RFC vs CR

Both a change request and an RFC live in the discovery backlog. The difference is what they are for.

Change request (CR)

A CR is a request to change behaviour. “Add data export.” “The sprint close cannot converge.” It states what should be different and why, carries a priority and a T-shirt size, and is ready to be refined into delivery work as soon as it is accepted.

Reach for a CR when the what is clear and the question is scheduling and sizing.

/sdlc-studio cr create

RFC

An RFC is a design exploration. It weighs options against each other before anything is committed - the problem, the alternatives with their trade-offs, and a recommendation. It is the place to think, so that the decision is recorded with the reasoning that produced it, not just the outcome.

Reach for an RFC when the how is genuinely open, or the decision is expensive to reverse.

/sdlc-studio rfc create

Both cross the same bridge

Whichever you file, it becomes delivery work the same way: refine decomposes it into sized epics and stories, and it reaches its terminal status only when those children are Done. A CR goes Complete; an RFC reaches its own terminal. Neither is closed by hand - both are derived from what shipped.

See also

• The two-backlog model - the discovery/delivery split both live in.