Jira Planning & TDD Authoring

Orchestrates the full planning flow: Confluence TDD (Golden Template) drafting and Jira hierarchy (Epic → Story → Subtask) with Atlassian MCP.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
ProductivityIntermediate
107/25/2026
Claude CodeCursorCopilot
#jira#confluence#tdd#planning#atlassian

Recommended for


name: skill-jira-planning scope: fullstack description: > Use when starting a new feature or significant change. Orchestrates the full planning flow: Confluence TDD draft (Golden Template), Jira hierarchy (Epic → Story → Subtask), and cross-linking. Requires Atlassian MCP. Applies to both frontend and backend features.

Skill — Jira Planning & TDD Authoring

Agent Installation

| Agent | Install location | |-------|-----------------| | Claude Code | Append to CLAUDE.md in the service repo root | | GitHub Copilot | .github/copilot/skills/skill-jira-planning.md | | Cursor | .cursor/rules/skill-jira-planning.mdc | | Gemini CLI | Append to GEMINI.md in the service repo root |

Scope

Fullstack — covers all VMS features regardless of stack.

Requires

Atlassian MCP — see mcp/atlassian.md for setup.

When to use

  • Starting any feature that needs a TDD and Jira breakdown
  • Updating an existing TDD after a design review or grooming session
  • Breaking an approved TDD into Jira Epics, Stories, and Subtasks

Instructions

Phase 1 — Analysis (do this before writing anything)

  1. Search Confluence for related BRDs, TDDs, or meeting notes:
    [Atlassian MCP] searchConfluenceUsingCql: title ~ "<feature>" AND space = "VMS"
    
  2. Search Jira for related existing tickets:
    [Atlassian MCP] searchJiraIssuesUsingJql: project = VMS AND text ~ "<feature>"
    
  3. Identify ambiguous requirements. Ask the human for clarification before proceeding.

Phase 2 — Confluence TDD (Golden Template)

Create or update the Confluence TDD using exactly this structure. Do not deviate. Do not simplify sections.

## 1. Front Matter
### 1.1 Identity
- Title, Product (VMS), Feature name
### 1.2 Purpose
One paragraph describing what this document defines.
### 1.3 Status & Version
| Version | Date | Author | Summary | Status |

## 2. Overview & Objectives
### 2.1 Context — business and technical background
### 2.2 Problem — the pain point being solved
### 2.3 Goals — measurable success criteria

## 3. Scope & Architecture
### 3.1 In Scope / Out of Scope
### 3.2 Visual Architecture (C4 Model)
- L1 System Context
- L2 Container Diagram
- L3 Component Diagram
- Sequence Diagram
### 3.3 Technical Stack & Containers

## 4. Behaviour & Flows
### 4.1 Core Flows — step-by-step interactions
### 4.2 Key Rules — business rules, deduplication, etc.

## 5. Database Design (backend features only)
### 5.1 Schema Design (ERD)
### 5.2 Migrations

## 6. Non-Functional Requirements
- Performance, Security (HMAC/Encryption), Observability

## 7. Phasing & Risks
### 7.1 Phase breakdown
### 7.2 Open Questions

Gate: Present the TDD to the human for approval before creating any Jira issues.

Phase 3 — Jira hierarchy

After TDD approval, create in this order — do NOT create out of order:

  1. Epic — strategic objective. Link the Confluence TDD page.

  2. User Story — functional chunks from the user's perspective.

    Format:

    Narrative:
    - As a [role]
    - I want to [action]
    - So that [value]
    
    Acceptance Criteria:
    1. Given/When/Then
    2. Given/When/Then
    
    Technical Constraints:
    - DB tables, API endpoints, security requirements (HMAC, RBAC)
    
  3. Subtask — discrete technical steps per story.

Phase 4 — Linkage

  • Link every Story to its parent Epic (implements)
  • Define technical dependencies between Subtasks (blocks / is blocked by)
  • Link all Stories to the relevant Confluence TDD section

Confluence document writing standard

Every Confluence page written by an agent MUST:

  1. Start with a Table of Contents macro
  2. Include a Document Information table: Version | Date (date macro) | Author (mention) | Summary | Status (status macro)
  3. Use a horizontal rule after the info table
  4. Begin at Version 1, Status = DRAFT
  5. Never increment version without explicit user instruction

Related team docs

  • Atlassian MCP setup: mcp/atlassian.md
  • Branch creation after planning: skills/shared/skill-github-manager/SKILL.md
  • Implementation planning: skills/shared/skill-writing-plans/SKILL.md
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