| name | pdd-interview-summary |
| description | Use this skill to build a Participant Summary spreadsheet from user-interview data — a reference table with one row per participant mapped across key dimensions (Audience Type, Goals, Habits, Frustrations, Needs, and any custom columns). It's a useful synthesis step before identifying archetypes or running a rainbow analysis. Triggers whenever a user wants to: summarize interview participants, build a participant summary/grid/matrix, map participants across dimensions, or create a per-participant reference table from transcripts or notes. Also trigger when the user says "participant summary", "participant grid", "summarize the participants", or "map participants across goals/frustrations/needs" — even if they don't call it a skill. Output is an `.xlsx` spreadsheet. Cowork-ready.
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PDD Interview Summary
Before you start: Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/instructions.md and follow its PDD persona and ways of working. The deliverable here is a working data spreadsheet — keep it clean and scannable; apply Infinum styling lightly (Helvetica/Arial, a #D8262D or #E4EBF5 header fill) but don't over-format.
Builds a Participant Summary — a one-row-per-participant .xlsx that maps everyone across
the key interview dimensions. It's the synthesis reference the team uses before clustering
into archetypes or running a rainbow analysis. This is PDD DISCOVER-phase synthesis: capture
only what the data shows, never invent participant detail (Simplicity Takes Work).
Phase 0 — Gather inputs & confirm columns
Confirm you have interview data (transcripts, CSV summaries, or notes). Then confirm the columns
before building — ask once:
"I'll build a Participant Summary with one row per participant. The standard columns are:
Participant Name, Audience Type, Goals, Habits, Frustrations, Needs. Want me to add or
drop any columns before I build it?"
Record any changes. If the data is missing or thin, say so and ask for it rather than guessing.
Standard columns
- Participant Name
- Audience Type
- Goals
- Habits
- Frustrations
- Needs
- [Any additional columns the user requested]
Phase 1 — Build the spreadsheet
Read the xlsx skill instructions first (/mnt/skills/public/xlsx/SKILL.md), then build the file.
Rules for the content:
- One row per participant; one column per dimension.
- Cells are concise (2–4 sentences max) — capture the key insight, not raw transcript quotes.
- Use consistent, scannable phrasing across rows so columns can be compared at a glance.
- Where a participant didn't address a topic, write "Not discussed" (don't infer).
- Ground every cell in the actual data — no invented goals, frustrations, or needs.
- Header row: bold, with a light Infinum fill (
#E4EBF5) or #D8262D with white text; freeze
the header row and the Participant Name column so the grid stays readable as it grows.
- Save to
/mnt/user-data/outputs/participant_summary.xlsx.
Phase 2 — Present & confirm
Present the file with present_files and ask:
"Here's the participant summary — [N] participants across [N] dimensions. Does anything
look off, or should I adjust any columns or wording?"
Include this starting-point note (per the plugin's output policy):
A note on this summary: This reflects only what the interviews actually surfaced — cells
marked Not discussed are genuine gaps, not assumptions. Review it against your own read of
the sessions before using it to synthesize archetypes or themes. Per Keep It Human, treat it
as a shared starting point to review and build on together with the team — not a finished artifact.
Then offer the natural next steps: identify archetypes (pdd-archetypes) or run a
rainbow analysis (pdd-rainbow-analysis) from this summary.
Quality checklist
