slide-quality-assessment

name	Slide Quality Assessment
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "analyze slide quality", "review slide", "check slide design", "optimize slide", "improve slide content", "assess slide clarity", or needs evidence-based quality evaluation using the 12-point checklist for presentation slides.
version	0.1.0

Slide Quality Assessment

Evaluate presentation slides using evidence-based quality criteria grounded in cognitive load research, accessibility standards, and presentation best practices from TED, MIT Communication Lab, and technical conference guidelines.

Research Foundation: Quality assessment based on working memory limits (Miller's Law), David JP Phillips' cognitive load studies, WCAG accessibility standards, and analysis of effective technical presentations.

IMPORTANT: Before analyzing slides, use the Read tool to load the style guide from the plugin directory:

${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/presentation-best-practices.md

This contains the complete research-backed guidelines and validation criteria supporting the 12-point checklist.

The 12-Point Quality Checklist

Use this systematic framework to evaluate any presentation slide:

1. ✓ One Idea Per Slide (CRITICAL)

Criterion: Does the slide communicate exactly ONE central idea, finding, or question?

Why this matters:

• Prevents cognitive overload
• Maintains audience focus during narration
• Enables clear narrative progression

How to assess:

• Can slide be explained in ~90 seconds?
• Does all content support only the title's assertion?
• Are there multiple unrelated concepts?

Red flags:

• ✗ Covering multiple independent topics
• ✗ Requires >2 minutes to explain
• ✗ Content diverges from title

Fix: Split into multiple slides, one concept each

---

2. ✓ Meaningful Title (CRITICAL)

Criterion: Is the title an assertion (subject + verb + finding) rather than a label?

Why this matters:

• Titles act as "topic sentences"
• Reading titles in sequence tells the story
• Helps distracted viewers catch up
• Audience should understand main point from title alone

Good vs Bad:

• ❌ Bad (labels): "Results", "Background", "Performance"
• ✅ Good (assertions): "Experiment X demonstrates 2x gain", "Current solutions fail at scale"

How to assess:

• Does title state a takeaway (not just a topic)?
• Subject + verb + finding format?
• Would titles in sequence tell a coherent story?

Fix: Convert labels to complete assertions

---

3. ✓ Element Count ≤6 (CRITICAL)

Criterion: Total distinct elements ≤6 (bullets + images + diagrams + charts + code blocks)

Why this matters:

• Working memory: 7±2 items (Miller's Law)

• 6 elements exponentially increases cognitive load (Phillips research)

• Audience cannot process >6 simultaneous information chunks

What counts as elements:

• Each bullet point = 1
• Each image/diagram = 1
• Each code block = 1
• Each chart/graph = 1
• Nested bullets count separately

Exceptions:

• Progressive builds (v-click) revealing elements incrementally = OK
• Diagrams with integrated labels (count as 1 if cohesive)

How to assess: Count all visual and textual chunks the audience must process simultaneously

Red flags:

• ✗ 8+ bullet points
• ✗ Multiple diagrams + bullets
• ✗ Dense content without progressive disclosure

Fix: Reduce elements, split slides, or use v-click for progressive builds

---

4. ✓ Word Count <50 (CRITICAL)

Criterion: Body text <50 words (excluding title)

Why this matters:

• Audience cannot read and listen simultaneously

• 50 words = audience stops listening to speaker

• Slides support speaker, not replace them

How to assess:

• Count all words excluding title
• Include bullet text, captions, labels
• Exclude code (assess separately)

Red flags:

• ✗ Full sentences in bullets
• ✗ Paragraph text
• ✗ Long explanatory captions

Fix:

• Convert sentences to phrases (3-6 words per bullet)
• Move detailed explanations to presenter notes
• Split content across multiple slides

---

5. ✓ Visual Element Present

Criterion: At least one visual element (diagram, chart, image, code, or graphic)

Why this matters:

• Dual-channel processing (visual + audio) improves retention
• Visuals convey complex relationships better than text
• Almost never text-only slides

Exceptions allowing text-only:

• Quote slides
• Definition slides
• Bold statements for emphasis
• Section dividers

How to assess: Is there a diagram, chart, image, code block, or other visual?

Red flags:

• ✗ Only title + bullets
• ✗ Dense text without supporting visual
• ✗ Missed opportunity for diagram

Fix: Add mermaid diagram, chart, image, or code example

---

6. ✓ Font Sizes (Body ≥18pt, Heading ≥24pt)

Criterion: Body text ≥18pt, headings ≥24pt (accessibility requirement)

Why this matters:

• WCAG accessibility standards
• Readability from back of room
• Accommodates vision impairments

How to assess:

• Check Slidev theme defaults
• Verify no custom CSS reducing sizes
• Test: Can text be read from 20 feet away?

Red flags:

• ✗ Tiny code fonts (<14pt)
• ✗ Compressed text to fit content
• ✗ Caption text <16pt

Fix: Use proper font sizes, split slides if content doesn't fit

---

7. ✓ Contrast Ratio (≥4.5:1)

Criterion: Text contrast ≥4.5:1 for normal text, ≥3:1 for large text (>24pt)

Why this matters:

• WCAG Level AA accessibility requirement
• Readability under projection conditions
• Accommodates vision impairments

How to assess:

• Check dark text on light backgrounds (or inverse)
• Avoid: gray-on-gray, yellow-on-white, light-blue-on-white
• Test: Is text clearly readable at a glance?

Red flags:

• ✗ Low-contrast color schemes
• ✗ Light text on light backgrounds
• ✗ Colored text without sufficient contrast

Fix: Use high-contrast color pairs, test with contrast checker

---

8. ✓ Colorblind-Safe (Not Color-Only)

Criterion: Meaning not conveyed by color alone (use patterns, labels, shapes)

Why this matters:

• ~8% of males have color vision deficiency
• Projected colors appear differently than on screen
• Print/grayscale versions must be understandable

How to assess:

• Can information be understood in grayscale?
• Are chart lines distinguished by style (solid/dashed) not just color?
• Do diagrams use labels, not just color coding?

Red flags:

• ✗ "Green = good, red = bad" without labels
• ✗ Chart with only color-differentiated lines
• ✗ Diagrams relying solely on color

Fix: Add patterns, labels, shapes, or text alongside color

---

9. ✓ Standalone Comprehension

Criterion: Can viewer grasp main point from title + visual alone (without narration)?

Why this matters:

• Distracted viewers can catch up mid-presentation
• Slides work for async review
• Conclusions highlighted, not buried

How to assess:

• 5-second test: Show slide without context - is point clear?
• Does visual reinforce the title's assertion?
• Could someone skimming slides get the story?

Red flags:

• ✗ Title + content don't align
• ✗ Visual unrelated to title
• ✗ Requires full narration to understand

Fix: Strengthen title-visual connection, add clarifying labels

---

10. ✓ Phrases Not Sentences

Criterion: Bullets are short phrases (3-6 words), not full sentences

Why this matters:

• Prevents audience from reading ahead
• Keeps focus on speaker
• Avoids reading-while-listening conflict
• Garr Reynolds principle: slides support, don't replace speaker

Good vs Bad:

• ❌ Bad: "Kubernetes orchestrates containerized applications across a cluster of machines"
• ✅ Good: "Container orchestration across clusters"

How to assess: Are bullets short keyword phrases or full grammatical sentences?

Red flags:

• ✗ Bullets with periods at the end
• ✗ Multi-clause sentences
• ✗ Explanatory prose in bullets

Fix: Extract keywords, move details to presenter notes

---

11. ✓ White Space (≥10% Margins)

Criterion: Adequate white space around content (≥10% margins, well-distributed)

Why this matters:

• Prevents claustrophobic feeling
• Improves visual hierarchy
• Directs attention to content
• Professional appearance

How to assess:

• Is content distributed across slide?
• Breathing room around elements?
• Clear visual separation?

Red flags:

• ✗ Content edge-to-edge
• ✗ Cramped, dense appearance
• ✗ Elements overlapping or too close

Fix: Reduce content, increase padding, split slides

---

12. ✓ Explainable in ~90 Seconds

Criterion: Slide can be presented in approximately 90 seconds (configurable)

Why this matters:

• Maintains presentation pace
• Prevents overloaded slides
• Ensures depth without overwhelm
• Standard conference timing

How to assess:

• Can you explain all content in 90 seconds?
• Does slide require lengthy explanation?
• Would you rush through material?

Red flags:

• ✗ Requires >2 minutes to cover
• ✗ Dense content needing detailed explanation
• ✗ Multiple complex points

Fix: Split slides, simplify content, move details to notes

---

Quality Scoring System

Score calculation: Count ✓ for each criterion met (max 12 points)

Interpretation:

• 12/12 - Excellent: Publication-ready
• 10-11/12 - Good: Minor tweaks needed
• 8-9/12 - Acceptable: Some improvements needed
• 6-7/12 - Poor: Significant revision required
• <6/12 - Critical: Complete redesign needed

Priority for fixes:

1. CRITICAL violations (criteria 1-4): Must fix before presenting
2. HIGH violations (criteria 5-8): Should fix for quality presentation
3. MEDIUM violations (criteria 9-12): Nice to fix for polish

---

Analysis Output Format

When assessing a slide, provide:

## Slide [N]: [Current Title]

**Quality Score: [X/12]**

**Current State:**
- ✓/✗ One idea per slide
- ✓/✗ Meaningful title (assertion vs label)
- ✓/✗ Element count: [X] elements (target ≤6)
- ✓/✗ Word count: [Y] words (target <50)
- ✓/✗ Visual element present
- ✓/✗ Font sizes (body ≥18pt, heading ≥24pt)
- ✓/✗ Contrast ratio (≥4.5:1)
- ✓/✗ Colorblind-safe (not color-only)
- ✓/✗ Standalone comprehension (title + visual = point)
- ✓/✗ Phrases not sentences
- ✓/✗ White space (≥10% margins)
- ✓/✗ Explainable in ~90 seconds

**Critical Violations:** [List any CRITICAL criteria failures, or "None"]

**Recommendations (Priority Order):**

1. **[CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM] - [Specific issue]**
   - Current: [What exists now with specific examples]
   - Suggested: [Concrete improvement with example]
   - Why: [Research basis from criteria above]
   - Impact: [Expected improvement]

2. **[Priority] - [Next issue]**
   [Same structure...]

**Quick Win:** [One simple change with biggest impact]

---

Optimization Strategies by Issue

Reducing Element Count (>6 elements)

Tactics:

• Merge related bullets into single points
• Move supporting details to presenter notes
• Split into 2-3 simpler slides
• Use progressive builds (v-click) to reveal incrementally

Example:

• Current: 8 bullets about microservices benefits
• Fix: Keep 4 key benefits, move implementation details to notes

---

Reducing Word Count (>50 words)

Tactics:

• Convert full sentences to keyword phrases
• Remove articles (a, an, the)
• Use symbols/abbreviations where clear
• Move explanations to presenter notes

Example:

• Current: "Kubernetes provides automated deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications"
• Fix: "Automated container deployment & scaling"

---

Creating Meaningful Titles (Label → Assertion)

Tactics:

• Add verb + finding to label
• State the conclusion, not the category
• Make title reveal the "so what?"

Examples:

• "Results" → "Response time improved 3x with caching"
• "Background" → "Current solutions fail under high load"
• "Architecture" → "Microservices enable independent scaling"

---

Adding Visual Elements

When to add what:

• Process/workflow → Mermaid flowchart
• Architecture → Mermaid component diagram
• Data comparison → Chart/graph
• Concepts → Icon or stock photo
• Code behavior → Code snippet with highlights

Tip: Use visual-design skill for diagram creation

---

Converting Sentences to Phrases

Pattern:

• Identify the core noun phrase
• Remove helping verbs, articles
• Keep 3-6 words maximum

Examples:

• "The system automatically scales based on traffic" → "Auto-scaling based on traffic"
• "We implemented caching to improve performance" → "Caching improves performance"

---

Edge Cases & Exceptions

Slides That Don't Follow Standard Rules

Title slides:

• Skip word count limit
• Focus on visual impact
• Branding/conference info acceptable

Code slides:

• Check syntax highlighting
• Verify relevant line selection (not full files)
• Ensure <15 lines per block
• OK if text-heavy (code is visual)

Data slides:

• Chart clarity most important
• One insight per slide (even if data supports multiple)
• Label axes, provide legend

Quote slides:

• Attribution required
• Large readable font
• Can be text-only
• Keep quote <50 words

Diagram-heavy slides:

• Minimal text OK if diagram self-explanatory
• Ensure diagram elements ≤6
• Add title asserting diagram's point

Reference slides (appendix/backup):

• Mark as "reference" or "backup"
• Skip optimization
• Dense content acceptable

---

When NOT to Optimize

Don't optimize when:

• Slide explicitly marked "detailed" or "reference"
• Mathematical proof requiring full derivation
• Code example needing complete context
• Intentional design choice with rationale

Ask first if:

• Unusual format seems intentional
• Content density might be presentation-specific requirement
• User indicates special constraints

---

Interaction Guidelines

When analyzing:

• Be specific (not vague like "improve clarity")
• Explain reasoning with research basis
• Prioritize recommendations (most impactful first)
• Acknowledge good elements (not only criticism)
• Offer to apply changes or let user decide

After analysis:

• Ask if user wants to apply recommendations
• Allow selective application (not all-or-nothing)
• Offer to re-assess after changes
• Suggest next steps (optimize another slide, etc.)

---

Working With This Skill

To analyze a slide:

1. Read the slide file
2. Apply each of the 12 criteria systematically
3. Count violations and score
4. Prioritize recommendations (CRITICAL → HIGH → MEDIUM)
5. Provide specific, actionable suggestions
6. Offer to implement approved changes

Integration with other skills:

• Use presentation-design skill for overall structure/flow
• Use visual-design skill to create diagrams/visuals
• Use slidev-mastery skill for technical Slidev syntax

Tools available:

• Read: Examine slide content
• Edit: Apply recommended improvements
• Grep: Search for patterns across slides

Apply this framework consistently to help create clear, accessible, evidence-based presentations.