Work Orders
Create structured, traceable implementation tasks grounded in requirements and blueprints.
Work Orders are structured, traceable tasks that move the system toward the target state defined in your requirements and Blueprints. Each Work Order brings together everything a contributor needs to execute:
| Part | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Core metadata | ID, title, status, assignees, and phase |
| Description | Purpose, acceptance criteria, and out-of-scope boundaries |
| Context | Concrete links to upstream Requirements and Blueprints |
| Implementation plan | An optional file-level outline for engineering work |
| Activity | A chronological history of changes, comments, and attachments |
Getting started
Configure Work Order settings
Before creating tasks, configure the planning structure so downstream behavior matches your team's expectations.
Set the Work Order extraction strategy:
- Choose a default extraction style, such as feature-slice or specialist-oriented.
- Optionally give the agent custom instructions for breaking Blueprints into tasks.
- These settings control subsequent Extract Work Orders operations.
This upfront configuration keeps future Work Orders, phases, and agent-driven planning consistent.
Create your first Work Orders
There are two main approaches.
Extract from Blueprints
- Run Extract Work Orders.
- The agent reads relevant Blueprints and Requirements, applies your extraction strategy, and proposes Work Orders for review.
Created Work Orders appear in the table view, where you can search, filter, and open details.
Manage phases and execution order
Assign phases
- Use the table's Phase column to set or change a phase.
- Group by Phase to see collapsible sections and phase ranges.
- When many items are unassigned, use the agent's Phase Planning action to propose a plan and apply it after confirmation.
Sequence work with drag and drop
When the table is grouped by Phase:
- Drag within a phase to change execution priority.
- Drag into another phase to reassign and position the Work Order in that phase.
Refine the plan with filters and search
- Filter by assignee, status, phase, Type, Requirements, or Blueprint.
- Search by title to locate an item before moving or resequencing it.
This becomes the core planning loop: create or extract Work Orders, place them into phases, and order them so the team knows what comes next.
MCP connections
Software Factory integrates with external development tools through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Developers can interact with Work Orders from their local environment and reduce context switching between planning and implementation.
What MCP enables
Connected development tools receive secure, project-scoped access for:
- Listing Work Orders assigned to the developer
- Reading descriptions and implementation plans
- Updating status, such as moving a task to In Review
- Following the current phase and execution order without leaving the editor
Connect your development environment
Open MCP setup
In the Work Orders table, select MCP.
Configure your coding agent
Follow its setup instructions. Some agents support one-click installation;
others provide JSON to add to your project's .mcp.json.
Finish setup
After installing or copying the configuration, select Completed to close the dialog.
Software Factory tools become available after your coding agent loads the MCP configuration.
Work with Software Factory through MCP
After connecting, developers can:
- Query assigned Work Orders in the Ready state.
- Search Requirements, Blueprints, and Knowledge Base files for additional context.
- Update Work Order status as development progresses.
Changes appear immediately in Software Factory, keeping the project plan current.
Agent capabilities
The agent can create and edit Work Orders, proposing titles, descriptions, assignees, statuses, and phases. It can also batch-edit multiple Work Orders—for example, moving a selected group to Phase 2 and setting them to Ready.
Synchronizing Work Orders
Background agents monitor Blueprints for significant changes. When Blueprint sections change after Work Orders have been created, an alert identifies the affected tasks and offers Update Work Orders to synchronize them.
Best practices
- Configure phase cadence and extraction strategies in Settings → Modules → Work Orders. Treat those settings as the contract between Blueprints and execution.
- Ground every task in upstream Requirements or Blueprints by adding links from the Context section's search control.
- Include the extraction template's required sections: Summary, In Scope, Out of Scope, Related Requirements, and Relevant Blueprint References.
- Keep implementation plans specific enough to unblock development, but focus on files, key changes, and integration points rather than mirroring every line of code.
- Use agent actions for extraction, bulk updates, and phase planning while reserving judgment calls for people.
- Respond to alerts and synchronize regularly so drift does not accumulate.