Phase Transitions

This skill guides moving Metis documents through their lifecycle phases.

Phase Sequences

Phases move forward only. You cannot go backward to a previous phase. Terminal phases cannot transition further.

Vision

draft → review → published

• draft → review
• review → published
• published: terminal

Initiative

discovery → design → ready → decompose → active → completed

• discovery → design
• design → ready
• ready → decompose
• decompose → active
• active → completed
• completed: terminal

Task

backlog → todo → active → completed
            ↓       ↓
         blocked ←──┘

• backlog → todo
• todo → active OR blocked
• active → completed OR blocked
• blocked → todo OR active (return from blocked state)
• completed: terminal

ADR

draft → discussion → decided → superseded

• draft → discussion
• discussion → decided
• decided → superseded
• superseded: terminal

WARNING: Auto-advancing from decided moves to superseded. Most ADRs should stay in decided indefinitely. Only manually transition to superseded when explicitly replacing with a new ADR.

Specification

discovery → drafting → review → published

• discovery → drafting
• drafting → review
• review → published
• published: terminal (but content remains editable as a living document)

Default Phases

When documents are created, they start in these phases:

• Vision: draft
• Initiative: discovery
• Task: todo (or backlog for backlog items)
• ADR: draft
• Specification: discovery

Backlog note: Tasks created with backlog_category start in backlog phase and do NOT auto-transition. You must explicitly transition from backlog → todo before the task can be worked.

Phase Names Are a Closed Set

The phases above are all of them. A phase is not a mood you describe in your own words -- it is a value stored on the document, and it is what list_documents, metis status, and the GUI board read.

So report status with Metis's word, exactly:

Don't say	Say
in progress, WIP, started, underway	active
done, shipped, closed, finished	completed
open, not started, queued, up next	todo
on hold, waiting, stuck, parked	blocked
icebox, someday, unprioritized	backlog
approved, signed off	published (vision/spec) or decided (ADR)

Two rules follow:

• Never invent a phase. There is no in-review for tasks, no qa, no deployed. If the workflow you want isn't in the sequence, say so rather than inventing a status word to paper over it.
• Saying it doesn't make it so. Reporting a task as complete is not the same as transitioning it. Call transition_phase; if it errors, the transition wasn't valid, and the phase is whatever the document still says -- report that, not what you intended.

Critical Rule: No Phase Skipping

Transitions are constrained to adjacent phases only.

Invalid transitions (will error):

• todo → completed (must go todo → active → completed)
• discovery → active (must progress through all intermediate phases)
• draft → published (must go draft → review → published)

To complete a task, call transition_phase twice:

1. transition_phase(short_code) → todo to active
2. transition_phase(short_code) → active to completed

To publish a vision, call transition_phase twice:

1. transition_phase(short_code) → draft to review
2. transition_phase(short_code) → review to published

Using transition_phase

Auto-advance (recommended):

transition_phase(short_code="PROJ-I-0001")

Moves to next valid phase. Validates exit criteria.

Explicit phase (for blocked state):

transition_phase(short_code="PROJ-T-0042", phase="blocked")

Use explicit phase only for moving to/from blocked state (tasks only).

Force (use sparingly):

transition_phase(short_code="PROJ-I-0001", force=true)

Skips exit criteria validation. Use only when accepting the risk.

Exit Criteria

Exit criteria are conditions that must be true before transitioning.

Good Exit Criteria

• Observable: Can be verified
• Specific: Clear what "done" means
• Relevant: Matters for next phase
• Achievable: Realistic for scope

Common Exit Criteria Patterns

discovery → design:

• Problem statement clear and validated
• Key constraints identified
• Stakeholders aligned on scope

design → ready:

• Solution approach documented
• Technical risks identified
• Dependencies mapped

ready → decompose:

• Design reviewed and approved
• Team capacity available
• No blocking dependencies

decompose → active:

• Tasks created with acceptance criteria
• Task backlog sufficient to start
• Team understands the work

active → completed (tasks):

• Acceptance criteria met
• Work verified/tested
• No known defects

Tracking Exit Criteria

Documents have exit_criteria_met frontmatter field:

exit_criteria_met: false  # or true

Set to true when criteria are met. Used by transition_phase with force: false.

Blocked Work

Handle blocked work explicitly:

1. Transition to blocked: transition_phase(short_code, phase="blocked")
2. Update blocked_by field in document to record what's blocking
3. Address the blocker
4. Return from blocked: transition_phase(short_code, phase="active") or phase="todo"

Note: Only tasks can be blocked - visions, initiatives, and ADRs cannot use the blocked phase.

Blocked is a special state that allows returning to todo or active. This is the only case where you can move "backward" - but it's really returning from a paused state, not reversing progress.

Working in Active Phase

CRITICAL: Active tasks and initiatives serve as persistent working memory. While in active phase, regularly update the document with:

• Progress: What's been completed
• Findings: Unexpected discoveries, blockers
• Decisions: Why you chose approach A over B
• Next steps: What remains if work is interrupted

This ensures no work is lost if context is compacted or the session ends.

When to Transition

Pull-Based Transitions

• Move initiative to active when capacity exists
• Move task to active when ready to start
• Move to completed when actually done

Don't Rush Transitions

Common mistakes:

• Initiative in "active" with no tasks isn't really active
• Task marked "completed" that doesn't meet criteria isn't done
• Design marked "ready" without review isn't ready

The phases protect you. They force discipline that prevents rework.

Monitoring Phase Health

Healthy Signs

• Work moves steadily through phases
• Exit criteria met before transitions
• Blocked items rare and resolved quickly
• Completed work stays completed

Unhealthy Signs

• Work stuck in early phases → unclear requirements or analysis paralysis
• Work stuck in decompose → team struggling to understand work
• Work jumping to active → skipping preparation
• "Completed" work reopening → exit criteria not met

Additional Resources

For detailed phase flow:

• references/phase-flow.md - Complete phase documentation with all transition rules

Related skill:

• metis-vocabulary - Why phase words, document types, and short codes come from Metis rather than from you