BMAD Orchestrator
Purpose: Core orchestrator for the BMAD Method (Breakthrough Method for Agile AI-Driven Development), managing workflows, tracking status, and routing users through structured development phases.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when:
- User requests
/workflow-init or /init - Initialize BMAD in a project
- User requests
/workflow-status or /status - Check progress and get recommendations
- User mentions "BMAD setup" or "start BMAD workflow"
- Project needs structured development methodology
- Coordination between multiple development phases is required
Core Responsibilities
- Project Initialization - Set up BMAD directory structure and configuration
- Status Tracking - Monitor progress across 4 development phases
- Workflow Routing - Direct users to appropriate next steps based on project state
- Progress Management - Maintain workflow status and completion tracking
BMAD Method Overview
4 Development Phases
- Analysis (Optional) - Research, brainstorming, product brief
- Planning (Required) - PRD or Tech Spec based on project complexity
- Solutioning (Conditional) - Architecture design for medium+ projects
- Implementation (Required) - Sprint planning, stories, development
Project Levels
- Level 0: Single atomic change (1 story) - Quick fixes, small tweaks
- Level 1: Small feature (1-10 stories) - Single feature additions
- Level 2: Medium feature set (5-15 stories) - Multiple related features
- Level 3: Complex integration (12-40 stories) - System integrations
- Level 4: Enterprise expansion (40+ stories) - Large-scale projects
Planning Requirements by Level:
- Level 0-1: Tech Spec required, PRD optional/recommended
- Level 2+: PRD required, Tech Spec optional
- Level 2+: Architecture required
Available Commands
/workflow-init or /init
Initialize BMAD structure in the current project.
Steps:
-
Create directory structure:
bmad/
├── config.yaml
└── agent-overrides/
docs/
├── bmm-workflow-status.yaml
└── stories/
.claude/commands/bmad/ (if not exists)
-
Collect project information:
- Project name
- Project type (web-app, mobile-app, api, game, library, other)
- Project level (0-4)
-
Create project config using config.template.yaml
-
Create workflow status file with conditional requirements based on level:
- Use workflow-status template
- Set PRD: required if level >= 2, else recommended
- Set Tech-spec: required if level <= 1, else optional
- Set Architecture: required if level >= 2, else optional
-
Display initialization summary and recommend next workflow
-
Offer to start recommended workflow
Example interaction:
User: /workflow-init
Orchestrator: I'll initialize BMAD for your project.
[Collects info, creates files...]
✓ BMAD Method initialized!
Project: MyApp
Type: web-app
Level: 2 (Medium feature set)
Configuration: bmad/config.yaml
Status tracking: docs/bmm-workflow-status.yaml
Recommended next step: Create Product Brief with /product-brief
This will help define your product vision and requirements.
Would you like to start with /product-brief?
/workflow-status or /status
Check project status and get recommendations for next steps.
Steps:
- Load project config (bmad/config.yaml)
- Load workflow status (docs/bmm-workflow-status.yaml)
- Determine current phase and next recommended workflow
- Display status with visual indicators
- Offer to execute recommended workflow
Status Indicators:
- ✓ = Completed (shows file path)
- ⚠ = Required but not started
- → = Current phase
-
Example interaction:
User: /status
Orchestrator: Checking your project status...
Project: MyApp (Web Application, Level 2)
✓ Phase 1: Analysis
✓ product-brief (docs/product-brief-myapp-2025-01-11.md)
→ Phase 2: Planning [CURRENT]
⚠ prd (required - NOT STARTED)
- tech-spec (optional)
Phase 3: Solutioning
- architecture (required)
Phase 4: Implementation
- sprint-planning (required)
Recommended next step: Create PRD with /prd command
Would you like to run /prd to create your PRD?
If project not initialized:
- Inform user BMAD not detected
- Offer to run
/workflow-init
Workflow Routing Logic
After determining project status, route users to specialized workflows:
- Analysis workflows:
/product-brief, /brainstorm, /research
- Planning workflows:
/prd, /tech-spec
- UX workflows:
/create-ux-design
- Architecture workflows:
/architecture
- Sprint workflows:
/sprint-planning, /create-story
- Development workflows:
/dev-story, /code-review
Recommendation logic:
- If no product-brief and project new → Recommend:
/product-brief
- If product-brief complete, no PRD/tech-spec:
- Level 0-1 → Recommend:
/tech-spec
- Level 2+ → Recommend:
/prd
- If PRD/tech-spec complete, no architecture, level 2+ → Recommend:
/architecture
- If planning complete → Recommend:
/sprint-planning
- If sprint active → Recommend:
/create-story or /dev-story
See REFERENCE.md for detailed routing logic.
Configuration Files
Project Config (bmad/config.yaml)
project_name: "MyApp"
project_type: "web-app"
project_level: 2
output_folder: "docs"
communication_language: "English"
Workflow Status (docs/bmm-workflow-status.yaml)
Tracks completion of each workflow with status values:
"optional" - Can be skipped"recommended" - Strongly suggested"required" - Must be completed"{file-path}" - Completed (shows output file)"skipped" - Explicitly skipped
See templates/config.template.yaml for full template.
Helper Scripts
Execute via Bash tool:
-
init-project.sh - Automated project initialization
bash scripts/init-project.sh --name "MyApp" --type web-app --level 2
-
check-status.sh - Display current workflow status
bash scripts/check-status.sh
-
validate-config.sh - Validate YAML configuration
bash scripts/validate-config.sh bmad/config.yaml
See scripts documentation for details.
Error Handling
Config missing:
- Suggest
/workflow-init
- Explain BMAD not initialized
Invalid YAML:
- Show error location
- Offer to fix or reinitialize
Template missing:
- Use inline fallback
- Log warning
- Continue operation
Status file inconsistent:
- Validate against project level
- Offer to regenerate
Integration with Other Skills
This orchestrator coordinates with specialized BMAD skills:
business-analyst - Analysis phase workflowsproduct-manager - Planning phase workflowssystem-architect - Architecture designscrum-master - Sprint and story managementdeveloper - Development workflows
When routing to these skills, pass context:
- Current project config
- Workflow status
- Project level
- Output folder location
Token Optimization
- Use script automation for repetitive tasks
- Reference REFERENCE.md for detailed logic
- Load files only when needed
- Keep status displays concise
- Delegate detailed work to specialized skills
Subagent Strategy
This skill leverages parallel subagents to maximize context utilization (each agent has up to 1M tokens on Claude Sonnet 4.6 / Opus 4.6).
Workflow Status Check Workflow
Pattern: Fan-Out Research
Agents: 3-4 parallel agents
| Agent |
Task |
Output |
| Agent 1 |
Check project config and validate structure |
bmad/outputs/config-status.md |
| Agent 2 |
Analyze workflow status file and phase completion |
bmad/outputs/workflow-status.md |
| Agent 3 |
Scan docs directory for completed artifacts |
bmad/outputs/artifacts-status.md |
| Agent 4 |
Generate recommendations based on project level |
bmad/outputs/recommendations.md |
Coordination:
- Launch all agents with shared project context
- Each agent writes status findings to designated output
- Main context synthesizes results into unified status report
- Display visual status indicators and next steps
Project Initialization Workflow
Pattern: Parallel Section Generation
Agents: 3 parallel agents
| Agent |
Task |
Output |
| Agent 1 |
Create directory structure and validate paths |
bmad/outputs/directory-setup.md |
| Agent 2 |
Generate project config from template |
bmad/config.yaml |
| Agent 3 |
Generate workflow status file with level-based requirements |
docs/bmm-workflow-status.yaml |
Coordination:
- Gather project information from user (sequential)
- Launch parallel agents to create structures and configs
- Main context validates all outputs and displays summary
Example Subagent Prompt
Task: Analyze workflow status and determine current phase
Context: Read bmad/config.yaml and docs/bmm-workflow-status.yaml
Objective: Identify completed workflows, current phase, and required next steps
Output: Write analysis to bmad/outputs/workflow-status.md
Deliverables:
1. List of completed workflows with file paths
2. Current phase determination
3. Required vs optional next workflows
4. Blocking issues or missing dependencies
Constraints:
- Use project level to determine requirements
- Flag any inconsistencies in status file
Notes for Claude
- This is the entry point for BMAD workflows
- Always check if project is initialized before operations
- Maintain phase-based progression (don't skip required phases)
- Use TodoWrite for multi-step initialization
- Keep responses focused and actionable
- Hand off to specialized skills for detailed workflows
- Update workflow status after completing workflows
Quick Reference
