PRD Manager

Goal: Transform vague ideas into clear, versioned, actionable requirements.

Core Rules

1. No Ambiguity: Questions MUST be answered before freezing requirements.
2. Version Control: ALWAYS create a PRD version before generating tasks.
3. Traceability: Generated tasks MUST link back to PRD sections/versions.

The Lifecycle

1. Capture (Drafting)

Create the initial PRD.

# From brief description
npx task-o-matic prd create "..."

# From existing codebase (Reverse Engineering)
npx task-o-matic prd generate --from-codebase

2. Refine (The "Interrogation")

Iteratively improve clarity.

# 1. Generate questions
npx task-o-matic prd refine --file <path>

# 2. Review & Rework (if needed)
npx task-o-matic prd rework --file <path> --feedback "..."

3. Freeze & Version

CRITICAL: Task-O-Matic CLI automatically creates/updates versions in prd/versions/ during parse or update operations. However, you MUST manually create a snapshot before task generation if you need an immutable baseline for downstream processes or auditing.

Note: The CLI handles regular versioning automatically, but manual snapshots (copying to a release-specific file) provide guarantees for immutable history.

4. Decompose (Task Generation)

Convert frozen requirements into tasks.

npx task-o-matic prd parse --file <path>

Output:

• Creates Tasks in .task-o-matic/tasks/
• Links Tasks to PRD Version (prdFile, prdRequirement)

5. Change Management

When requirements change:

1. Update PRD content:

   • Manual edit: Directly edit the PRD file in your editor
   • AI refine: npx task-o-matic prd refine --file <path> - answers clarifying questions to improve clarity
   • AI rework: npx task-o-matic prd rework --file <path> --feedback "...your feedback..." - AI-assisted revision based on your feedback

2. Version the changes:

   npx task-o-matic prd version --file <path> --message "Updated requirement X"

3. Regenerate tasks:

   npx task-o-matic prd parse --file <path>

   This generates new tasks for changed requirements and preserves task status for unchanged items.