can save it to the wiki.
Refine tasks into implementation steps	Expands Board tasks into ordered steps for developers.
Generate test cases from selected stories	Builds test cases from acceptance criteria for QA.
Convert bug to linked dev task	Turns a bug into linked fix tasks in Boards.
Track work items status from implementation progress	Suggests status updates for child items as work progresses.

QA & test

Strengthens testing and acceptance before release.

Command	Purpose
Generate test strategy for selected epic	Defines test scope, levels, environments, and risks for an epic.
Generate negative / edge test cases	Adds failure-path and edge-case scenarios beyond the happy path.
Generate test data matrix	Lists useful input, role, and state combinations for testing.
Validate acceptance criteria completeness	Flags unclear, missing, or hard-to-test acceptance criteria.
Generate UAT checklist	Builds a stakeholder walkthrough checklist for user acceptance.

Release

Prepares deployment, gates, and release notes.

Command	Purpose
Generate CI pipeline checklist from constitution	Drafts CI/CD checks aligned to your constitution. Needs a filled-in constitution.
Generate release gates from compliance rules	Defines “must pass before release” gates from compliance rules.
Generate runbooks (deploy / rollback)	Writes step-by-step deploy and rollback instructions.
Generate release notes from completed work items	Summarizes finished Boards work into release notes.
Publish release notes to Wiki	Publishes formatted release notes to the project wiki.

Change

Manages scope changes after the baseline is set.

Command	Purpose
Detect scope drift from latest artifacts	Compares latest specs to agreed scope and flags drift.
Highlight changes since last PRD version	Shows what changed between PRD versions.
Draft change request with impact analysis	Drafts a change request with scope, timeline, and impact.
Mark items requiring approval	Flags backlog items that need formal approval before work starts.
Generate stakeholder approval checklist	Creates a sign-off checklist with roles and evidence links.

Tips

• Start with Governance, then Backlog → Refine → Sprint plan.
• If a command asks for a document you do not have yet, create it with another Workflow card, Intake, or Spec Kit Commands.
• You can Stop generating and Retry in chat when needed. See Chat Panel.

Next steps

• Your First Feature
• Spec Kit Commands
• Chat Panel
• Intake