git:20260930.71548fd to git:20261001.0246469

---

name: dough-story-refinement

description: >-

Clarifies selected stories before execution planning by establishing goal,

scope, and key examples in each story's seed, distinguishing promises from

rejection constraints. Adds UI or architectural

---

# Story refinement

Build shared understanding of one selected story, or several related stories

whose boundaries need discussion. Record Goal, Scope, and Key examples in each

story's seed.

## Choose the workflow

If the parent problem, candidate selection, or story ordering needs

reconsideration, use

[dough-story-decomposition](../dough-story-decomposition/SKILL.md).

For smaller or clearer slices, use the project's execution-plan

refinement workflow on the existing plan.

Refinement alone does not authorize planning or implementation. When the user

explicitly requests execution planning, hand off one understood story to the

project's planning workflow and continue without repeating answered questions.

## Resolve required context

Identify this project's root, selected story links and seeds,

and relevant prior decisions. When a seed is missing, resolve the canonical

seed directory, ID and filename conventions, required metadata, and stable

story-anchor convention. Resolve project paths from that repository, not this

skill's location.

Resolve the execution-planning workflow only for a requested handoff, and ADR

context only when the architectural concern requires it under the reference

below. If required context or a linked dependency is unavailable, name what is

missing and stop the affected activity. Do not invent project paths or decisions.

## Refine and report

Read and follow [planning scope and lifecycle](references/planning.md) for the

conversation, scope decisions, optional UI and architecture detail, seed updates,

and cleanup after implementation. When your instruction

carries an established preparation, follow

[established preparation](references/established-preparation.md) instead of the

establish or reuse the required workspace under

[preparation workspace](references/preparation-workspace.md), then, for a

queued story, [announce the preparation assignment](references/preparation-assignment.md#announce-the-preparation-assignment);

refinement discussion and clarifying questions need neither on their own. After the

seed or correction-home write records goal, scope, and key examples for a work

item with a known identity, apply

[record preparation facts](../dough-product-backlog/references/record-preparation.md).

When the request includes options such as `--explore`, read

[refinement options](references/refinement-options.json) and apply the selected

options' instructions within this workflow. Options in the same group, an entry

of that file's `groups` list, are exclusive; if a request names more than one of

them, stop and report the conflict, naming the group's `label` and the flags the

request named from it. Without options, refine straightforwardly.

Report the story links, material constraints and deferred promises, and

unresolved decisions. Apply that reference's keep or discard decision, then

close or retain the workspace, when this session ends.