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work-summary

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Generates a hierarchical project dashboard showing all work items organized by container, with IDs, tags, status, and priority visible. Use when the user says: project status, what's active, show me the dashboard, work summary, what should I work on, project health, what's blocked, where did I leave off, show items, what's in the backlog, overview, or any request to see or review the current state of work items. Also use at session start when gathering current project context.

Data & Analytics

What this skill does


# Work Summary — Current (v3)

Generate a PM-ready project dashboard. The goal is to show the full project state in one view — every container, every item, with enough detail (IDs, tags, priority, status) to make decisions and take action. Supplement the data with brief observations only when there is a genuine anomaly or actionable insight.

---

## Step 0 — Scope Check

If `$ARGUMENTS` is provided:
- If it looks like a UUID, use it directly as `parentId` for all queries below
- If it's text, search: `query_items(operation="search", query="<text>")` — pick the best-matching root or container item and use its UUID as `parentId`
- If multiple matches, pick the closest title match; if ambiguous, use `AskUserQuestion` to clarify

When scoped to a `parentId`, modify the data collection calls:
1. `query_items(operation="overview", itemId="<parentId>")` — scoped overview of that subtree
2. `get_context()` — still global (filter to scope in analysis phase)
3. `get_next_item(limit=5, parentId="<parentId>")` — scoped recommendations

If no `$ARGUMENTS`, proceed with the global (unscoped) data collection as written below.

## Data Collection (3 calls, run in parallel)

1. `query_items(operation="overview", includeChildren=true)` — all root items with childCounts per role and direct children
2. `get_context()` — active (work/review), blocked, and stalled items
3. `get_next_item(limit=5)` — dependency-aware ranked recommendations

**Why 3 calls:** Overview gives hierarchy structure, child counts, tags, priority, type, and traits for all items. get_context gives active/blocked/stalled signals. get_next_item gives dependency-aware recommendations.

---

## Enrichment Phase

Before rendering, cross-reference the data sources:

1. **Build lookup map from overview data:** Iterate overview root items and their children arrays. Each child in the overview includes `id, parentId, title, role, statusLabel, priority, depth, tags, type, childCounts, traits`. Build `overviewMap[id] = { priority, tags, type, traits, role, childCounts }`.
2. **Build child count map:** Use the `childCounts` object directly from each child in the overview (no grouping needed). `childRoleCounts[id] = item.childCounts`.
3. **Extract traits:** For items with `traits` arrays in the overview, note them for display in the Tags column.
4. **Build active/blocked/stalled sets:** From get_context, create sets of item IDs that are active, blocked, or stalled
5. **Classify root items:** Use the classification table below
6. **Group standalone items by tag:** For root items classified as "Standalone item", group by their `tags` value (first tag if multiple). Items with no tag go into an "Uncategorized" group.

### Root Item Classification

| Pattern | Classification | Rendering |
|---------|---------------|-----------|
| Has non-terminal children | **Active container** | Full section with children table |
| All children terminal | **Completed container** | Done footer |
| No children, non-terminal role | **Standalone item** | Standalone Items table |
| No children, terminal role | **Completed standalone** | Done footer |

> **Note:** Overview `childCounts` reflects **direct children only**. Active grandchildren can exist under a terminal root. Cross-reference with `get_context` results.

---

## Dashboard Format

Render the dashboard in this exact section order. Omit any section that has no data.

### Section 1: Health Headline

```
## ◆ Work Summary

[One sentence assessing project health and momentum.]

**X active · Y blocked · Z stalled · W queued · V done**
```

Counts come from the search results grouped by role. "active" = work + review roles. "done" = terminal role.

---

### Section 2: Attention Required

Omit this entire section if there are no blocked or stalled items.

```
### ⊘ Attention Required

| ID | Item | Container | Issue |
|----|------|-----------|-------|
| `short-id` | <title> | <parent title or —> | Blocked by: `<blocker-id>` <blocker-title> |
| `short-id` | <title> | <parent title or —> | Stalled: missing `<note-key>`, `<note-key>` |
```

For blocked items, show what is blocking them. For stalled items, show which required notes are missing. When a stalled item's missing note key matches a trait's note key (e.g., `migration-assessment` from trait `needs-migration-review`), mention the trait in the Issue column: `Stalled: missing \`migration-assessment\` (trait: needs-migration-review)`

If there is actionable context (e.g., blocker is not in active work, or a stalled item has a `guidancePointer`), add a brief observation line below the table — one sentence max.

Include the short ID so the user can reference items in follow-up commands.

---

### Section 3: Project Inventory

This is the core of the dashboard. Show every active container with its children.

For each active container (has non-terminal children), render:

```
#### <Container Title> `<8-char-id>`
<role-symbol> <role> · <N open> · <N done>

| ID | Title | Status | Pri | Tags | Children |
|----|-------|--------|-----|------|----------|
| `xxxxxxxx` | <child title> | ◉ work | high | feature-task ▸migration | — |
| `yyyyyyyy` | <child title> | ○ queue | med | — | 2○ 1◉ |
| `zzzzzzzz` | <child title> | ⊘ blocked | high | bug-fix ▸security | — |

✓ N completed: <comma-separated titles of terminal children>
```

**Rendering rules for container sections:**
- Sort children: ◉ active (work/review) first, then ⊘ blocked, then ○ queue, then ✓ terminal
- Non-terminal children get full table rows with all columns
- Terminal children are collapsed into the `✓ N completed` line below the table. If 0 completed, omit the line. If more than 5 completed, show first 3 titles then `(+N more)`.
- The container header shows the short ID for user reference
- `<N open>` = queue + work + review + blocked children count
- **Children column:** If an item itself has children (detected from search results where other items have this item's ID as `parentId`), show a compact role summary using the format `N○ N◉ N⊘ N✓` (omit roles with zero count). If the item has no children, show `—`.
- Tags column: show tag value or `—` if none. When an item has traits, append them after the tag using a `▸` prefix with shortened trait names (strip `needs-` prefix). Example: `feature-task ▸migration-review` or `bug-fix ▸security`. If no tag but has traits, show `▸<trait-name>` only.
- Priority column: show `high`, `med`, `low`, or `—` if default/unset

**If a container itself is in work/review role**, prefix its header with the role symbol: `#### ◉ Tech Debt \`89d02e32\``

---

### Section 4: Standalone Items

Root items (depth 0) that have no children and are non-terminal. Omit section if none.

**Grouping strategy — adaptive, hierarchy-first:**

Items with a `parentId` are always shown under their container in Section 3 — hierarchy wins over tags. Standalone items (no parent) are grouped by tag in this section. This adapts to how the user organizes work:

- **Hierarchy users** (containers with children): most items appear in Section 3, few standalones here
- **Tag users** (flat items with schema tags, no containers): Section 3 is empty, this section becomes the primary view with tag-based groupings
- **Mixed users**: containers in Section 3, orphaned tagged items grouped here by tag

**Rendering rules:**

1. Collect all non-terminal root items with no children
2. Group them by tag value. Items with multiple tags: use the first tag. Items with no tag: group under "Uncategorized"
3. If only one tag group exists (or all items are uncategorized), render as a flat table without tag subheadings
4. If multiple tag groups exist, render each as a subheading with its own table

**Multi-group format:**
```
### Standalone Items

#### feature-implementation

| ID | Title | Status | Pri | Children |
|----|-------|--------|-----|----------|
| `xxxxxxxx` | <title> | ○ queue | med | — |

#### bug-fix

| ID | Title | Status | Pri | Children |
|----|-------|--------|-----|----------

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