| name | grill-with-docs |
| description | Grilling session that challenges your plan against the existing domain model, sharpens terminology, and updates documentation (CONTEXT.md, ADRs) inline as decisions crystallise. Use when user wants to stress-test a plan against their project's language and documented decisions. |
Source: mattpocock/skills - engineering/grill-with-docs
Interview me relentlessly about every aspect of this plan until we reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer.
Ask the questions one at a time, waiting for feedback on each question before continuing.
If a question can be answered by exploring the codebase, explore the codebase instead.
Domain awareness
During codebase exploration, also look for existing documentation:
File structure
Most repos have a single context:
/
├── CONTEXT.md
├── docs/
│ └── adr/
│ ├── 0001-event-sourced-orders.md
│ └── 0002-postgres-for-write-model.md
└── src/
If a CONTEXT-MAP.md exists at the root, the repo has multiple contexts. The map points to where each one lives:
/
├── CONTEXT-MAP.md
├── docs/
│ └── adr/ ← system-wide decisions
├── src/
│ ├── ordering/
│ │ ├── CONTEXT.md
│ │ └── docs/adr/ ← context-specific decisions
│ └── billing/
│ ├── CONTEXT.md
│ └── docs/adr/
Create files lazily - only when you have something to write. If no CONTEXT.md exists, create one when the first term is resolved. If no docs/adr/ exists, create it when the first ADR is needed.
During the session
Challenge against the glossary
When the user uses a term that conflicts with the existing language in CONTEXT.md, call it out immediately. "Your glossary defines 'cancellation' as X, but you seem to mean Y - which is it?"
Sharpen fuzzy language
When the user uses vague or overloaded terms, propose a precise canonical term. "You're saying 'account' - do you mean the Customer or the User? Those are different things."
Discuss concrete scenarios
When domain relationships are being discussed, stress-test them with specific scenarios. Invent scenarios that probe edge cases and force the user to be precise about the boundaries between concepts.
Cross-reference with code
When the user states how something works, check whether the code agrees. If you find a contradiction, surface it: "Your code cancels entire Orders, but you just said partial cancellation is possible - which is right?"
Update CONTEXT.md inline
When a term is resolved, update CONTEXT.md right there. Don't batch these up - capture them as they happen. Use the format in CONTEXT-FORMAT.md.
Don't couple CONTEXT.md to implementation details. Only include terms that are meaningful to domain experts.
Offer ADRs sparingly
why-not-mechanizable: skill workflow guidance; each step requires understanding the surrounding context (repo, task shape, prior state).
Only offer to create an ADR when all three are true:
- Hard to reverse - the cost of changing your mind later is meaningful
(review-time: see section note)
- Surprising without context - a future reader will wonder "why did they do it this way?"
(review-time: see section note)
- The result of a real trade-off - there were genuine alternatives and you picked one for specific reasons
(review-time: see section note)
If any of the three is missing, skip the ADR. Use the format in ADR-FORMAT.md.
Panel grilling (optional)
For a plan with genuine cross-domain tension or competing approaches, convene a panel (see rules/parallel-agents.md) instead of grilling solo:
- Spawn domain-expert teammates via the Agent tool (route per
rules/agent-routing.md), each with a read-only brief and a distinct stance to argue (review-time: panel-vs-solo judgment)
- Have them debate the plan among themselves via SendMessage - the cross-talk between teammates surfaces contradictions and trade-offs you would miss solo
(review-time: protocol guidance)
- Distill their disagreement into the next question and put it to the user - keep the user-facing cadence to one question at a time per
rules/communication.md; the panel never messages the user directly (review-time: cadence discipline)
- Skip the panel for single-domain plans - solo grilling is cheaper and a panel adds nothing when there is nothing to contend
(review-time: panel-vs-solo judgment)
