How to Leverage pm-execution Skills for Project Management: A Complete Guide

The pm-execution package provides markdown-based skill templates and slash commands that convert strategic product ideas into structured backlog items, test scenarios, and outcome-driven roadmaps.

To leverage pm-execution skills for project management, you need to understand how the phuryn/pm-skills repository structures its execution layer. This open-source toolkit transforms high-level product concepts into concrete, deliverable work items through reusable markdown templates and interactive slash commands, enabling you to manage the full project lifecycle from strategic intent to quality assurance.

Architecture of the pm-execution System

The pm-execution module operates as the execution-focused side of the Product Management Skills suite. It organizes functionality into three distinct layers that work together to process natural language inputs into structured project artifacts.

The entry point resides in pm-execution/README.md, which serves as the public API surface listing all available skills and commands. The skills layer consists of markdown files located under pm-execution/skills/, with each subdirectory containing a SKILL.md file that defines reusable templates for specific project management activities. The commands layer contains human-readable slash-command definitions in pm-execution/commands/ that orchestrate workflow by mapping inputs to appropriate skills and handling argument collection.

When you invoke a command, the surrounding chatbot or CLI parses the slash-command, feeds arguments to the skill templates, and renders markdown output compatible with tools like Jira, Azure Boards, or Notion.

Core pm-execution Skills for Project Management

The repository provides four primary skills that cover distinct phases of project delivery. Each skill is defined in its respective SKILL.md file under the pm-execution/skills/ directory.

User Stories Skill

The user stories skill, defined in pm-execution/skills/user-stories/SKILL.md, generates INVEST-compliant backlog items from feature descriptions. This skill structures output to include story descriptions, design link placeholders, and 4-6 specific acceptance criteria per story.

Use this skill when you need sliceable, estimable work items for sprint planning that follow the Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable principles.

WWA (Why-What-Acceptance) Skill

The wwas skill, located in pm-execution/skills/wwas/SKILL.md, produces Why-What-Acceptance items that embed strategic context directly into backlog entries. Unlike standard user stories, WWA items explicitly lead with the strategic "Why" (e.g., "Enable power users to reduce eye strain"), followed by the "What" and testable acceptance criteria.

This format facilitates cross-functional communication by ensuring product, engineering, and executive stakeholders understand the business rationale behind each work item.

Test Scenarios Skill

The test scenarios skill in pm-execution/skills/test-scenarios/SKILL.md generates QA-ready test cases derived from existing stories. It parses acceptance criteria and produces detailed end-to-end test scenarios that map 1:1 to your acceptance criteria.

This skill ensures traceability from strategy to validation, reducing defects by guaranteeing comprehensive test coverage before development begins.

Outcome Roadmap Skill

The outcome roadmap skill, defined in pm-execution/skills/outcome-roadmap/SKILL.md, transforms feature-focused roadmaps into outcome-oriented plans. Rather than listing technical deliverables (e.g., "Implement dashboard widget"), this skill rewrites initiatives as measurable outcomes (e.g., "Enable customers to find products 50% faster").

Use this skill to align your project roadmap with business impact metrics and strategic objectives.

Essential Commands to Execute Skills

Skills are invoked through slash commands that handle input collection, format selection, and template rendering.

The /write-stories Command

The /write-stories command, defined in pm-execution/commands/write-stories.md, serves as the primary entry point for generating backlog items. This command prompts for missing data, allows format selection (user stories vs. WWAs), and executes the appropriate skill template.

You can invoke this command with different formats to match your stakeholder needs:

/write-stories user Allow users to export reports as PDF and CSV

This generates 5-10 user stories with descriptions and acceptance criteria. To switch to the strategic WWA format:

/write-stories wwa Dark mode for the mobile app

Practical Workflow: Leveraging pm-execution Skills

To effectively leverage pm-execution skills for project management, chain commands to cover the full lifecycle from idea to validation.

Generating Test Coverage from Stories

After creating user stories, generate corresponding test scenarios to ensure quality gates:

/pm-execution:test-scenarios "Allow users to export reports as PDF and CSV"

This command pulls previously generated stories from your session, parses each acceptance criterion, and emits detailed test scenarios based on the pm-execution/skills/test-scenarios/SKILL.md template.

Transforming Feature Lists into Outcome Roadmaps

Convert existing feature-heavy roadmaps into outcome-focused plans using:

/pm-execution:transform-roadmap

When prompted, paste your current roadmap (e.g., a quarterly list of features). The skill returns a new markdown roadmap where each initiative is rewritten as an outcome statement according to the pm-execution/skills/outcome-roadmap/SKILL.md specifications.

Chaining Commands for End-to-End Execution

Execute a complete project definition cycle in a single session by chaining commands:

/write-stories user Implement a dashboard widget for real-time KPI alerts

After receiving the user stories, immediately request test coverage:

/pm-execution:test-scenarios "Implement a dashboard widget for real-time KPI alerts"

Finally, transform the plan into an outcome-focused roadmap:

/pm-execution:transform-roadmap

This workflow demonstrates a full "idea → backlog → tests → outcome roadmap" cycle without leaving the chat interface, embedding best-practice product management heuristics (INVEST, 3 C's, outcome-driven roadmaps) directly into your daily operations.

Summary

• pm-execution is the execution layer of the phuryn/pm-skills repository, providing markdown-based skill templates and slash commands for project management.
• Core skills include user stories (pm-execution/skills/user-stories/SKILL.md), WWAs (pm-execution/skills/wwas/SKILL.md), test scenarios (pm-execution/skills/test-scenarios/SKILL.md), and outcome roadmaps (pm-execution/skills/outcome-roadmap/SKILL.md).
• The /write-stories command (pm-execution/commands/write-stories.md) orchestrates backlog creation with format selection.
• Chain /pm-execution:test-scenarios and /pm-execution:transform-roadmap to achieve full lifecycle coverage from strategy to validation.
• All outputs are markdown files compatible with standard project management tools like Jira, Azure Boards, and Notion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between user stories and WWAs in pm-execution?

User stories follow the INVEST format (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable) and focus on delivering specific functionality, while WWAs (Why-What-Acceptance) explicitly embed strategic context by starting with the business "Why" before describing the "What" and acceptance criteria. Use WWAs when you need to communicate strategic intent to executive stakeholders, and standard user stories when focusing on development team implementation details.

How do I chain multiple pm-execution skills together?

You can chain skills by referencing the same feature description across consecutive commands in a single chat session. First, generate backlog items with /write-stories, then pass the same feature description to /pm-execution:test-scenarios to create corresponding test cases, and finally use /pm-execution:transform-roadmap to convert the plan into outcome statements. The chatbot maintains context between commands, allowing you to build comprehensive project documentation iteratively.

Can I use pm-execution skills with Jira or other project management tools?

Yes, the pm-execution skills output structured markdown that you can copy directly into Jira, Azure Boards, Notion, or similar platforms. The user stories skill produces formatted backlog items with acceptance criteria ready for import, while the test scenarios skill generates QA documentation that maps to test case management tools. The markdown format ensures compatibility with any system that supports rich text or markdown import.

Where are the skill templates defined in the repository?

Each skill template is defined in a SKILL.md file within its respective subdirectory under pm-execution/skills/. The user stories template resides in pm-execution/skills/user-stories/SKILL.md, the WWA template in pm-execution/skills/wwas/SKILL.md, the test scenarios template in pm-execution/skills/test-scenarios/SKILL.md, and the outcome roadmap template in pm-execution/skills/outcome-roadmap/SKILL.md. Command definitions are located in pm-execution/commands/, such as pm-execution/commands/write-stories.md for the story generation command.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}