--- name: regulatory-to-product-requirements-translator description: "Converts regulatory text, statutes, or compliance briefs into a structured requirements package: parsed obligations, functional and non-functional requirements, Gherkin-style acceptance criteria, an evidence/audit-trail plan, and a traceability matrix mapping every requirement back to its source clause. Use when translating a new regulation, rule change, audit finding, or compliance brief into buildable product requirements for engineering." argument-hint: "[regulation-source] [product-area]" allowed-tools: ["Read"] --- # Regulatory-to-Product Requirements Translator ## Purpose Turn dense regulatory language into a build-ready requirements package — obligations parsed, requirements written in engineering-usable form, acceptance criteria testable, and every requirement traced back to the exact clause that mandates it — so product and engineering can ship compliant features and defend every decision in an audit. ## When to Use Invoke this skill when the user asks to: - Translate a new regulation, statute, or rule (e.g., GDPR article, HIPAA provision, PCI-DSS requirement, KYC/AML guidance) into product requirements - Convert a compliance team's brief or legal memo into engineering-ready tickets - Turn an audit finding or regulator remediation notice into a scoped requirements set - Build acceptance criteria and test cases that prove a feature satisfies a regulatory obligation - Create a traceability matrix mapping features back to regulatory sources for an upcoming audit - Scope a compliance-driven change and separate "must-build" obligations from "should-consider" guidance ## Inputs Required Before starting, collect: - **Regulatory source**: The regulation name, jurisdiction, and the specific text, article numbers, or clauses (pasted text preferred; a citation is acceptable) - **Product area affected**: The feature, flow, or system the regulation touches (e.g., onboarding, payments, data retention, patient records) - **Existing product context**: What the product currently does in this area, if anything, and the tech stack constraints - **Effective date / deadline**: When compliance is required, if known - **Compliance interpretation**: Any position already taken by legal/compliance on ambiguous clauses - **Scope boundary**: Which user types, regions, or data categories are in or out of scope If a compliance interpretation is not provided for an ambiguous clause, flag it explicitly as an open interpretation question rather than guessing. ## Instructions ### Step 1: Parse and Classify Obligations Break the source text into discrete, atomic obligations. For each one, extract: - **Source clause**: The exact article/section number and a short verbatim quote - **Obligation type**: Mandatory ("must/shall") / Conditional ("if X then Y") / Prohibitive ("must not") / Discretionary ("should/may") - **Trigger**: The event or condition that activates the obligation (e.g., "user requests data deletion," "transaction exceeds threshold") - **Actor**: Who or what must perform (the system, the user, an admin, a third party) - **Deadline / timing**: Any regulatory time limit (e.g., "within 30 days," "before account opening") Number each obligation (O1, O2, O3…) — these IDs anchor the traceability matrix. Flag every clause containing ambiguous language ("reasonable," "without undue delay," "appropriate measures") as an **interpretation dependency** requiring legal sign-off. ### Step 2: Derive Functional Requirements For each obligation, write one or more functional requirements the product must satisfy. Each requirement: - Uses the format: "The system shall [capability] when [trigger] so that [obligation satisfied]" - Is atomic (one testable behavior per requirement) - Carries a requirement ID (FR-1, FR-2…) and references its parent obligation ID - States the user-visible behavior AND the system-side behavior separately when they differ ### Step 3: Derive Non-Functional & Data Requirements Capture the requirements regulations frequently mandate but engineers miss: - **Data handling**: Retention periods, deletion, encryption at rest/in transit, residency/localization - **Access & audit**: Who can view/act, role restrictions, immutable logging of regulated actions - **Timing & SLAs**: Response deadlines the regulation imposes (deletion within N days, breach notification windows) - **Consent & disclosure**: Required notices, consent capture, and record of consent - **Recordkeeping**: What must be stored, for how long, and in what retrievable form Give each a non-functional requirement ID (NFR-1…) tied to its obligation. ### Step 4: Write Acceptance Criteria (Gherkin Format) For every functional requirement, write testable acceptance criteria in Given/When/Then form: ``` Scenario: [name] Given [precondition / state] When [trigger action] Then [expected system behavior] And [audit/log/timing assertion] ``` Include at least one **compliance-critical negative scenario** per obligation (e.g., what must NOT happen — the system must never retain data past the deletion deadline). Each scenario references its FR ID. ### Step 5: Define the Evidence & Audit-Trail Plan For each obligation, specify how compliance will be *proven* to an auditor: - **Artifact produced**: log entry, timestamped record, consent receipt, config setting, report - **Where it's stored** and **how it's retrieved** on demand - **Retention** of the evidence itself This is the difference between "we built it" and "we can prove it" — auditors ask for the latter. ### Step 6: Build the Traceability Matrix Produce a table mapping the full chain so nothing is orphaned: | Obligation ID | Source Clause | Requirement IDs | Acceptance Criteria | Evidence Artifact | Interpretation Dependency? | |---|---|---|---|---|---| Every obligation must appear. Every requirement must trace to an obligation. Flag any requirement with no clear source (scope creep) and any obligation with no requirement (compliance gap). ### Step 7: Surface Risks & Open Questions List the interpretation dependencies from Step 1 as explicit open questions for legal/compliance, each with: the ambiguous clause, why it's ambiguous, and the two or more reasonable readings and their differing product implications. Note any obligation whose deadline is at risk given the effective date. ## Output Format - **Structure**: Seven sections in sequence, with the traceability matrix as a table and acceptance criteria as fenced Gherkin blocks - **Length**: 1,000–1,500 words depending on obligation count - **Format**: Structured document — numbered obligations, ID-tagged requirement lists, Gherkin code blocks, one markdown table - **Sections**: Parsed Obligations → Functional Requirements → Non-Functional & Data Requirements → Acceptance Criteria → Evidence & Audit-Trail Plan → Traceability Matrix → Risks & Open Questions - **Tone**: Precise and audit-defensible — the voice of a product manager who has sat across from a regulator; no hand-waving on ambiguity, every claim traceable ## Quality Checklist Before delivering output, verify: - [ ] Every obligation carries a verbatim source quote and a clause reference — not a paraphrase - [ ] Every functional and non-functional requirement references a parent obligation ID (no orphaned requirements) - [ ] Every obligation maps to at least one requirement in the traceability matrix (no compliance gaps) - [ ] Each obligation has at least one negative/compliance-critical acceptance scenario - [ ] Ambiguous clauses are flagged as interpretation dependencies rather than silently resolved - [ ] Every regulatory deadline appears as a timing requirement or SLA, not just prose - [ ] The evidence plan names a concrete, retrievable artifact for each obligation ## Notes - The most common failure mode is translating what a regulation *says* without capturing how compliance will be *proven* — the evidence plan is not optional in a regulated build. - Discretionary "should/may" clauses are not requirements by default; list them separately as recommendations so they don't inflate scope, but flag any that legal has elevated to mandatory internally. - When a clause is genuinely ambiguous, do not pick a reading to look decisive — the audit-defensible move is to present the interpretations and route the decision to legal. - Recommended workflow: deliver this package, resolve interpretation dependencies with compliance, then hand the FR/NFR IDs and Gherkin criteria directly to engineering as ticket bodies. --- ## How to use this skill This file is a Claude Code skill in [Anthropic's standard format](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills) — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top. **Installing in Claude Code:** - `~/.claude/skills//SKILL.md` — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects) - `/.claude/skills//SKILL.md` — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills) Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register. **Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:** 1. 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