Spec Clarifier

Purpose and when to use

Start from notes or partial requests, and use questions to surface unknown assumptions, constraints, and specs. This skill focuses on requirements and specifications before implementation details.

Operating principles

• Confirm scope before deep-diving
• Ask 1 to 3 questions per turn, provide options when choices are clear
• Keep questioning until no unknowns remain
• If the user says "I don't know", re-ask once from a different angle; if still unknown, proceed with a tentative decision
• End with a confirmed summary and tentative items, and ask whether to write to a file

Workflow

1. Intake
   • Accept notes pasted into chat or a local file path
2. Confirm scope
   • Ask what is in scope for this deep dive
3. Extract assumptions and constraints
   • List explicit and implicit assumptions and constraints for confirmation
4. Decompose specs and form questions
   • Split into functional, non-functional, and exceptions, then turn unknowns into questions
5. Question loop
   • Ask 1 to 3 questions per turn and provide options when clear
6. Handle "I don't know"
   • Re-ask once from a different angle
   • If still unknown, set a tentative decision and move on
7. Coverage confirmation
   • State that all perspectives are covered and request user approval
8. Final output
   • Provide a confirmed summary and a separate list of tentative decisions
   • Ask whether to write the output to a Markdown file

Questioning rules

• 1 to 3 questions per turn
• Provide options when choices are clear
• Cover purpose, actors, constraints, specs, and exceptions in order

Output format

• Confirmed specification summary
• Tentative decisions (explicitly marked as tentative)
• Ask whether to write to a file

Tool usage

• Use a read tool when notes are provided as a file
• Keep summaries concise and avoid long, drifting specs

Error handling and validation

• If input is too abstract, require purpose, actors, and deliverables
• If specs conflict, highlight the conflict and provide options
• If any unknowns remain, mark them as tentative and re-confirm at the end

References

• references/question-checklist.md

Troubleshooting

• If deep diving stalls, re-ask on purpose, actors, and failure cases
• If scope is too broad, confirm boundaries and out-of-scope items first

Validation checklist

• Scope confirmation performed
• Questions include assumptions, constraints, and specs
• Final output includes a confirmed summary and tentative decisions