Pmstudio Changelog

Change Log — Running Product Change Record

Purpose

Maintains a chronological, append-only record of all meaningful changes to a product. Unlike CLAUDE.local.md (which is AI context), the change log is a stakeholder-facing document suitable for sharing with leadership, auditors, and team members.

Process

Step 1: Determine Mode

• /change-log init — Create new change log, backfill from CLAUDE.local.md
• /change-log update — Find changes since last entry, propose new entries
• /change-log release {version} — Create release summary from accumulated entries
• /change-log (no args) — Same as update

Step 2: Read Context

Always read:

• CLAUDE.local.md — Recent Changes section (primary source of truth for what changed)
• Existing change log file (if update or release mode)

For init mode, also read:

• Meeting-Notes/ directory listing — to identify decision-bearing meetings
• PRD/ — version history sections
• .sync-watch.json — project name

For update mode:

• Find the date of the last change log entry
• Read any Meeting-Notes/ files dated after that
• Read CLAUDE.local.md Recent Changes entries dated after that

Step 3: Extract Changes

For each source, extract structured change data:

- Date: YYYY-MM-DD
- Summary: one-line description
- Type: Feature | Enhancement | Bug Fix | Configuration | Process | Security | Documentation
- Impact: High | Medium | Low
- Components: which modules/layers/documents were affected
- Author: who made or requested the change
- Approved By: who approved (if known from meeting notes)
- Details: bullet list of specific changes
- Rationale: why the change was made
- Downstream: what else was updated as a result

Impact classification:

• High — Changes product behavior, affects users, or modifies architecture
• Medium — Updates documentation, adds stakeholders, changes processes
• Low — Minor fixes, formatting, internal-only changes

Step 4: Propose Entries (update/init)

Present proposed entries to user before writing:

## Proposed Change Log Entries

### [2026-03-17] PRD v0.9 — User Journey Sections
**Type:** Enhancement | **Impact:** High
**Components:** ProductB PRD, ProductB PRD Presentation
- Added Current User Journey (6-step timeline)
- Added Future User Journey (3-layer cascading)
- Renumbered all sections (19 total)

Accept? [Y/n] or modify?

Step 5: Write

File location: Data/Change-Log-{ProjectName}.md

File structure:

# Change Log — {Product Name}

> Running record of all changes. Newest entries first.
> Generated and maintained via `/change-log` skill.

Last updated: {date}
Total entries: {count}

---

## [YYYY-MM-DD] v{X.Y} — {Summary}

**Type:** {type} | **Impact:** {impact}
**Components:** {affected components}
**Author:** {name} | **Approved By:** {name or "—"}

### Changes
- {specific change 1}
- {specific change 2}

### Rationale
- {why this change was made}

### Downstream Effects
- {what else was updated}

---

## [YYYY-MM-DD] ...

For release mode:

Collect all entries since the last release entry (or all entries if first release). Produce a summary:

## Release: v{version} — {date}

### Summary
{2-3 sentence overview of what this release includes}

### Changes Included
| Date | Type | Summary | Impact |
|------|------|---------|--------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

### Highlights
- {Most important change}
- {Second most important}

### Known Issues
- {Any caveats}

Critical Rules

• Append-only. Never modify existing entries. Only add new ones at the top.
• Propose before writing. Always show the user what entries will be added.
• Don't duplicate. Check existing entries before proposing. If a change is already logged, skip it.
• Real content only. Don't log trivial changes (typo fixes, formatting) unless the user specifically asks.
• Dates from sources. Use the date from CLAUDE.local.md or meeting notes, not today's date, for the change date. Today's date is for entries about changes made today.