Process Lifecycle

pair defines a structured development lifecycle with four levels and nine steps. Each level builds on the previous, taking a project from initial idea to production-ready code.

The lifecycle is not rigid — you enter at whatever level matches your project's current state. But every step has a specific how-to guide and a matching skill that the AI follows, ensuring consistency and completeness.

Let /pair-next Guide You

You don't need to memorize this sequence. Run /pair-next at any point and pair reads your project state — open issues, story statuses, task progress — to suggest the right next step. This is the recommended way to navigate the process.

/pair-next

When to use it: at the start of every session, after completing a step, when switching context, or when you're not sure what to work on next.

The Four Levels

Level 1: Induction (one-time)
  Step 1  Create PRD ─────────────── /pair-process-specify-prd
  Step 2  Bootstrap Project ──────── /pair-process-bootstrap
  Step 3  Plan Initiatives ────────── /pair-process-plan-initiatives

Level 2: Strategic Planning (per initiative)
  Step 4  Break Down Epics ────────── /pair-process-plan-epics

Level 3: Iteration (per epic)
  Step 5  Break Down Stories ──────── /pair-process-plan-stories
  Step 6  Refine Stories ──────────── /pair-process-refine-story
  Step 7  Create Tasks ────────────── /pair-process-plan-tasks

Level 4: Execution (per story)
  Step 8  Implement ───────────────── /pair-process-implement
  Step 9  Code Review ─────────────── /pair-process-review

You can follow this flow in two ways:

1. Process Skills (recommended) — invoke a slash command and the AI handles the structured process for you. See the Skills Catalog for all 31 skills.
2. How-to Guides — follow the manual step-by-step instructions from the Knowledge Base. See the Guidelines & How-To Catalog for all 11 guides.

Skills compose capability skills internally, enforce adoption compliance, and update your PM tool automatically. The how-to guides give you the same process with full manual control.

The detailed walkthrough for each level is in the pages that follow.

Product Lifecycle

INDUCTION
└── Product Foundation & Architecture
    │
    ├── STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
    │   └── Business Value & Market Position
    │       │
    │       ├── CUSTOMER-FACING ITERATIONS
    │       │   └── User Experience & Feature Delivery
    │       │       │
    │       │       └── CONTINUOUS VALUE DELIVERY
    │       │           └── Working Software & Feedback Loops

Card Hierarchy

Initiative (Strategic Level)
├── Epic 1 (Feature Level)
│   ├── User Story 1.1
│   │   ├── Task 1.1.1
│   │   ├── Task 1.1.2
│   │   └── Task 1.1.3
│   └── User Story 1.2
│       ├── Task 1.2.1
│       └── Task 1.2.2
└── Epic 2 (Feature Level)
    └── User Story 2.1
        └── Task 2.1.1

Entry Points

You don't have to start at Step 1. Pick your entry point based on where you are:

Or just run /pair-next — it figures out where you are and what to do next.

What's Next

Follow the journey step by step:

• Induction — one-time project setup (Steps 1-3)
• Strategic Planning — break initiatives into epics (Step 4)
• Iteration — prepare stories and tasks for development (Steps 5-7)
• Execution — implement and review (Steps 8-9)

Want a guided walkthrough? The tutorials walk you through the full process end-to-end with working examples for solo, team, and enterprise contexts.

Feeling lost? Check the FAQ — it answers common questions about process, languages, tools, and customization.

Reference

• Skills Catalog — all 31 skills with commands and composition
• Guidelines & How-To Catalog — all 9 guideline categories and 11 how-to guides