pmf-status

name	pmf-status
description	Show current PMF project status and recommend next action. This skill should be used when checking where you are in the PMF workflow or deciding what to do next.

PMF Status

This skill provides a quick overview of your current PMF validation state and recommends the next skill to run in the workflow.

Purpose

Display current status showing:

1. Which PMF workflow stage you're in (Hypothesis → Broad Validation → Targeted Validation → Measurement)
2. What artifacts exist (narrative version, research files, interview count, etc.)
3. Overall confidence level and riskiest dimension
4. Specific next recommended action

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Starting a PMF session and need to know where you left off
• Completed a skill and want to confirm next step
• Have multiple PMF projects and need to check status of one
• Want to see progress overview before presenting to stakeholders

Always safe to use - this is a read-only skill that won't modify anything.

Workflow

Phase 1: Locate PMF Project

1. Search for PMF projects:

   Use Glob: **/pmf-*/pmf-narrative.md
   

2. If multiple projects found: Use AskUserQuestion to select which project to show status for

3. If no projects found: Display: "No PMF projects found. Run /pmf-hypothesis-builder to create one."

Phase 2: Detect Workflow State

Read and analyze project folder to determine state:

Artifacts to check:

• pmf-narrative.md (exists? which version?)
• validation/market-research-synthesis.md (exists?)
• validation/expert-notes.md (exists?)
• validation/risk-prioritization.md (exists?)
• interviews/ (how many debrief files?)
• validation/interview-synthesis.md (exists?)
• validation/targeted-validation-plan.md (exists?)
• measurement/pmf-metrics.md (exists?)

Workflow stages (determined by artifacts):

1. Stage 0: No project

   • Artifacts: None
   • Status: "Not started"
   • Next: /pmf-hypothesis-builder

2. Stage 1: Initial Hypothesis

   • Artifacts: pmf-narrative.md V1 only
   • Status: "Hypothesis created, broad validation not started"
   • Next: /pmf-market-research

3. Stage 2A: Market Research In Progress

   • Artifacts: V1 + market-research-synthesis.md
   • Status: "Market research complete, synthesis pending"
   • Next: "Conduct expert calls (optional), then run /pmf-research-synthesis"

4. Stage 2B: Broad Validation Complete

   • Artifacts: V1 + market-research + risk-prioritization + pmf-narrative V2
   • Status: "Broad validation complete, riskiest dimension identified"
   • Next: Check confidence → interview prep or targeted validation

5. Stage 3A: PMF Interviews In Progress

   • Artifacts: V2 + interviews/debrief-*.md files
   • Status: "Conducted {count} PMF interviews, {X} remaining for 30-50 target"
   • Next: "Continue interviews, then run /pmf-interview-synthesis"

6. Stage 3B: Interviews Complete, Synthesis Pending

   • Artifacts: V2 + 30+ debrief files, no interview-synthesis.md
   • Status: "Interviews complete, ready for synthesis"
   • Next: /pmf-interview-synthesis

7. Stage 3C: Ready for Targeted Validation

   • Artifacts: V3 (post-interviews) + riskiest dimension confirmed
   • Status: "PMF interviews complete, ready for targeted validation"
   • Next: /pmf-validation-planner

8. Stage 4: Targeted Validation In Progress

   • Artifacts: V3+ + targeted-validation-plan.md
   • Status: "Running {technique} to validate {dimension}"
   • Next: "Complete validation, then run /pmf-validation-results-analyzer"

9. Stage 5: Ready to Build & Measure

   • Artifacts: V4+ with all dimensions confidence >7
   • Status: "PMF hypothesis validated, ready to build MVP"

Phase 3: Read Key Metrics

From pmf-narrative.md, extract:

• Current version (V1, V2, V3, etc.)
• Last updated date
• Product name and type
• Overall confidence (average across 6 dimensions)
• Riskiest dimension
• Validation status table

From other files (if they exist):

• Number of analogs/antilogs found (from market-research-synthesis.md)
• Number of interviews conducted (count debrief files)
• Targeted validation technique used (from validation plan)

Phase 4: Display Status

Format output clearly:

# PMF Status: {Product Name}

**Stage**: {Stage name from above}
**Last updated**: {date from narrative}
**Overall confidence**: {average}/10
**Riskiest dimension**: {dimension} (Confidence: {score}/10)

## Current State

**PMF Narrative**: Version {V#}
**Artifacts present**:
- ✅ pmf-narrative.md (V{#})
- ✅/❌ validation/market-research-synthesis.md
- ✅/❌ validation/expert-notes.md
- ✅/❌ validation/risk-prioritization.md
- ✅/❌ interviews/{count} debrief files
- ✅/❌ validation/interview-synthesis.md
- ✅/❌ validation/targeted-validation-plan.md
- ✅/❌ measurement/pmf-metrics.md

## Progress by Dimension

| Dimension | Confidence | Status | Last Validated |
|-----------|------------|--------|----------------|
| Problem | {score}/10 | {✅ Validated / ⚠️ Needs validation / ❌ At risk} | {Stage where last updated} |
| Target Audience | {score}/10 | {status} | {stage} |
| Value Prop | {score}/10 | {status} | {stage} |
| Competitive Advantage | {score}/10 | {status} | {stage} |
| Growth Strategy | {score}/10 | {status} | {stage} |
| Business Model | {score}/10 | {status} | {stage} |

## Recommended Next Action

**Next skill**: `/pmf-{skill-name}`

**Why**: {1-2 sentence explanation of why this is the next step}

**Estimated time**: {time estimate for next skill}

**Prerequisites**: {Any manual work needed before running next skill}

Phase 5: Provide Context

After displaying status, optionally explain:

• If behind schedule: "Typical timeline is {X} weeks for this stage, you're at {Y} weeks"
• If stuck: "Confidence hasn't increased in {N} versions - consider expert calls or pivot"
• If ready to proceed: "All prerequisites met, can run next skill immediately"

Tips for Status Interpretation

Confidence score trends:

• Increasing (V1: 5 → V2: 7): Good, evidence validates hypothesis
• Flat (V1: 5 → V2: 5): Needs more validation, or consider pivot
• Decreasing (V1: 6 → V2: 4): Evidence contradicts hypothesis, pivot likely needed

Workflow bottlenecks:

• Stuck at market research: Need expert calls or deeper analog research
• Stuck at interviews: Need more participants or better screener questions
• Stuck at targeted validation: Validation technique not yielding clear results

When to skip ahead:

• High confidence (8+) across all dimensions after broad validation → Skip interviews, go straight to MVP
• Established org with existing product → Skip early stages, start at measurement

Quality Checks

Status display should:

1. Clearly state current stage in workflow
2. Show which artifacts exist vs. missing
3. Recommend specific next skill (not vague "continue validation")
4. Provide confidence scores for all 6 dimensions
5. Highlight riskiest dimension
6. Estimate time for next step

Example Status Output

# PMF Status: TaskMaster Pro

**Stage**: Broad Validation Complete
**Last updated**: 2026-01-20
**Overall confidence**: 6.2/10 → 7.0/10 (+0.8)
**Riskiest dimension**: Growth Strategy (Confidence: 5/10)

## Current State

**PMF Narrative**: Version V2 (Post-market research & expert advice)
**Artifacts present**:
- ✅ pmf-narrative.md (V2)
- ✅ validation/market-research-synthesis.md (38 analogs, 15 antilogs)
- ✅ validation/expert-notes.md (3 expert calls documented)
- ✅ validation/risk-prioritization.md
- ❌ interviews/ (0 interviews conducted)

## Progress by Dimension

| Dimension | Confidence | Status | Last Validated |
|-----------|------------|--------|----------------|
| Problem | 8/10 | ✅ Validated | Market research (V2) |
| Target Audience | 7/10 | ✅ Validated | Expert advice (V2) |
| Value Prop | 7/10 | ✅ Validated | Market research (V2) |
| Competitive Advantage | 6/10 | ⚠️ Needs validation | Market research (V2) |
| Growth Strategy | 5/10 | ⚠️ Needs validation (RISKIEST) | Expert advice (V2) |
| Business Model | 8/10 | ✅ Validated | Market research (V2) |

## Recommended Next Action

**Next skill**: `/pmf-interview-prep`

**Why**: Broad validation complete with moderate overall confidence (7.0/10). PMF interviews will validate all dimensions with target customers and confirm Growth Strategy is truly the riskiest before investing in targeted validation.

**Estimated time**: 30 min to prepare script + 3-4 weeks to conduct 30-50 interviews

**Prerequisites**: None - ready to proceed immediately

This status skill provides quick navigation and awareness of where you are in the PMF workflow.