Interview Skill

Conduct a detailed interview about a plan to extract comprehensive requirements and produce a specification.

Purpose

Plans often contain assumptions, ambiguities, and unexplored edge cases. This skill systematically interviews the user to:

Clarify ambiguities - What did you really mean?
Uncover assumptions - What are you taking for granted?
Explore edge cases - What happens when X goes wrong?
Validate priorities - What's truly important vs nice-to-have?
Surface constraints - What are the real limitations?

Usage

/interview path/to/plan.md

Or invoke directly:

interview path/to/plan.md

Interview Process

Step 1: Read and Analyze the Plan

Read the plan file provided as $ARGUMENTS (or $1):

Read the plan file at: $ARGUMENTS

Analyze the plan for:

Core objectives - What is this trying to achieve?
Technical components - What systems/technologies are involved?
User-facing aspects - What will users see/interact with?
Dependencies - What does this rely on?
Gaps - What's missing or underspecified?

Step 2: Conduct the Interview

Use the AskUserQuestion tool (or equivalent) to ask probing questions. Interview categories:

Technical Implementation

Architecture choices and trade-offs
Performance requirements and constraints
Security considerations
Error handling strategies
Integration points

UI & UX (if applicable)

User flows and journeys
Edge cases in user interaction
Accessibility requirements
Responsive/mobile considerations

Business & Product

Success metrics
Priority of features
MVP vs future scope
Stakeholder concerns

Concerns & Risks

Known risks and mitigations
Dependencies on external systems/teams
Timeline constraints
Technical debt considerations

Trade-offs

What would you sacrifice for speed?
What's non-negotiable?
Build vs buy decisions
Complexity vs maintainability

Step 3: Question Guidelines

DO ask questions that are:

Specific and actionable
Non-obvious (not answerable by reading the plan)
Exploratory of edge cases
Challenging to assumptions
Focused on trade-offs and priorities

DON'T ask questions that are:

Already answered in the plan
Yes/no without follow-up
Too abstract to be actionable
Trivial or obvious

Step 4: Iterative Deep-Dive

Continue the interview iteratively:

Ask 2-4 questions per round (use multiSelect if appropriate)
Analyze responses for follow-up opportunities
Go deeper on areas of uncertainty or complexity
Continue until all major areas are covered

Completion Criteria:

All core technical decisions clarified
Edge cases identified and addressed
Priorities clearly established
Constraints documented
No remaining ambiguities in scope

Step 5: Generate Specification

Once the interview is complete, write a comprehensive specification to the same directory as the plan:

Output file: {plan-file-basename}-spec.md

Example: project-plan.md → project-plan-spec.md

Specification Template

# Specification: {Project/Feature Name}

**Generated from:** {plan file path}
**Interview date:** {current date}
**Version:** 1.0

## Executive Summary

{2-3 sentence summary of what this specification covers}

## Objectives

### Primary Goals
- {Goal 1}
- {Goal 2}

### Success Metrics
- {Metric 1}
- {Metric 2}

## Scope

### In Scope
- {Item 1}
- {Item 2}

### Out of Scope
- {Item 1}
- {Item 2}

### Future Considerations
- {Item 1}

## Technical Requirements

### Architecture
{Architecture decisions and rationale}

### Components
| Component | Purpose | Technology |
|-----------|---------|------------|
| {name} | {purpose} | {tech} |

### Integrations
- {System 1}: {How it integrates}

### Performance Requirements
- {Requirement 1}

### Security Requirements
- {Requirement 1}

## User Experience (if applicable)

### User Flows
1. {Flow name}: {Description}

### Edge Cases
| Scenario | Expected Behavior |
|----------|-------------------|
| {scenario} | {behavior} |

## Constraints & Dependencies

### Technical Constraints
- {Constraint 1}

### External Dependencies
- {Dependency 1}

### Timeline Constraints
- {Constraint 1}

## Risks & Mitigations

| Risk | Impact | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|------|--------|------------|------------|
| {risk} | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | {mitigation} |

## Decisions Made

### Key Trade-offs
- **Decision:** {What was decided}
- **Alternatives considered:** {What else was considered}
- **Rationale:** {Why this choice}

### Deferred Decisions
- {Decision 1}: {Why deferred}

## Implementation Notes

### Priority Order
1. {Highest priority item}
2. {Second priority}

### Technical Debt Accepted
- {Item 1}: {Justification}

## Open Questions

- [ ] {Any remaining questions}

---

*This specification was generated through systematic interview of the plan author.*

Example Session

Plan excerpt:

"Build a user authentication system with OAuth support"

Interview questions:

"Which OAuth providers need to be supported? (Google, GitHub, Apple, etc.) Are there any that are must-haves vs nice-to-haves?"
"What should happen if a user tries to link an OAuth account that's already connected to a different user? Should accounts be mergeable?"
"Are there specific session timeout requirements? Should sessions persist across browser restarts?"
"What level of audit logging is required for authentication events? Compliance requirements?"

Portability Notes

Claude Code

Uses AskUserQuestion tool with questions array supporting multiSelect.

Codex (OpenAI)

Uses equivalent questioning mechanism. Adapt tool calls as needed for the specific Codex interface.

Generic LLMs

Can be adapted to use standard prompting with explicit "please answer these questions" format if no native questioning tool is available.

Tips for Best Results

Provide a detailed plan - The more context in the plan, the better the questions
Answer thoroughly - Detailed answers lead to better follow-up questions
Flag uncertainty - Say "I'm not sure" and the interview will explore that area
Mention constraints early - Timeline, budget, team size affect many decisions
Be honest about scope - Clearly distinguish MVP from future phases

interview