v1.0.0 to v1.0.0

1 added, 1 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: debt-triage

description: "EM-PM ceremony to review and prioritize the technical debt backlog."

version: 1.0.0

allowed-tools: ["Read","Write","Edit","Bash","Grep","Glob","Agent","Skill","AskUserQuestion","TaskCreate","TaskUpdate","TaskGet","TaskList"]

---

# Debt Triage — Backlog Review and Prioritization

**Announce at start:** "I'm using the coordinator:debt-triage skill to review the debt backlog."

An **EM-PM conversation**, not a dispatched agent — the EM reads the backlog, applies judgment,

and presents recommendations. Trigger on demand, at >20 open items, or after a refactor that may

have resolved several. Rationale, clustering detail, structural-probe calibration: wiki.

- **On a PowerShell host, every CLI below takes its `.cmd` sibling through the call operator**

+ **On a PowerShell host, every CLI below takes its `.exe` launcher through the call operator**

(Shape W), never the `${...}` POSIX-shell form shown. Ladder and shapes:

`snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`.

Run

`backlog-grind-assemble brief debt-triage` (per `snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`)

before Step 1 — it returns, over `state/debt-backlog/`, `state/bug-backlog/`,

and `state/improvement-queue/`: open items with severity breakdown, `bug-backlog`

cross-reference (exact `surface`-field match), improvement-queue entries with clustering

evidence, and a batched PM-gate. Steps 2, 3, 6, and 6b below stay EM-performed until the

debt-backlog terminus op ships.

## Step 0: Surface prior rejections

Check `tasks/out-of-scope/*.md` (skip silently if absent). For any concept overlapping the

triage, surface: *"This is similar to `tasks/out-of-scope/<concept>.md` — we rejected this

because [reason]. Still feel the same?"* — confirm, reconsider (delete the file), or override.

## Step 1: Read current state

Take the `brief` output as-is. Broader file-path/description-similarity overlap beyond the

`surface`-field match stays an EM judgment pass over the same evidence, applied before

presenting overlaps to the PM for a dedup decision (populate `evidence:` on both entries).

**Improvement-queue classification** (also from `brief`) is EM judgment, not a disk predicate:

- **Universal** — would apply to any coordinator-pipeline project → flag for `/learn-lessons`

local-run routing; do NOT pull into the triage path.

- **Project-specific** — flows into the standard triage path, terminating in a Step 6b baton

(never a migration into `state/debt-backlog/` — that disposition is retired).

Present: *"Improvement queue: N entries — M universal (flagged for lessons-outbox), K

project-specific (flowing into triage)."* Doctrine ref: `CLAUDE.md § Improvement Queue`.

## Step 2: Verify relevance (Haiku agents)

Dispatch Haiku agents, grouped by system, to mechanically re-confirm each open item against

current code: history since the finding's `created` date, the cited `file:line` still shows the

issue. Verdict per item — `still-open` / `already-fixed` / `partially-addressed`.

`already-fixed` → mark `no-longer-applicable`; `partially-addressed` → update the description

from the Haiku report. Haiku, not Sonnet — rationale: wiki.

## Step 3: Re-prioritize

Blocking other work → P0. In a D/F-graded system → P1. In a recently A/B-graded system → may

deprioritize to P2. >30 days with no activity → flag for PM attention.

Query historical `nature: tech-debt` completions

(`query-completions --where "nature=tech-debt" --since "90d" --sort "-loe.tshirt" --format markdown-list`,

per `snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`)

before grouping:

high-LoE areas in the last 90d indicate festering complexity — escalate open items there.

Zero-activity areas may reflect avoidance — flag: *"We have carried this debt for N days without

touching it — is that intentional?"* Present a one-paragraph summary before Step 4; zero-row

case: `(no tech-debt completions logged in last 90d — hot-zone analysis unavailable)`.

## Step 4: Group for execution

```markdown

## Triage Results

### Closed (no longer applicable): N items

| ID | Reason |

### Recommended for immediate action: N items

### Can defer: N items

### Needs PM decision (YAGNI/scope): N items

```

## Step 5: Present to PM

Ask for: (1) approval to close no-longer-applicable items; (2) YAGNI/scope calls; (3)

prioritization of immediate-action items; (4) agreement on deferral reasoning; (5) disposition of

every surviving project-specific improvement-queue entry (Step 1) under the four Step 6b classes

— present the candidate list (class, clusters per the `brief`'s clustering evidence) here; Step

6b writes only after this authorization and does not gate a second time.

## Step 6: Update backlog

After PM decisions:

1. Close resolved items — stamp `status: closed`, `closed_at:`, `closed_by: <sha>`, then

`mkdir -p archive/debt-backlog/<YYYY-MM>` and `git mv` the entry in. Never `rmdir

state/debt-backlog/` even if it empties.

2. Update `severity` per PM direction.

3. Remove YAGNI items the same way as (1), `closed_by` referencing the PM decision.

4. For a **load-bearing rejection** (scope/doctrine conflict, cost-benefit, architectural veto —

never a bug), write `tasks/out-of-scope/<concept>.md`, one file per concept (append "Prior

requests" to an existing file rather than duplicating):

```markdown

# Out of scope: <concept>

**First raised:** YYYY-MM-DD

**Status:** Rejected (open to reconsideration)

## What was proposed

## Why we rejected it

## Prior requests

- YYYY-MM-DD: [how this came up]

## What would change our minds

```

5. Commit scoped, explicit-path: `git commit -m "debt-triage: reviewed N items, closed M, N

remain open" -- <every touched path>`.

## Step 6b: Terminate surviving improvement-queue entries

A surviving project-specific entry (not closed, not YAGNI'd) lands in exactly one of four

classes — never a fifth, never a fallthrough; an unclear entry means Step 5's classification

isn't finished, return there. This step performs the write Step 5 item 5 already authorized —

it is not a second gate.

The `brief`'s clustering (`MIN_CLUSTER_SIZE=3`, `directory` signal suppressed) degrades to EM

judgment as a last resort only. Expect roughly half the proposed clusters to be noise —

split/merge/discard by judgment before Step 5. Degrade-order detail: wiki.

1. **Solo baton** — large enough to stand alone. Scaffold via `coordinator-doc-new`,

`category: queue-derived-baton`, body authored from the source entry's own context. Close

and archive the source entry (`git mv`, as Step 6).

2. **Themed baton** — N entries sharing a genuine thesis (not a shared keyword). Author the

shared thesis, why they belong together, the picker-up's first move, every constituent

id/path. ≤30 authoring-lines/item. Write `initiative` on the baton and every constituent row,

bidirectionally, only on graduation. Close/archive constituents as class 1.

3. **Immediate dispatch** — resolvable now, in-session. Eligible only if the fix is BOTH

tradeoff-free AND non-structural (touches no module boundary); anything else is a baton

(class 1/2) regardless of size. Fire a Sonnet executor now; close the source entry with

`closed_by` referencing the fix commit.

4. **Close, or explicit park** — won't-do closes as Step 6. A deliberate park to

`state/debt-backlog/` is a distinct disposition (never a default sink for triage-didn't-reach

entries): `status: deferred` with a mandatory `why_blocked` field (never `open`), via

`coordinator-queue-append --schema debt-backlog` (per `snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`).

**Stamp the grant this step already holds** — `pm_approved: true` (this ceremony asserting the

Step 5 gate fired, not a second approval act), `deferred_by: /debt-triage <session-id>`,

`deferred_until: <ISO date>`, and `case_against` (the argument that lost, so a later triager

reads both sides). A park without an expiry is how a record drifts unread; a sibling deny

refuses an ungranted `deferred` write. Those four and `why_blocked` above are the exact five

`debt-backlog.schema.json`'s `status: deferred` branch requires — omit one and the ceremony

writes a row that fails our own schema.

Universal entries (Step 1) are not part of this disposition — they stay in

`state/improvement-queue/` until routed via `/learn-lessons`.

**Commit shape:** commit class-1/2 baton writes, class-3 fixes, and class-4 closures/parks

separately from Step 6's closure commit. Mirror Step 6's archive mechanics for each source entry

(`archive/improvement-queue/<YYYY-MM>/`, `git mv`, never `rmdir`), explicit-path `git add --

<archived-path> <baton-or-park-path>`, naming the source id and outcome class in the message.

Skip this step entirely if no project-specific entries survived Step 5.

## Notes

- The EM triages severity; only the PM removes items (YAGNI call).

- Items verified no-longer-applicable close without PM approval.

- This skill produces no code changes — it's a backlog management activity.