product-design

name	product-design
description	Product-level design methodology covering D01–D14 — vision, discovery, UX/CX design, and concept validation. Produces the "what and why" before any feature work begins. Provides the methodology for each of the 14 product-design artifacts; any single artifact workflow can be applied independently. Triggers include "product vision", "discovery", "user personas", "journey mapping", "user testing", "friction points", and any "produce D0X" request.
version	1.0.0

Product Design Skill

This skill holds the methodology for product-level design — from first idea to validated concept. It covers the 14 product-design artifacts (D01–D14): how to produce each one well, what makes each good or bad, and the reusable frameworks behind them.

Each artifact has a dedicated workflow describing the procedure for producing it. Each workflow is self-contained methodology and can be applied on its own. The frameworks the workflows lean on live in context/.

Announce at start: "I'm using the Product Design skill."

The 14 Artifacts

The artifacts span four design concerns. Each produces exactly one D-numbered document.

Vision

Artifact	Workflow	What it captures
D01 — Vision Statement	workflows/d01-vision.md	The problem, target user, solution direction, scope, and bets
D02 — Success Criteria	workflows/d02-success-criteria.md	Falsifiable, measurable definition of success

Discovery

Artifact	Workflow	What it captures
D03 — Market Research	workflows/d03-market-research.md	Competitive landscape, market size, positioning gap
D04 — Feasibility Report	workflows/d04-feasibility.md	Technical, operational, and business feasibility
D05 — Stakeholder Insights	workflows/d05-stakeholder-insights.md	Synthesized user/stakeholder research themes

UX Design — User Research Synthesis

Artifact	Workflow	What it captures
D06 — User Insights	workflows/d06-user-insights.md	Behavioral clusters and cross-cutting patterns
D07 — User Needs	workflows/d07-user-needs.md	Solution-agnostic, prioritized need statements
D08 — User Personas	workflows/d08-user-personas.md	Behaviorally-grounded persona archetypes

CX Design — Journey Strategy

Artifact	Workflow	What it captures
D09 — Journey Maps	workflows/d09-journey-maps.md	End-to-end persona journeys with emotional arcs
D10 — Touchpoints	workflows/d10-touchpoints.md	Catalog of interaction points, critical ones flagged
D11 — Friction Points	workflows/d11-friction-points.md	Prioritized inventory of where the experience breaks down

Validation

Artifact	Workflow	What it captures
D12 — Test Results	workflows/d12-test-results.md	Raw, structured output of user-testing sessions
D13 — User Feedback	workflows/d13-user-feedback.md	Themed, prioritized synthesis of test results
D14 — Validated Designs	workflows/d14-validated-designs.md	A verdict per design, with persona-anchored evidence

Context Reference Files

These hold the frameworks and worked examples the workflows reference but don't duplicate. Read the relevant one before applying the corresponding workflow.

File	Frameworks it holds	Relevant to
context/vision-anatomy.md	9-component vision anatomy, anti-patterns, worked example	D01, D02
context/measurement-frameworks.md	Metric schema, leading/lagging, SMART/OKR/HEART/AARRR, guardrails	D02
context/research-techniques.md	JTBD, Five Whys, competitive analysis, market sizing, survey design	D03, D05
context/feasibility-frameworks.md	Tech/ops/business feasibility matrices, ROI, POC criteria, decision records	D04
context/design-patterns.md	UX/UI pattern library, accessibility, design systems	D06–D11
context/validation-techniques.md	Test methods, severity rubric, persona-evidence rules, failure modes	D12–D14

How These Artifacts Build On Each Other

Each artifact draws on evidence captured in earlier ones — these are evidence dependencies, not a required running order:

• D02 success criteria each trace to a D01 vision element.
• D03–D05 scope their research against the D01 target user and problem.
• D06 synthesizes D03 + D05 into behavioral clusters.
• D07 needs derive from D06 clusters.
• D08 personas are built from D06 clusters and D07 needs.
• D09 journeys are mapped per D08 persona, anchored to D07 needs.
• D10 touchpoints are extracted from D09 stages.
• D11 friction points reference D10 touchpoint IDs and D09 emotional valleys.
• D12 testing exercises the D11 friction points against D08 personas.
• D13 synthesizes D12 and reconciles each D11 friction point.
• D14 renders verdicts from D13 with D08 persona-anchored evidence.

When applying a workflow, read the artifacts it builds on so your output stays anchored to that evidence. Each workflow's "Builds on" note lists what it expects to read.

Inputs From Bootstrap (Track + Architecture)

Bootstrap runs before product-design and lays down docs/architecture/. Product-design reads it — it is not blind to the stack:

• Read the marker docs/architecture/bootstrap.md for the track (brownfield or greenfield) and the stack summary.
• Read docs/architecture/tech-stack.md and integration-map.md when present.

Feed this forward:

• D01 may surface the recorded stack as a stated constraint — it does not design it (the stack stays in docs/architecture/; D01's redirect principle still holds).
• D04 assesses feasibility against the recorded stack and frames it by track: fixed for brownfield, a revisable proposal for greenfield. On a "feasible with changes" / "not feasible" verdict it returns a stack-feedback signal (verdict + gap + driver + recommended route) in its report. Acting on it is the host's job, not the skill's: the /shark product-design verb re-runs bootstrap in reconcile mode (greenfield) or files a tech-debt entry / constraint note (brownfield).

If no marker or architecture docs exist, product-design runs exactly as before.

Core Principles (Apply Across All Workflows)

1. Elicit, don't invent. Vision (D01–D02) and validation (D12–D14) are human decisions. Use AskUserQuestion. Never fabricate a user quote, metric baseline, participant, or approval.
2. Persona-anchored evidence. From D08 onward, every observation, decision, and verdict ties to a named persona ID.
3. One question at a time. Vision and validation work rewards depth. Prefer multiple choice when the answer space is small; open-ended when it isn't.
4. Mark unknowns explicitly. Write TBD — <owner> by <date> — never guess.
5. Trace every claim to a source. A user statement, a session observation, a cited study, or a metric reading. No orphan assertions.

Output Standards (All D-Artifacts)

1. Each artifact uses its exact D-numbered filename (e.g., D01-vision-statement.md), stored together in a single product-design directory (conventionally docs/product/).
2. Every claim traces to a source: a user statement, a session observation, a cited study, or a metric reading.
3. Unknowns marked TBD — <owner> by <date>.
4. Cross-reference the artifacts an output builds on (D02 cites D01 sections; D13 cites D12 session IDs; etc.).
5. Footer: Version: 1.0 — YYYY-MM-DD — author: <name>.

Output Standards (Feature-Level Artifacts)

When product-design evidence feeds feature-level design:

1. Reference D08 persona IDs and D09 journey stage names verbatim.
2. Include the rationale for design decisions, not just the decisions.

Tools Used

• AskUserQuestion — All elicitation, approvals, and human decisions.
• Read — Read the artifacts a workflow builds on, and the relevant context/ file, before producing output.
• Write — Create the artifact.
• WebSearch — Market research (D03), technical research (D04).