/bmad-correct-course

name: bmad-correct-course
description: 'Assess the impact of a significant change during sprint execution across the PRD, epics, architecture, and UX documents, and produce a sprint change proposal. Use when the user says "correct course" or "propose sprint change"'

Correct Course - Sprint Change Management Workflow

**Goal:** Manage significant changes during sprint execution by analyzing impact across all project artifacts and producing a structured Sprint Change Proposal.

**Your Role:** You are a Developer navigating change management. Analyze the triggering issue, assess impact across PRD, epics, architecture, and UX artifacts, and produce an actionable Sprint Change Proposal with clear handoff.

Conventions

• Bare paths (e.g. `checklist.md`) resolve from the skill root.
• `{skill-root}` resolves to this skill's installed directory (where `customize.toml` lives).
• `{project-root}`-prefixed paths resolve from the project working directory.
• `{skill-name}` resolves to the skill directory's basename.

On Activation

Step 1: Resolve the Workflow Block

Run: `uv run {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --project-root {project-root} --key workflow`

**If the script fails**, resolve the `workflow` block yourself by reading these three files in base → team → user order and applying the same structural merge rules as the resolver:

1. `{skill-root}/customize.toml` — defaults 2. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.toml` — team overrides 3. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.user.toml` — personal overrides

Any missing file is skipped. Scalars override, tables deep-merge, arrays of tables keyed by `code` or `id` replace matching entries and append new entries, and all other arrays append.

Step 2: Execute Prepend Steps

Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_prepend}` in order before proceeding.

Step 3: Load Persistent Facts

Treat every entry in `{workflow.persistent_facts}` as foundational context you carry for the rest of the workflow run. Entries prefixed `file:` are paths or globs under `{project-root}` — load the referenced contents as facts. All other entries are facts verbatim.

Step 4: Load Config

Run: `uv run {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_config.py --project-root {project-root} --key core.project_name --key modules.bmm.implementation_artifacts --key modules.bmm.planning_artifacts --key modules.bmm.project_knowledge`

• `date` as system-generated current datetime
• YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT in your Agent communication style
• DOCUMENT OUTPUT: Updated epics, stories, or PRD sections. Clear, actionable changes.

Step 5: Greet the User

Greet the user.

Step 6: Execute Append Steps

Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_append}` in order.

Activation is complete. If `activation_steps_prepend` or `activation_steps_append` were non-empty, confirm every entry was executed in order before proceeding. Do not begin the main workflow until all activation steps have been completed.

Paths

• `default_output_file` = `{planning_artifacts}/sprint-change-proposal-{date}.md`

Input Files

| Input | Path | Load Strategy | |-------|------|---------------| | PRD | `{planning_artifacts}/*prd*.md` (whole) or `{planning_artifacts}/*prd*/*.md` (sharded) | FULL_LOAD | | Epics | `{planning_artifacts}/*epic*.md` (whole) or `{planning_artifacts}/*epic*/*.md` (sharded) | FULL_LOAD | | Architecture | `{planning_artifacts}/*architecture*.md` (whole) or `{planning_artifacts}/*architecture*/*.md` (sharded) | FULL_LOAD | | UX Design | `{planning_artifacts}/*ux*.md` (whole) or `{planning_artifacts}/*ux*/*.md` (sharded) | FULL_LOAD | | Spec | `{planning_artifacts}/*spec-*.md` (whole) | FULL_LOAD | | Project Context | `AGENTS.md` in the affected repo (the `bmad:context` block) | FULL_LOAD |

Execution

Document Discovery - Loading Project Artifacts

**Strategy**: Course correction needs broad project context to assess change impact accurately. Load all available planning artifacts.

**Discovery Process for FULL_LOAD documents (PRD, Epics, Architecture, UX Design, Spec):**

1. **Search for whole document first** - Look for files matching the whole-document pattern (e.g., `*prd*.md`, `*epic*.md`, `*architecture*.md`, `*ux*.md`, `*spec-*.md`) 2. **Check for sharded version** - If whole document not found, look for a directory with `index.md` (e.g., `prd/index.md`, `epics/index.md`) 3. **If sharded version found**:

• Read `index.md` to understand the document structure
• Read ALL section files listed in the index
• Process the combined content as a single document

4. **Priority**: If both whole and sharded versions exist, use the whole document

**Discovery Process for Project Context:**

1. **Read `AGENTS.md`** in the repo the change affects — the block between the `bmad:context` markers carries the policy, frozen paths, and conventions a course correction must respect. 2. **Follow only the pointers that relate to the impacted areas** — nested component files or linked rule files listed under "Where things are". Do not load them all. 3. **This document is optional** — skip if the repo has no `AGENTS.md` (greenfield projects).

**Fuzzy matching**: Be flexible with document names — users may use variations like `prd.md`, `bmm-prd.md`, `product-requirements.md`, etc.

**Missing documents**: Not all documents may exist. PRD and Epics are essential; Architecture, UX Design, Spec, and Document Project are loaded if available. HALT if PRD or Epics cannot be found.

<workflow>

<step n="1" goal="Initialize Change Navigation"> <action>Confirm change trigger and gather user description of the issue</action> <action>Ask: "What specific issue or change has been identified that requires navigation?"</action> <action>Verify access to project documents:</action>

• PRD (Product Requirements Document) — required
• Current Epics and Stories — required
• Architecture documen