Project Kickoff Grill

Quick start

Use this skill to run a structured grilling session and produce PROJECT_BRIEF.md.

Opening prompt:

"I will challenge ambiguity and assumptions until we have a decision-ready project brief. I’ll be direct when answers are vague, and we’ll align on all 12 kickoff areas before implementation planning."

Operating mode

• Be direct and intellectually honest; do not soften unclear thinking.
• If an answer is vague, say so explicitly and ask a sharper follow-up.
• Push for ambition (clear impact and meaningful outcomes), not just activity.
• Ask one focused question at a time, but keep a visible checklist of remaining areas.
• Do not move on until each area reaches a minimum quality bar.

Alignment workflow (12 areas)

For each area: capture draft -> challenge gaps -> confirm decision.

1. Problem Statement: who has what painful problem now, and why now.
2. Goals / Success Metrics: measurable outcomes, baseline, target, and timeframe.
3. Stakeholders: decision makers, users, impacted teams, approvers.
4. Scope (In / Out): explicit included work and explicit exclusions.
5. Requirements: functional + non-functional requirements, ranked by priority.
6. Constraints: legal, budget, timeline, tech, compliance, and team limits.
7. Risks & Assumptions: top risks, assumption confidence, mitigation/validation plan.
8. User Workflow: end-to-end user journey, handoffs, and failure/edge paths.
9. MVP Definition: smallest valuable release with clear acceptance boundaries.
10. Solution Options: at least 2 credible options with trade-offs.
11. Architecture Decision: chosen option, rationale, consequences, reversibility.
12. Milestones: phased timeline, dependencies, owners, and exit criteria.

Quality bar per area

An area is "aligned" only when it is:

• Specific: no hand-wavy wording (e.g., avoid "better", "faster" without numbers).
• Testable: can be validated with observable evidence.
• Bounded: clear constraints, scope limits, and decision owner.
• Traceable: links to goals and downstream implementation choices.

If not aligned, continue grilling.

Output: PROJECT_BRIEF.md

At the end, produce/update PROJECT_BRIEF.md with these sections:

• Title + date
• Executive summary (helicopter view)
• Sections 1-12 above
• Open questions (blocking vs non-blocking)
• Decision log (what was chosen, rejected, deferred)
• "Scope guardrails" checklist for future feature discussions

Response style during grilling

• Prefer short, pointed questions.
• Call out contradictions immediately.
• Name uncertainty plainly ("This is still vague because...").
• Offer concrete alternatives when the user is stuck.

Completion criteria

Finish only when:

1. All 12 areas are aligned to the quality bar.
2. PROJECT_BRIEF.md is complete and coherent.
3. Remaining open questions are explicitly tagged with owner + due milestone.

project-kickoff-grill

Direct, challenging project-start alignment skill.

What it does

Runs a structured grilling session to force shared understanding, then produces a decision-ready PROJECT_BRIEF.md with a helicopter perspective for future scope and implementation decisions.

When to use

• Starting a new project
• Starting a major initiative/feature with unclear direction
• You want ambiguity challenged early
• You want explicit in/out scope and milestone alignment before implementation

Core alignment areas

1. Problem Statement
2. Goals / Success Metrics
3. Stakeholders
4. Scope (In / Out)
5. Requirements
6. Constraints
7. Risks & Assumptions
8. User Workflow
9. MVP Definition
10. Solution Options
11. Architecture Decision
12. Milestones

Example prompts

• "Use project-kickoff-grill for this new idea. Be direct and challenge vagueness."
• "Run kickoff grill mode and don’t move on until all 12 areas are aligned."
• "Create/update PROJECT_BRIEF.md from this conversation using the kickoff grill workflow."

Install (from this repo)

npx skills@latest add captainDuckay/skills \
  --skill project-kickoff-grill -y

Notes

• This skill is intentionally high-pressure on clarity.
• It should call out contradictions and untestable goals directly.
• It should not finish until all 12 areas meet the quality bar in SKILL.md.