The SKRAFT pipeline

SKRAFT does not force one global chain on every project. It offers two top-level journeys: the core journey turns a story into code, while the Brownfield journey helps take over an existing system.

Choose your journey

Observed situation	Entrypoint	Expected output
A refined story exists	`skraft-orchestrator`	reviewed engineering PR
The backlog exists but needs triage or refinement	`backlog-discoverer`, then `backlog-planner`	refined story for `skraft-orchestrator`
Code exists without explicit product intent	`brownfield-analyst`	PRD, then issues to prepare before `skraft-orchestrator`
Legacy code must be secured or transformed	`brownfield-harness-builder`, then `brownfield-refactorer`	protected or refactored code, ready for future stories

The Brownfield journey is a sibling journey, not a preliminary pipeline phase. Its three roots are invoked directly by the human and do not write skraft-orchestrator state.

The core journey

The core journey separates product preparation from engineering. backlog-discoverer then backlog-planner are optional standalone workflows. When both are used, their order is mandatory. They hand a refined story to skraft-orchestrator, entrypoint for the engineering pipeline.

The thread running through the pipeline is the artifact flow: each phase’s output becomes the next phase’s input. The arrows below carry the artifact being handed over.

graph LR
    D[optional DISCOVER] -.->|triage report| DI[optional DISCUSS]
    DI -.->|INVEST story| R[RESEARCH]
    R -->|sourced research| DE[DESIGN]
    DE -->|ADR + event model| DIS[DISTILL]
    DIS -->|Gherkin scenarios| DEL[DELIVER]
    DEL -->|code + evidence| PR[Pull Request]
    style D fill:#1a3a2a,stroke:#4ed58a
    style DI fill:#1a3a2a,stroke:#4ed58a
    style DE fill:#1a3a2a,stroke:#4ed58a
    style DIS fill:#1a3a2a,stroke:#4ed58a
    style DEL fill:#1a3a2a,stroke:#4ed58a
    style PR fill:#102016,stroke:#6f8478

☕ Running example — Starbucks (illustrative)

To see this flow in action, follow one request — “order and pay for a drink in the Starbucks app” — from idea to code, phase by phase: Follow an end-to-end example.

Optional product preflight

DISCOVER

Triage and prioritise issues to produce an actionable triage report.

DISCUSS

Refine stories against INVEST criteria and produce verifiable acceptance criteria.

Orchestrated engineering pipeline

RESEARCH

Investigate the story and relevant sources to produce a sourced recommendation before any architecture decision.

DESIGN

Model architecture via Event Modeling, DDD, and Architecture Decision Records.

DISTILL

Translate architecture decisions into executable Gherkin scenarios and an implementation plan.

DELIVER

Implement code via Outside-In TDD with Mutation Score as a quality gate.

The orchestrator coordinates RESEARCH → DESIGN → DISTILL → DELIVER. It verifies pre-conditions, invokes declared reviewers, and applies their verdicts. When routing concludes that a dedicated investigation would add no value, RESEARCH may be skipped. Every phase that runs remains subject to its contract and expected evidence.