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vt-c-6-operate

Phase 6 - Production operations including bug investigation and incident response. Shows available tools for handling production issues.

Plugin: core-standards
Category: Development Workflow
Command: /vt-c-6-operate

Phase 6: Operate - Production Operations

Handle production issues including bug investigation, incident response, and continuous improvement.

Workflow Position

/vt-c-0-start  →  /vt-c-1-bootstrap  →  /vt-c-2-plan  →  /vt-c-3-build  →  /vt-c-4-review  →  /vt-c-5-finalize  →  [ /vt-c-6-operate ]
                                                                                    ▲ YOU ARE HERE

Invocation

/vt-c-6-operate

Execution Instructions

Step 0: Check for Spec-Driven Mode

If .specify/ directory exists: 

✓ SpecKit detected - Spec-aware operations mode
• Bug investigations will reference spec requirements
• Fixes will be validated against constitution
• Spec drift will be tracked

If NO .specify/: 

Standard operations mode.

Step 1: Display Operations Menu

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Phase 6: Production Operations
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Your code is deployed! Here's how to handle production issues:

Available Operations:
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

1. BUG INVESTIGATION
   /vt-c-investigate-bug "Description of the bug"

   Uses bugfix-orchestrator to:
   • Search past solutions first
   • Reproduce the issue
   • Analyze git history for context
   • Find root cause
   • Guide fix implementation

2. INCIDENT RESPONSE
   /incident-response

   Uses incident-orchestrator for emergencies:
   • Severity assessment
   • Mitigation options (rollback/feature flag/hotfix)
   • Communication templates
   • Post-mortem process

3. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
   /vt-c-compound "Problem: X, Solution: Y"

   Document solved problems for future reference:
   • Adds to docs/solutions/
   • Detects patterns for critical-patterns.md
   • Builds institutional knowledge

4. KNOWLEDGE CONSOLIDATION
   /vt-c-consolidate

   Synthesize learnings into permanent docs:
   • Updates specs with new architecture
   • Creates ADRs from decisions
   • Improves PRD based on learnings

5. PRODUCTION HARDENING
   Related skills for production readiness:
   • /vt-c-error-monitoring — Integrate Sentry/DataDog/LogRocket
   • /vt-c-feature-flags — Progressive rollouts, kill switches
   • /vt-c-root-cause-tracing — Trace bugs backward through call stack

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Step 2: Ask What They Need

What do you need help with?

[ ] Investigate a bug
[ ] Handle an incident
[ ] Document a solved problem
[ ] Start a new feature (returns to /vt-c-2-plan)

Step 3: Route to Appropriate Tool

Based on user selection:

Bug Investigation: 

Starting bug investigation...

Describe the bug (symptoms, error messages, user report):
> [user input]

Running bugfix-orchestrator...
→ Invoke /vt-c-investigate-bug with their description

Incident Response: 

Starting incident response protocol...

Severity Level:
[1] Critical - System down, data at risk
[2] High - Major feature broken
[3] Medium - Degraded performance
[4] Low - Minor issue, workaround exists

Select severity: [user input]
→ Invoke /incident-response with severity

Document Solution: 

Documenting solved problem...

What was the problem?
> [user input]

What was the solution?
> [user input]

Running compound-docs...
→ Invoke /vt-c-compound with their input

New Feature: 

Starting new feature cycle...

Returning to Phase 2: Plan

/vt-c-2-plan "Your new feature description"

Bug Investigation Deep Dive

The bugfix-orchestrator follows this process:

1. Consult Past Solutions

Before investigating, searches: - docs/solutions/ for similar bugs - docs/solutions/patterns/critical-patterns.md - Journal entries for related issues

2. Reproduce

  • Uses bug-reproduction-validator agent
  • Creates minimal reproduction case
  • Identifies exact conditions

3. Analyze

  • git-history-analyzer checks for related changes
  • pattern-recognition-specialist looks for known issues
  • Root cause analysis

4. Fix & Document

  • Guides fix implementation
  • Returns to /vt-c-4-review for validation
  • Captures solution with /vt-c-compound

Incident Response Deep Dive

The incident-orchestrator handles emergencies:

Severity 1 - Critical

  • Immediate mitigation (rollback/disable)
  • All-hands communication
  • War room setup
  • Hourly updates

Severity 2 - High

  • Assess mitigation options
  • Stakeholder notification
  • Targeted fix or rollback
  • Post-mortem scheduled

Severity 3/4 - Medium/Low

  • Standard bug workflow
  • Normal communication
  • Scheduled fix

Spec-Aware Bug Investigation (When SpecKit Active)

If .specify/ exists, bug investigation includes:

Spec Reference Check

Bug Investigation - Spec Context:
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Checking if bug relates to spec requirements...

Related spec requirements:
• [Requirement that might be affected]
• [Requirement that defines expected behavior]

Expected behavior (from spec):
[What the spec says should happen]

Actual behavior (bug):
[What is happening]

Constitution-Aware Fixes

Fix Validation:
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Before applying fix, verifying constitution compliance...

[✓/⚠] Fix respects constitution principles

If violation:
⚠ Proposed fix violates: [constitution principle]
   Consider alternative approach: [suggestion]

Spec Drift Detection

Spec Drift Check:
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Does this bug indicate spec drift?

[YES] Spec says X, but code does Y
      → Update spec or fix code?

[NO] Bug is implementation error, spec is correct
     → Fix and validate

Continuous Learning Loop

Every bug fixed contributes to institutional knowledge:

Bug Fixed → /vt-c-compound documents solution
                    ↓
         docs/solutions/[category]/[solution].md
                    ↓
         Pattern detected? (3+ similar issues)
                    ↓
         Added to critical-patterns.md
                    ↓
         All orchestrators check patterns before work
                    ↓
         Future bugs caught faster or prevented

If SpecKit active, also: 

Bug Fixed → Check if spec needs update
                    ↓
         Update specs/[N]-feature/spec.md if needed
                    ↓
         Spec stays in sync with reality

Cycle Completion

When done with operations:

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Development Cycle
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The workflow cycle:

/vt-c-0-start → /vt-c-1-bootstrap → /vt-c-2-plan → /vt-c-3-build → /vt-c-4-review → /vt-c-5-finalize → /vt-c-6-operate
                              ↑                                              │
                              └──────────── new features ──────────────────┘

For new features: /vt-c-2-plan "New feature description"
For maintenance: Stay in /vt-c-6-operate

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