Configurable Methodology

ido4 is methodology-agnostic. The governance engine reads methodology profiles that define everything: states, transitions, containers, integrity rules, validation pipelines, principles, and compliance scoring. Three built-in profiles ship with ido4, and teams can create custom profiles through inheritance.

Built-in Profiles

Profile	ID	Tools	Key Feature
Hydro	`hydro`	58	Wave-based governance with epic integrity
Scrum	`scrum`	56	Sprint-based with type-scoped pipelines
Shape Up	`shape-up`	54	Fixed time, variable scope, circuit breaker

Select during initialization:

init_project({ mode: "create", repository: "org/repo", methodology: "scrum" })

This writes .ido4/methodology-profile.json:

{
  "id": "scrum",
  "extends": "scrum"
}

Profile Inheritance

Custom profiles extend a built-in profile and override only what they need:

{
  "extends": "hydro",
  "id": "my-enterprise-hydro",
  "name": "Enterprise Hydro",
  "pipelines": {
    "approve": {
      "steps": [
        "StatusTransitionValidation:DONE",
        "ApprovalRequirementValidation",
        "ContextCompletenessValidation",
        "PRReviewValidation:2",
        "TestCoverageValidation:90",
        "SecurityScanValidation",
        "ContainerIntegrityValidation:epic-wave-integrity"
      ]
    }
  }
}

This inherits everything from the Hydro profile but replaces the approve pipeline with a stricter version requiring 2 PR reviewers, 90% test coverage, and security scan clearance.

What Can Be Overridden

Section	Override Effect
`states`	Replace the entire state machine
`transitions`	Replace all transition definitions
`containers`	Replace container type definitions
`integrityRules`	Replace integrity rule set
`principles`	Replace principle definitions
`pipelines`	Override individual pipelines (merge with base)
`compliance`	Override lifecycle and weights
`behaviors`	Override closing transitions, block/return
`workItems`	Override work item types

Pipeline Override Behavior

Pipeline overrides are per-key — specifying "approve" in your custom profile replaces only the approve pipeline. All other pipelines inherit from the base profile.

What the Profile Controls

Dynamic Tool Generation

MCP tools are generated from the profile at server startup:

Transition tools from transitions (e.g., shape_task only exists for Shape Up)
Container tools from containers (e.g., list_waves for Hydro, list_sprints for Scrum)
The exact tool count depends on the profile

Dynamic Prompt Generation

Prompts use the profile’s terminology:

Hydro prompts reference Waves, Epics, and the 5 Principles
Scrum prompts reference Sprints, DoR/DoD, and Sprint Goals
Shape Up prompts reference Cycles, Bets, Appetite, and the Circuit Breaker

BRE Pipeline Assembly

The validation pipeline for each transition is assembled from the profile’s pipelines section. Steps are parameterized:

"start": {
  "steps": [
    "SourceStatusValidation:READY_FOR_DEV",
    "SpecCompletenessValidation",
    "StatusTransitionValidation:IN_PROGRESS",
    "DependencyValidation",
    "ContainerAssignmentValidation:wave",
    "ContainerSingularityValidation:wave",
    "AISuitabilityValidation",
    "RiskLevelValidation",
    "ContainerIntegrityValidation:epic-wave-integrity"
  ]
}

Compliance Scoring

Each profile defines its own compliance weights:

Category	Hydro	Scrum	Shape Up
BRE Pass Rate	40%	40%	35%
Quality Gates	20%	25%	25%
Process Adherence	20%	25%	20%
Container Integrity	10%	—	10%
Flow Efficiency	10%	10%	10%

Example: Enterprise Configurations

Strict Enterprise (Regulated Industry)

Maximum governance — every quality gate enforced:

{
  "extends": "hydro",
  "id": "enterprise-strict",
  "pipelines": {
    "start": {
      "steps": [
        "SourceStatusValidation:READY_FOR_DEV",
        "SpecCompletenessValidation",
        "StatusTransitionValidation:IN_PROGRESS",
        "DependencyValidation",
        "ContainerAssignmentValidation:wave",
        "ContainerSingularityValidation:wave",
        "AISuitabilityValidation",
        "RiskLevelValidation",
        "ContainerIntegrityValidation:epic-wave-integrity",
        "TaskLockValidation"
      ]
    },
    "approve": {
      "steps": [
        "StatusTransitionValidation:DONE",
        "ApprovalRequirementValidation",
        "ContextCompletenessValidation",
        "PRReviewValidation:2",
        "TestCoverageValidation:90",
        "SecurityScanValidation",
        "SubtaskCompletionValidation",
        "ContainerIntegrityValidation:epic-wave-integrity"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Lightweight Startup

Minimal governance — fast execution, basic guards:

{
  "extends": "scrum",
  "id": "startup-light",
  "pipelines": {
    "plan": {
      "steps": ["SourceStatusValidation:BACKLOG", "StatusTransitionValidation:SPRINT"]
    },
    "start": {
      "steps": ["SourceStatusValidation:SPRINT", "StatusTransitionValidation:IN_PROGRESS", "DependencyValidation"]
    },
    "approve": {
      "steps": ["StatusTransitionValidation:DONE"]
    }
  }
}

Shape Up with Mandatory Context

Shape Up with required completion context on every ship:

{
  "extends": "shape-up",
  "id": "shape-up-documented",
  "pipelines": {
    "ship": {
      "steps": [
        "StatusTransitionValidation:SHIPPED",
        "ApprovalRequirementValidation",
        "ContextCompletenessValidation",
        "PRReviewValidation:1"
      ]
    }
  }
}

34 Available Validation Steps

All steps are available for composition in custom profiles. See the Business Rule Engine documentation for the complete step reference with parameters.