shipflow-backlog

Context

• Current directory: !pwd
• Master TASKS.md (has a "Backlog" section): !cat /home/claude/shipflow_data/TASKS.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No master TASKS.md"
• Local TASKS.md (if exists): !cat TASKS.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No local TASKS.md"
• Local BACKLOG.md (if exists): !cat BACKLOG.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No BACKLOG.md"
• Project CLAUDE.md: !head -30 CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No CLAUDE.md"
• Workspace CLAUDE.md: !head -20 /home/claude/CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null || echo "N/A"
• Code TODOs: !grep -r "TODO\|FIXME" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.js" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.py" --include="*.sh" . 2>/dev/null | head -20 || echo "No TODOs found"

Multi-project tracking system

CRITICAL: This workspace tracks 12 projects from a single master file at /home/claude/shipflow_data/TASKS.md.

• The master TASKS.md has a "Backlog (Ideas Parking Lot)" section at the bottom — use it as the primary backlog
• When adding backlog items, always prefix with the project name (e.g., - my-robots: CrewAI marketplace publishing)
• When deferring tasks from a project, move them from the project's active section to the Backlog section in the master file
• When promoting backlog items, move them into the correct project's section in the master file

Your task

Manage the backlog to keep active work focused and capture future ideas.

Workspace root detection

If the current directory has no project markers (not inside a specific project) — you are at the workspace root. Use AskUserQuestion:

• Question: "Which project's backlog should I manage?"
• multiSelect: false
• Options:
  • Full workspace — "Manage backlog across all projects" (Recommended)
  • One option per project: label = project name, description = backlog item count

Steps

1. Understand user intent from $ARGUMENTS:

   • add [description]: Add new idea/task to backlog
   • defer: Move non-urgent tasks from TASKS.md to backlog
   • review: Review backlog items for promotion to active tasks
   • clean: Remove outdated/irrelevant backlog items
   • No argument: General backlog organization

2. If adding to backlog:

   • Create BACKLOG.md if it doesn't exist
   • Add the idea with context, date, and category
   • Acknowledge addition and ask if it should be active now

3. If deferring tasks:

   • Review TASKS.md for low-priority or future items
   • Move them to BACKLOG.md with reason for deferral
   • Keep TASKS.md focused on current sprint/milestone
   • Update TASKS.md to remove deferred items

4. If reviewing backlog:

   • Read all backlog items
   • Identify items that should become active tasks:
     • Changed context making them relevant now
     • Prerequisites completed
     • Strategic importance increased
   • Suggest promoting 1-3 items to TASKS.md
   • Explain reasoning for each promotion

5. If cleaning backlog:

   • Identify obsolete items (completed elsewhere, no longer relevant, duplicates)
   • Mark items for removal with explanation
   • Ask user to confirm before deleting
   • Archive removed items in a "Discarded" section with date

6. Organize BACKLOG.md structure:

   markdownCopy

   # Backlog
   
   ## Future Features
   - [ ] Feature idea (added YYYY-MM-DD)
     - Context: Why this matters
     - Blocked by: Prerequisites
   
   ## Technical Debt
   - [ ] Refactoring needed (added YYYY-MM-DD)
     - Impact: What improves
     - Effort: Estimated size
   
   ## Ideas & Research
   - [ ] Exploratory task (added YYYY-MM-DD)
     - Questions to answer
     - Expected outcome
   
   ## Deferred
   - [ ] Task moved from active (deferred YYYY-MM-DD)
     - Reason: Why deferred
     - Review after: Date or milestone
   
   ## Discarded
   - [x] Removed item (discarded YYYY-MM-DD)
     - Reason: Why removed
   

7. Harvest code TODOs:

   • Check for TODO/FIXME comments in codebase (shown in context)
   • Add any significant ones to backlog if not already tracked
   • Note file/line references

Important

• Always update the master /home/claude/shipflow_data/TASKS.md Backlog section — even when working in a sub-project directory
• Prefix all backlog items with the project name (e.g., - tubeflow: Native app feature parity)
• Keep each project's active section in the master file focused (5-10 items max)
• Backlog section can be larger (20-50 items across all projects)
• Always date entries (added/deferred/discarded)
• Preserve context - why the idea matters
• Use categories to organize
• Review backlog weekly to keep it relevant
• Don't let backlog become a graveyard - actively clean it
• When deferring, explain the reason (helps future review)