2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
# BMM Documentation
Complete guides for the BMad Method Module (BMM) - AI-powered agile development workflows that adapt to your project's complexity.
---
## 🚀 Getting Started
**New to BMM?** Start here:
2025-12-23 11:40:38 +08:00
- **[Quick Start Guide ](./quick-start.md )** - Step-by-step guide to building your first project
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- Installation and setup
- Understanding the four phases
- Running your first workflows
- Agent-based development flow
**Quick Path:** Install → workflow-init → Follow agent guidance
refactor(bmm,cis,core): Align diagram workflows with agile roles and distribute capabilities
## The Tale of the Frame Expert
Once upon a time, BMad Method had a specialized agent called Frame Expert.
This agent was the master of all visual artifacts - flowcharts, diagrams,
wireframes, data flows. Whenever anyone needed a diagram, they called upon
Frame Expert. The agent lived in its own isolated domain with four dedicated
workflows and a library of shared templates.
## The Awakening
But something felt wrong. Teams using BMad Method were meant to mirror real
agile teams - Product Managers, Architects, UX Designers, Tech Writers,
Developers. Each agent represented an authentic role you'd find in any
software team.
Except Frame Expert.
No real agile team has a "Frame Expert" or "Diagram Specialist" who creates
all visual artifacts. In real teams, Architects diagram system architecture.
PMs flowchart processes. UX Designers wireframe interfaces. Tech Writers
create documentation diagrams. The visuals emerge from the domain experts
who need them, not from a centralized diagram factory.
Frame Expert was an abstraction that made technical sense but violated the
very soul of BMad Method - authentic agile role modeling.
## The Transformation
And so Frame Expert was dissolved, its knowledge distributed to those who
truly needed it:
**The Architect** inherited system architecture diagrams and data flows -
the blueprints of technical systems they design.
**The Product Manager** received process flowcharts - the visual maps of
features and workflows they orchestrate.
**The UX Designer** claimed wireframes - the interface sketches that bring
their vision to life.
**The Tech Writer** gained all diagram types - the visual aids that clarify
their documentation.
Each agent now creates diagrams in their domain, using their expertise,
serving their purpose.
## The Shared Knowledge
But the wisdom of diagram creation itself - the Excalidraw templates, the
component libraries, the validation patterns - this knowledge was too
valuable to scatter. It was elevated to core resources, where both BMM
agents AND the new CIS presentation-master agent could draw upon it.
Shared infrastructure for common needs. Distributed execution for domain
expertise.
## The Ripple Effects
With diagrams now properly distributed, other misalignments became visible:
Epic creation was happening in Phase 2 (Planning), before Architecture
existed. But epics need architectural context - API contracts, data models,
technical decisions. So epic creation migrated to Phase 3 (Solutioning),
after Architecture provides that foundation.
Workflow paths were updated. Documentation gained visual flowcharts showing
the complete journey. Agent naming standards were clarified - filenames are
stable roles, persona names are user dreams.
## What Changed
**Removed:**
- frame-expert.agent.yaml (the centralized specialist)
- All frame-expert workflows and shared resources
- Phase 2 epic creation workflow (wrong timing)
- game-design workflow path (consolidated to method track)
- v6-open-items.md (planning doc, now complete)
**Distributed Diagram Capabilities:**
- Architect: create-excalidraw-diagram, create-excalidraw-dataflow
- PM: create-excalidraw-flowchart
- Tech Writer: create-excalidraw-{diagram,dataflow,flowchart}, generate-mermaid
- UX Designer: create-excalidraw-wireframe
**Created:**
- src/core/resources/ (shared diagram context for all modules)
- src/modules/cis/agents/presentation-master.agent.yaml (visual comms specialist)
- src/modules/bmm/workflows/3-solutioning/create-epics-and-stories/ (epic creation's new home)
- src/modules/bmm/workflows/diagrams/ (distributed diagram implementations)
- src/modules/bmm/docs/images/ (workflow visualization assets)
**Enhanced:**
- All agent definitions with domain-appropriate diagram workflows
- Documentation with embedded workflow diagrams and visual guides
- Agent compilation docs with critical naming convention rules
- All 4 workflow paths (enterprise/method × brownfield/greenfield)
**Fixed:**
- Epic creation now in Phase 3 after Architecture
- Story context path variables in BMGD module
- PRD workflow descriptions (epics moved to Phase 3)
## For Users
The Frame Expert commands are gone. In their place:
- Need architecture diagrams? Ask `/architect`
- Need process flows? Ask `/pm`
- Need wireframes? Ask `/ux-designer`
- Need documentation visuals? Ask `/tech-writer`
Each expert creates diagrams in their domain, with their context, using
their judgment.
This is how real teams work.
2025-11-18 21:54:48 -06:00
### 📊 Visual Overview
**[Complete Workflow Diagram ](./images/workflow-method-greenfield.svg )** - Visual flowchart showing all phases, agents (color-coded), and decision points for the BMad Method standard greenfield track.
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
## 📖 Core Concepts
2025-12-27 18:29:35 +08:00
The BMad Method is meant to be adapted and customized to your specific needs. In this realm there is no one size fits all - your needs are unique, and BMad Method is meant to support this (and if it does not, can be further customized or extended with new modules).
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
2025-12-27 18:29:35 +08:00
First know there is the full BMad Method Process and then there is a Quick Flow for those quicker smaller efforts.
- **[Full Adaptive BMad Method ](#-workflow-guides )** - Full planning and scope support through extensive development and testing.
- Broken down into 4 phases, all of which are comprised of both required and optional phases
- Phases 1-3 are all about progressive idea development through planning and preparations to build your project.
- Phase 4 is the implementation cycle where you will Just In Time (JIT) produce the contextual stories needed for the dev agent based on the extensive planing completed
- All 4 phases have optional steps in them, depending on how rigorous you want to go with planning, research ideation, validation, testing and traceability.
- While there is a lot here, know that even this can be distilled down to a simple PRD, Epic and Story list and then jump into the dev cycle. But if that is all you want, you might be better off with the BMad Quick Flow described next
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
2025-12-23 11:40:38 +08:00
- **[BMAD Quick Flow ](./bmad-quick-flow.md )** - Fast-track development workflow
2025-11-23 08:50:36 -06:00
- 3-step process: spec → dev → optional review
- Perfect for bug fixes and small features
- Rapid prototyping with production quality
2025-12-27 18:29:35 +08:00
- Implementation in minutes, not days
- Has a specialized single agent that does all of this: ** [Quick Flow Solo Dev Agent ](./quick-flow-solo-dev.md )**
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
2025-11-04 15:02:19 -06:00
## 🤖 Agents and Collaboration
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
Complete guide to BMM's AI agent team:
2025-12-23 11:40:38 +08:00
- **[Agents Guide ](./agents-guide.md )** - Comprehensive agent reference
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- 12 specialized BMM agents + BMad Master
- Agent roles, workflows, and when to use them
- Agent customization system
- Best practices and common patterns
2025-12-23 11:40:38 +08:00
- **[Party Mode Guide ](./party-mode.md )** - Multi-agent collaboration
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- How party mode works (19+ agents collaborate in real-time)
- When to use it (strategic, creative, cross-functional, complex)
- Example party compositions
- Multi-module integration (BMM + CIS + BMB + custom)
- Agent customization in party mode
2025-11-05 07:52:08 -06:00
- Best practices
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
## 🔧 Working with Existing Code
Comprehensive guide for brownfield development:
2025-12-23 11:40:38 +08:00
- **[Brownfield Development Guide ](./brownfield-guide.md )** - Complete guide for existing codebases
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- Documentation phase strategies
2025-11-03 17:06:15 -06:00
- Track selection for brownfield
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- Integration with existing patterns
- Phase-by-phase workflow guidance
2025-11-05 07:52:08 -06:00
- Common scenarios
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
## 📚 Quick References
Essential reference materials:
- **[Glossary ](./glossary.md )** - Key terminology and concepts
- **[FAQ ](./faq.md )** - Frequently asked questions across all topics
## 🎯 Choose Your Path
### I need to...
**Build something new (greenfield)**
→ Start with [Quick Start Guide ](./quick-start.md )
**Fix a bug or add small feature**
2025-12-27 18:29:35 +08:00
→ User the [Quick Flow Solo Dev ](./quick-flow-solo-dev.md ) directly with its dedicated stand alone [Quick Bmad Spec Flow ](./quick-spec-flow.md ) process
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
**Work with existing codebase (brownfield)**
→ Read [Brownfield Development Guide ](./brownfield-guide.md )
2025-11-26 20:59:46 -06:00
→ Pay special attention to documentation requirements for brownfield projects
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
## 📋 Workflow Guides
Comprehensive documentation for all BMM workflows organized by phase:
- **[Phase 1: Analysis Workflows ](./workflows-analysis.md )** - Optional exploration and research workflows (595 lines)
- brainstorm-project, product-brief, research, and more
- When to use analysis workflows
- Creative and strategic tools
- **[Phase 2: Planning Workflows ](./workflows-planning.md )** - Scale-adaptive planning (967 lines)
- prd, tech-spec, gdd, narrative, ux
2025-11-03 17:06:15 -06:00
- Track-based planning approach (Quick Flow, BMad Method, Enterprise Method)
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- Which planning workflow to use
- **[Phase 3: Solutioning Workflows ](./workflows-solutioning.md )** - Architecture and validation (638 lines)
refactor: Major v6 epic creation improvements and documentation overhaul
## Key Changes
### 1. Epic Creation Workflow Enhancements
- Added user-value focused epic structure principles (NO technical layer breakdown)
- Implemented multi-mode detection: CONTINUE, REPLACE, or UPDATE existing epics
- Added comprehensive anti-pattern examples showing wrong vs right epic breakdown
- Epics now created AFTER architecture for technically-informed story breakdown
- Added checkpoint protocol for interactive workflow progression
### 2. Removed Deprecated Solutioning Gate Check
- Deleted entire solutioning-gate-check workflow (682 lines)
- Replaced by new implementation-readiness workflow
- Cleaner separation of concerns in solutioning phase
### 3. PRD Template Simplification
- Removed hardcoded "Implementation Planning", "References", and "Next Steps" sections
- PRD now focuses purely on requirements, not workflow orchestration
- Epics/stories created as separate step after architecture
### 4. Documentation Overhaul (15+ docs updated)
- Updated quick-start guide with v6 workflow sequence
- Clarified that epics are created AFTER architecture, not during PRD
- Updated solutioning docs to reflect implementation-readiness pattern
- Improved agents-guide, brownfield-guide, enterprise docs
- Enhanced glossary, FAQ, and workflow reference documentation
### 5. Workflow Path Adjustments
- All 4 paths updated (enterprise/method × brownfield/greenfield)
- Version bumps across BMGD, BMM, and CIS workflow YAMLs
- Minor instruction file updates for consistency
### Files Changed
- 65 files total: 468 insertions, 978 deletions (net reduction of 510 lines)
- 4 files deleted (entire solutioning-gate-check workflow)
- 1 new directory added (implementation-readiness placeholder)
2025-11-16 00:23:47 -06:00
- architecture, create-epics-and-stories, implementation-readiness
- V6: Epics created AFTER architecture for better quality
2025-11-03 17:06:15 -06:00
- Required for BMad Method and Enterprise Method tracks
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- Preventing agent conflicts
- **[Phase 4: Implementation Workflows ](./workflows-implementation.md )** - Sprint-based development (1,634 lines)
- sprint-planning, create-story, dev-story, code-review
- Complete story lifecycle
- One-story-at-a-time discipline
2025-11-04 15:02:19 -06:00
- **[Testing & QA Workflows ](./test-architecture.md )** - Comprehensive quality assurance (1,420 lines)
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- Test strategy, automation, quality gates
- TEA agent and test healing
## 🌐 External Resources
2025-11-04 15:02:19 -06:00
### Community and Support
2025-11-02 21:18:33 -06:00
- **[Discord Community ](https://discord.gg/gk8jAdXWmj )** - Get help from the community (#general -dev, #bugs -issues)
- **[GitHub Issues ](https://github.com/bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD/issues )** - Report bugs or request features
- **[YouTube Channel ](https://www.youtube.com/@BMadCode )** - Video tutorials and walkthroughs
**Ready to begin?** → [Start with the Quick Start Guide ](./quick-start.md )