Local Developer Workflow

From ticket to merged PR -- the interactive development workflow using /dx-* skills in your IDE. Works with ADO and Jira.

How It Works

Instead of writing complex prompts, you run skills — short commands like /dx-req or /dx-plan. Each skill already knows what context to gather (tickets, codebase, config, prior specs — not just source code), which subagents to spawn for parallel work, and what output format to produce.

Once a skill finishes, all context stays in the session. You can refine results with simple follow-up prompts (“make step 3 more granular”, “skip the SCSS changes”) — no need to re-explain the project, the ticket, or your conventions.

This is the key advantage: precision without repetition. Each step saves its output to local files, so even if a session ends, the next skill picks up where you left off.

First Time?

Before running skills, make sure your project is set up with /dx-init. This generates .ai/config.yaml with your build commands, branch names, ADO/Jira settings, and coding conventions — so every skill uses the right context from the start. See the Setup Guide for full instructions.

Start Here

Choose Your Entry Point

Don't memorize 76 skills. Pick the one that matches where you are right now.

Starting a story?
/dx-req <id>

Fetches ticket, validates, researches codebase

Ready to plan?
/dx-plan

Reads existing specs, generates impl plan

Ready to code?
/dx-step-all

Executes plan steps with auto-fix

Code done?
/dx-pr

Commits, pushes, creates PR

Want everything?
/dx-agent-all <id>

Full pipeline: req through PR

Coded manually?
/dx-step-verify

then /dx-pr — verify and submit

Bug report?
/dx-bug-all <id>

Triage, fix, verify, PR

Full Pipeline

The Full Pipeline

One command runs the entire sprint lifecycle. Or use individual skills for just the phase you need.

Full Pipeline Overview /dx-agent-all <ID or JIRA-KEY>

One command runs the entire sprint lifecycle. Or use individual skills for just the phase you need.

Phase 1 Requirements
/dx-req-*
Phase 1.5 Enrichment
/dx-ticket-analyze
Phase 2 Figma
/dx-figma-*
Phase 2b Planning
/dx-plan
Phase 3 Execution
/dx-step-*
Phase 4 Build + Review
/dx-step-verify
Phase 5 Commit & Push
/dx-pr-commit
Phase 6 Pull Request
/dx-pr
Phase 6.5 Editorial Guide
/aem-editorial-guide
Phase 7 Feature Documentation
/dx-doc-gen
Phase 7.5 QA Handoff
/aem-qa-handoff
Phase 1

Requirements

Pull the work item (ADO or Jira), validate readiness, distill requirements, research codebase, and share with the team.

One Command /dx-req <ID or JIRA-KEY>
Requirements Full pipeline (fetch, DoR, explain, research, share)
/dx-req

/dx-req

Full requirements pipeline in one skill: fetches the work item (ADO or Jira), validates DoR, distills developer requirements, researches the codebase, and generates a team summary. Produces raw-story.md, dor-report.md, explain.md, research.md, and share-plan.md.

All spec files

/dx-req

Coordinator that invokes /dx-req. Use this for the full orchestrated pipeline with run logging and metrics.

Coordinator

Output

5 documents in .ai/specs/<id>-<slug>/. Each skill is idempotent — it checks if its output already exists before regenerating, so you can re-run safely.

Phase 2

Planning

A structured, validated implementation plan with dependency tracking and risk resolution.

No orchestrator — run individually
Plan Generate impl plan
/dx-plan
Validate Check against reqs
/dx-plan-validate
Resolve Fix flagged risks
/dx-plan-resolve

/dx-plan

Uses the Opus model with extended thinking for deep reasoning. Produces a step-by-step implementation plan where each step has: description, files to modify, dependencies, verification criteria, and status.

implement.md

/dx-plan-validate

Cross-checks the plan against requirements. Every requirement covered? No extras? Dependencies correct? Flags risks and gaps for resolution.

/dx-plan-resolve

Fixes flagged risks by researching the codebase. Resolves ambiguities, fills gaps, and updates the plan. Loops with validate until the plan passes.

Plan Structure

Each step in implement.md includes: description, files to modify, dependencies on other steps, verification criteria to confirm success, and a status field (pending to done).

Phase 3

Execution

Execute plan steps with a test, review, commit loop. Self-healing on failure.

Run All Steps /dx-step-all
Execute Run plan step
/dx-step <n>
Fix Targeted correction + escalation
/dx-step-fix

/dx-step-fix

Single targeted fix. When a test or review fails, this skill applies a focused correction to the specific problem. If the same fix fails twice, it escalates to heal.

/dx-step-fix (escalation)

Root cause analysis. When targeted fixes fail repeatedly, dx-step-fix escalates to root cause analysis, potentially restructuring the approach and creating new corrective steps in the plan.

Fix Memory

Every fix is logged to fixes.jsonl. When a fix pattern succeeds 3+ times, it is promoted to a permanent rule — the system learns from its own mistakes.

Phase 4

Build & Verify

Compile, deploy, and run a 6-phase verification gate before proceeding to PR.

No orchestrator — run individually
Build Compile & deploy
/dx-step-build
Verify 6-phase gate
/dx-step-verify

/dx-step-build

Compile and deploy the project. Automatically detects build failures and applies up to 6 auto-fix attempts before stopping.

/dx-step-verify

Runs 6 verification phases in sequence. Each phase can auto-fix and retry. The code review phase uses Opus for high-confidence analysis.

PhaseWhatFail Action
Compileconfig.build.commandAuto-fix, retry
Lintconfig.lint.commandAuto-fix, retry
Testconfig.test.commandAuto-fix, retry
Secret ScanPattern match (keys, tokens, passwords)Immediate fix
ArchitectureConvention check (naming, structure, patterns)Log warning
Code Reviewdx-code-reviewer (Opus model)Fix, rebuild, re-review

Review-Fix Loop

The code review phase runs up to 3 cycles of review, fix, rebuild, re-review. If issues persist after 3 cycles, it escalates to /dx-step-fix for root cause analysis. If that also fails, the pipeline stops and asks for human input.

Phase 4b

Accessibility & Quality Gates

WCAG compliance testing, Definition of Done validation, and estimation -- standalone skills that complement the build pipeline.

/dx-axe

Runs axe accessibility analysis on a URL via the axe MCP server (Docker). Detects WCAG violations, generates remediation suggestions, and can auto-fix common issues like missing alt text and ARIA attributes.

WCAG axe MCP

Definition of Done

/dx-req-dod validates your work against the story’s acceptance criteria, posts a checklist to ADO, and auto-fixes failing items where possible.

/dx-req-dod

/dx-estimate

Analyzes a story and produces structured estimation: hours per task, story points, affected AEM pages, and complexity breakdown. Useful for sprint planning.

Estimation
Phases 5-7

PR, AEM Verification, Docs & QA Handoff

Commit, verify on AEM, create the PR, capture demo, generate documentation, and post testing steps for QA.

No orchestrator — run individually
Commit Stage & push
/dx-pr-commit
Pull Request Create PR
/dx-pr
Editorial Guide Dialog screenshots
/aem-editorial-guide
Feature Docs Wiki + authoring guide
/dx-doc-gen
QA Handoff Testing steps → ADO
/aem-qa-handoff

Pull Request

Creates a PR from share-plan.md with auto-generated description, linked work item (ADO or Jira), and branch management.

/dx-pr

AEM Verification

Takes a before/after snapshot of AEM pages, verifies component rendering, and captures a demo with browser automation.

/aem-snapshot /aem-verify /aem-editorial-guide

Documentation

/dx-doc-gen generates wiki pages from spec files. /dx-doc-retro generates docs retroactively from a work item + linked PRs — no spec files needed. Posts to ADO Wiki or Confluence.

/dx-doc-gen /dx-doc-retro

QA Handoff

Generates structured testing steps and posts them as an ADO comment for the QA team. Reuses /aem-doc-gen output (lightweight) or creates its own test page (full mode). Run after /aem-doc-gen for best results.

/aem-qa-handoff
Modular

Pick What You Need

You don't have to run the full pipeline. Use individual skills for just the phase you need.

CommandPhaseWhat It Does
/dx-req <id>RequirementsFull requirements pipeline (fetch, DoR, explain, research, share)
/dx-req-importRequirementsValidate external requirements (non-ADO/Jira), generate explain.md
/dx-req-tasksRequirementsCreate child Task work items under a story with hour estimates
/dx-req-dodQualityValidate work against acceptance criteria, post checklist to ADO/Jira
/dx-estimatePlanningStructured estimation: hours, story points, complexity
/dx-ticket-analyze <id>EnrichmentWork item (ADO/Jira) to components, files, pages
/dx-planPlanningGenerate implementation plan
/dx-plan-validatePlanningValidate plan against requirements
/dx-step-allExecutionExecute all pending plan steps
/dx-step <n>ExecutionExecute a single plan step
/dx-step-buildBuildCompile and deploy with auto-fix
/dx-step-verifyBuild6-phase verification gate
/dx-prPRCreate pull request
/dx-pr-commitPRStage, commit, and push changes
/dx-pr-review-allPRBatch review multiple PRs
/dx-pr-review-reportPRGenerate categorized report from review, post to wiki
/dx-axeAccessibilityWCAG compliance check + auto-remediation via axe MCP
/dx-doc-genDocsGenerate wiki + authoring guide
/dx-doc-retroDocsRetroactive docs from ADO story + linked PRs (no spec files)
/aem-qa-handoffQA HandoffGenerate testing steps, post to ADO for QA team (uses /aem-doc-gen output)
Convention

Spec Directory

Every ticket gets a dedicated directory with all generated artifacts.

Directory structure
.ai/specs/<id>-<slug>/
└── raw-story.md/dx-req
└── dor-report.md/dx-req
└── explain.md/dx-req
└── research.md/dx-req
└── share-plan.md/dx-req
└── implement.md/dx-plan
└── prototype//dx-figma-prototype
└── index.html
└── styles.css
└── dod.md/dx-req-dod
└── aem-before.md/aem-snapshot
└── aem-after.md/aem-verify
└── qa-handoff.md/aem-qa-handoff
└── demo//aem-editorial-guide
└── docs/
└── wiki-page.md/dx-doc-gen
PR Lifecycle

PR Workflow

Three independent lifecycles that cover every aspect of pull request management.

Creating PRs

Generate the PR from your spec files with a structured description, linked work item, and proper branch setup.

/dx-pr /dx-pr-commit

Reviewing Others' PRs

Structured AI code review on a teammate’s PR — architecture, correctness, accessibility, performance. Posts structured comments with inline code patches that can be applied directly.

/dx-pr-review

Handling Feedback

When reviewers leave comments on your PR, AI reads them, applies fixes, and posts replies — resolving feedback in minutes instead of days.

/dx-pr-answer

Applying Patches

Review comments include ready-to-apply code patches. Run /dx-pr-apply to apply all suggested patches from a PR review, build, verify, and commit in one step.

/dx-pr-apply

Batch Review & Reports

/dx-pr-review-all reviews multiple PRs in batch. /dx-pr-review-report generates a categorized report from reviews and posts it to ADO Wiki or Confluence. Ideal for tech leads and sprint reviews.

/dx-pr-review-all /dx-pr-review-report
KAI by Dragan Filipovic