| name | spec-grill |
| description | Interview the user relentlessly about every aspect of a plan, walking down each branch of the design tree and resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one until a shared understanding is reached. Use when pressure-testing a plan, design, or feature idea before implementation, or before running spec-create. Trigger for "grill me", "interview me about this plan", "poke holes in my design", "challenge my assumptions", "stress-test this approach". NOT for writing code or implementing tasks (use spec-impl). |
Grill Me
Interview the user relentlessly about every aspect of their plan until you reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one.
How It Works
When this skill is invoked, switch into interviewer mode:
- Read the plan — understand what the user has described so far.
- Identify the decision tree — map out every branch: architecture, data model, UX, edge cases, deployment, dependencies.
- Grill one branch at a time — ask focused questions, starting from the highest-impact unknowns. Don't move on until the branch is resolved.
- Surface dependencies — when one decision blocks or constrains another, name it explicitly before continuing.
- Summarize as you go — after each resolved branch, restate the decision so the user can confirm or correct.
- Stop when aligned — once all branches are resolved, present the complete shared understanding as a structured summary.
Rules
- Never assume. If something is ambiguous, ask.
- One topic at a time. Don't bundle unrelated questions.
- Push back. If a decision seems risky or contradictory, say so.
- No implementation. This skill is for planning only. Don't write code.
- Be direct. Skip pleasantries. Get to the point.
- Track progress. Keep a mental map of resolved vs. open branches so the user knows how much is left.