Bug: Research document ships with visible template artifact

[phammann]

Description

The shared research template (research.template.md) contains a placeholder on line 25 reading [Research overview and methodology will be appended here] within the ## Research Overview section. The final synthesis step (step-06) in each research workflow type appends its content (executive summary, TOC, methodology) to the bottom of the document but never replaces this placeholder at the top. The completed research document ships with a visible template artifact in the Research Overview section.

Steps to reproduce

1. Activate the analyst agent
2. Run any research workflow (Market, Domain, or Technical)
3. Complete all steps through step-06 (synthesis/completion), selecting [C] at each step
4. Open the final output document in {planning_artifacts}/research/
5. Observe that the ## Research Overview section near the top of the document still contains the literal text [Research overview and methodology will be appended here]

Expected behavior

The synthesis step (step-06) replaces the template placeholder with a proper research overview summarizing scope, key findings, and methodology -- or the template structure is designed so no placeholder survives into the final document.

Actual behavior

The placeholder text [Research overview and methodology will be appended here] persists verbatim in the completed document. Step-06 generates the overview/summary content but appends it to the end of the document rather than replacing the placeholder at the top.

Screenshots

No response

Which module is this for?

BMad Method (BMM) - Core Framework

BMad Version

6.0.0-Beta.8

Which AI IDE are you using?

Claude Code

Operating System

macOS

Relevant log output

Confirm

• I've searched for existing issues
• I'm using the latest version

[coderabbitai]

🔗 Related PRs

#1486 - fix: complete sharding of market research customer analysis steps [merged]
#1556 - refactor: consolidate OpenCode templates and add support for tasks, tools, and workflows [merged]

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[phammann]

I've created my own fix (well, mostly BMAD did). It's too small for a PR so here's the diff:

diff --git a/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/domain-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md b/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/domain-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md
index 1c7db8c0..9e2261fb 100644
--- a/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/domain-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md
+++ b/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/domain-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md
@@ -373,6 +373,7 @@ _This comprehensive research document serves as an authoritative reference on {{

 #### If 'C' (Complete Research):

+- **Replace** the template placeholder `[Research overview and methodology will be appended here]` in the `## Research Overview` section near the top of the document with a concise 2-3 paragraph overview summarizing the research scope, key findings, and a pointer to the full executive summary in the Research Synthesis section
 - Append the complete document to the research file
 - Update frontmatter: `stepsCompleted: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]`
 - Complete the domain research workflow
@@ -380,7 +381,7 @@ _This comprehensive research document serves as an authoritative reference on {{

 ## APPEND TO DOCUMENT:

-When user selects 'C', append the complete comprehensive research document using the full structure above.
+When user selects 'C', append the complete comprehensive research document using the full structure above. Also replace the `[Research overview and methodology will be appended here]` placeholder in the Research Overview section at the top of the document.

 ## SUCCESS METRICS:

diff --git a/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/market-steps/step-06-research-completion.md b/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/market-steps/step-06-research-completion.md
index 42d7d7d9..0073b554 100644
--- a/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/market-steps/step-06-research-completion.md
+++ b/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/market-steps/step-06-research-completion.md
@@ -389,13 +389,14 @@ _This comprehensive market research document serves as an authoritative market r

 #### If 'C' (Complete Research):

+- **Replace** the template placeholder `[Research overview and methodology will be appended here]` in the `## Research Overview` section near the top of the document with a concise 2-3 paragraph overview summarizing the research scope, key findings, and a pointer to the full executive summary in the Research Synthesis section
 - Append the final content to the research document
 - Update frontmatter: `stepsCompleted: [1, 2, 3, 4]`
 - Complete the market research workflow

 ## APPEND TO DOCUMENT:

-When user selects 'C', append the content directly to the research document using the structure from step 4.
+When user selects 'C', append the content directly to the research document using the structure from step 4. Also replace the `[Research overview and methodology will be appended here]` placeholder in the Research Overview section at the top of the document.

 ## SUCCESS METRICS:

diff --git a/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/technical-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md b/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/technical-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md
index 27331f66..96852cb1 100644
--- a/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/technical-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md
+++ b/src/bmm/workflows/1-analysis/research/technical-steps/step-06-research-synthesis.md
@@ -416,6 +416,7 @@ _This comprehensive technical research document serves as an authoritative techn

 #### If 'C' (Complete Research):

+- **Replace** the template placeholder `[Research overview and methodology will be appended here]` in the `## Research Overview` section near the top of the document with a concise 2-3 paragraph overview summarizing the research scope, key findings, and a pointer to the full executive summary in the Research Synthesis section
 - Append the complete technical document to the research file
 - Update frontmatter: `stepsCompleted: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]`
 - Complete the technical research workflow
@@ -423,7 +424,7 @@ _This comprehensive technical research document serves as an authoritative techn

 ## APPEND TO DOCUMENT:

-When user selects 'C', append the complete comprehensive technical research document using the full structure above.
+When user selects 'C', append the complete comprehensive technical research document using the full structure above. Also replace the `[Research overview and methodology will be appended here]` placeholder in the Research Overview section at the top of the document.

 ## SUCCESS METRICS: