Governance · Planning
Planning workflow editor
Add, arrange and set up the steps of a planning workflow, from the opening Overview to the closing Review.
A planning workflow is a short, ordered list of steps. Items on the workflow go through them top to bottom, and each step appears on the item’s step rail. The editor lets you choose which steps the workflow has and how each one behaves: what it is called, which agent packs draft it, which PRD sections it writes, and more.
Before you start
- Open the editor from Governance → Planning → Workflows by selecting Edit (or View) on a workflow. See Workflows.
- You need permission to change Governance settings to make changes. Without it, the workflow opens for reading only.
- Changes save automatically. Saving… and then Saved appear at the top of the page.
Understanding the editor
| Item | What it is for |
|---|---|
| All workflows | Goes back to the list. |
| Workflow name and description | Shown at the top. |
| Rename | Changes the workflow’s name and description. |
| Built-in · Steps fixed · details editable | Shown on a built-in workflow. Its steps can’t be added, removed or reordered, but each step’s settings are still yours to change. |
| Steps | The steps in running order, with a count. |
Each step is a row showing its type, its label, its position if the type repeats (such as 2 of 3), and a summary of its settings. Select a row to open or close its settings.
Step types
| Step | What it does |
|---|---|
| Overview | Next drafts the item’s Overview. Every workflow starts with exactly one. |
| Requirements | Next drafts a set of requirements. A workflow can have several. |
| PRD | Next drafts a product requirements document, or part of one. A workflow can split the PRD across several PRD steps. |
| Work stream | A board of tasks worked while the step is active. |
| Review | Reviewers sign off the work so far. A top-level workflow ends with a Review. |
| Sub-workflow | Starts child items on a child workflow and waits for them. |
| Hand-back | The last step of a child workflow, where its work goes back up to the parent. |
Add a step
- Hover over the list of steps. A + appears between steps.
- Select + where you want the new step.
- Choose the step type from Insert here.
Only types that are allowed at that point are offered:
- There is exactly one Overview, and it is always first.
- Nothing but a Hand-back can follow the closing Review. Add new work before the sign-off.
- A workflow can have at most one Hand-back, and it is always last. Adding one makes the workflow a child workflow.
Name a step
- Open the step.
- Enter a Label, such as Requirements (Security).
The label is what the item’s step rail shows. If a workflow has several steps of the same type, give each a distinct name — the editor reminds you when a type repeats.
Move, duplicate or delete a step
Open the step. At the bottom of its settings:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Up arrow (Move earlier) | Moves the step up. Nothing can move above the Overview. |
| Down arrow (Move later) | Moves the step down. |
| Copy icon (Duplicate step) | Adds a copy straight after it. Not offered for Overview or Hand-back. |
| Bin icon (Delete step) | Deletes the step. |
Delete step is switched off where removing the step would break the workflow, such as the opening Overview. Hover over it to see why.
These buttons do not appear on built-in workflows.
Set up a step
The settings you see depend on the step type.
Agent packs (Overview, Requirements and PRD)
Choose the agent packs this step generates with.
- Open the Agent packs list.
- Search for and tick the packs you want. Packs that suit the step type are listed first, then All packs.
Leave it empty to use the governance default for the step type, which is set on the Agent Packs tab. The list then shows the default pack’s name with · Governance default.
Sections this step emits (PRD)
A PRD step writes every section of your PRD template unless you turn some off.
- Select Sections this step emits to expand it.
- Tick or untick sections, or use Select all and Clear for each group.
Each section can belong to only one PRD step in a workflow. A section another PRD step already writes is marked also emitted by that step, and can’t be selected until you remove it from the other step. Clashes are counted beside the heading.
Scoring (Requirements, PRD and Review)
| Switch | What it does |
|---|---|
| Show the score on this step | Whether the item’s score is shown while this step is on screen. |
| Re-score when this step completes | Whether the item is scored again when the step is completed. |
Both are on by default.
Work stream
A board of tasks worked while this step is active. The step can’t be approved until the board is complete, and its tasks’ output goes into the item’s files for the steps after it.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Columns | The board’s columns and the rules for moving work into them. Add at least one column, and a Done column, or the board can never be completed. |
| Board owners | Who opens the board, adds and assigns tasks, and completes it. Tick The item’s owner, and use Add people to add named owners. Anyone given a task can work it. |
| Starter tasks | Tasks created on every board this step opens — the standard work it always needs. Each can have a Title, Description, Acceptance criteria, the column it Starts in, and who it Starts with (Unassigned, The item’s owner or a named person). Up to 20. |
| Brief for AI task generation | Sent ahead of the item’s overview, requirements and PRD when someone generates this board’s tasks. |
If there are no owners, the editor warns No owners — only the item’s owner and admins will be able to run this board.
For each column, you can set Who can move work in (for example Board owners or Task assignee), where it Can be entered from (Previous column only, Any earlier column or Anywhere), and whether Work cannot be moved back out of this column.
Sub-workflow
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Child workflow | The workflow each child item runs. Only child workflows — ones that end in a Hand-back — are listed. |
| Child items to start with | The child items started when the item reaches this step, such as Billing. If you add none, one is started, named after the step. The item’s owner can add more while the step is active. |
| Start each child with this item’s context | Copies this item’s included files and the outputs of its finished steps into each child’s files. |
If no child workflows exist yet, create one with a Hand-back as its last step, then pick it here.
Hand-back
This step makes the workflow a child workflow. At this step, the item’s owner reviews everything it would send back to its parent — its files, and its overview, requirements and PRDs as documents — with everything selected. They untick anything that must not go up, then hand back.
Rename the workflow
- Select Rename.
- Change the Name or Description.
Built-in workflows cannot be renamed.
What happens next
New items that use this workflow follow the steps you set. Items already running keep the workflow as it was when they started.
Good to know
If a workflow was saved in a broken state, the editor shows This workflow needs repairing before changes can save, with a list of problems. Select a problem to jump to the step that needs fixing.