Effort Lifecycle

Overview of Forge effort lifecycle. Efforts are the discovery phase — exploring problem spaces, gathering requirements, and identifying slice candidates before delivery work begins.

What is an Effort?

Effort: Discovery and exploration work for a problem space. Output: Requirements, user stories, and identified slice candidates. Duration: Weeks to months (ongoing discovery). Location: .forge-context/efforts/YYYYMM-{slug}/

Example efforts:

• Explore user authentication options
• Investigate cloud deployment strategies
• Research API versioning approaches

Effort vs Slice

Aspect	Effort	Slice
Purpose	Discover + explore	Design + deliver
Output	Stories, requirements, candidates	Working software
Timeline	Ongoing (weeks/months)	Time-boxed (days/weeks)
Scope	Broad problem space	Focused deliverable
State	Living document	Complete when shipped

Flow: Effort → identifies candidates → spawns Slices → delivers features

Effort Phases

Phase 1: Initialize Effort

Command: /forge:explore init

Actions:

• Create effort directory structure
• Write initial problem framing
• Set up README, effort.md, slices.md, decisions.md

Output:

• .forge-context/efforts/YYYYMM-{slug}/ created
• effort.md with problem context
• slices.md (empty, ready for candidates)

Phase 2: Story Capture

Command: /forge:explore stories

Actions:

• Capture user stories from stakeholders
• Document user needs and pain points

Format:

### ST-001: {Story Title}

**As a** {persona}
**I want** {capability}
**So that** {benefit}

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- {criterion 1}
- {criterion 2}

Phase 3: Requirements Gathering

Command: /forge:explore requirements

Actions:

• Extract requirements from stories
• Identify technical constraints
• Map affected components and area owners

Format:

### REQ-001: {Requirement Title}

**Source:** ST-001, ST-003
**Priority:** High / Medium / Low
**Components:** {list}

Phase 4: Slice Identification

Command: /forge:explore slices

Actions:

• Group related stories/requirements
• Identify shippable increments
• Create slice candidates

Format:

### SL-001: {Slice Title}

**Stories:** ST-001, ST-002
**Requirements:** REQ-001, REQ-003
**Scope:** {Brief description of deliverable}
**Status:** Candidate / Spawned / Complete

Phase 5: Slice Spawning

Command: /forge:work new (from slice candidate)

Actions:

• Create slice directory
• Copy requirements seed
• Initialize slice workflow

Output:

• .forge-context/slices/YYYYMM-{slug}/ created
• Slice enters delivery lifecycle (see slice-lifecycle skill)

Effort File Structure

.forge-context/efforts/YYYYMM-{slug}/
  effort.md               # Living discovery document
  slices.md               # Slice candidate tracking
  decisions.md            # ADRs for effort-level decisions
  checklist.md            # Health tracking
  artifacts/              # Supporting materials
    requirements-seed.md  # Initial requirements analysis

When to Create an Effort

Create effort when:

• Problem space is large and unclear
• Multiple deliverables needed
• Discovery work required before design
• Customer research or validation needed

Skip effort, go straight to slice when:

• Problem is well-understood
• Single deliverable
• Clear requirements already exist
• Small enhancement to existing feature

Effort Completion

Effort completes when:

• All identified slices are spawned or completed
• No more discovery work needed
• Problem space is exhausted

Note: Most efforts are living documents — discovery continues as new needs arise. "Complete" is rare.

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Customer-Driven Effort

1. Create customer/user profiles
2. Extract requirements from user needs
3. Identify user workflows
4. Create slice candidates per workflow

Pattern 2: Technology Exploration Effort

1. Research current state (what exists?)
2. Identify gaps (what's missing?)
3. Capture user stories (what do users need?)
4. Create slice candidates (feature by feature)

Pattern 3: Infrastructure Effort

1. Document problem (operational pain)
2. Research solutions (automation patterns)
3. Design architecture (high-level)
4. Create slice candidates (component by component)

Integration with Forge Workflows

Discovery → Delivery Flow

Effort (Discovery)
  ├─ Stories captured
  ├─ Requirements identified
  ├─ Slice candidates defined
  └─> Slice spawned (Delivery)
        ├─ Requirements refined
        ├─ Design created
        ├─ Implementation planned
        └─> Feature shipped

Effort Commands

• /forge:explore init — Initialize effort
• /forge:explore stories — Capture user stories
• /forge:explore requirements — Extract requirements
• /forge:explore slices — Identify candidates
• /forge:explore review-pr — Create PR for feedback

Summary

Phase	Command	Output
Initialize	/forge:explore init	effort.md
Stories	/forge:explore stories	ST-NNN stories
Requirements	/forge:explore requirements	REQ-NNN reqs
Slices	/forge:explore slices	SL-NNN candidates
Spawn	/forge:work new	Slice created

Key principles:

• Discovery before delivery
• Living documents (evolve over time)
• Slice candidates (shippable increments)
• Parallel exploration (multiple efforts active)