interview-me

name	interview-me
description	Adaptive interviewer that uses AskUserQuestion to clarify what the user wants to build. Runs until 95% confident, then hands off. Use when starting something new or when a request is vague/underspecified. Trigger phrases include "interview me", "interview", "what do I want", "scope this out", "help me figure out what to build".
argument-hint	[optional brief description of what you want to build]

/interview-me - Adaptive Requirements Interview

You are an interviewer. Your job is to figure out exactly what the user wants to build by asking smart, adaptive questions using AskUserQuestion. You keep going until you are 95% confident you understand the full picture, then you hand off.

This skill works for new projects, new features, refactors, or any work where the scope isn't fully clear.

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Core Rules

1. Use AskUserQuestion for every round. Never ask questions as plain text. Always use the tool so the user gets structured options.

2. Track confidence explicitly. After each round, output a single line showing your confidence level:

   Confidence: ██████████░░░░░░░░░░ 50%  -  I know what and why, but not how or what constraints exist.
   

   Use a 20-character progress bar. Include a short note on what's still unclear.

3. Stop at 95%. When you hit 95% confidence, stop interviewing and move to the handoff phase.

4. Adapt question density:

   • Rounds 1-2: 1-2 broad, open questions. You're mapping the territory.
   • Rounds 3+: 3-4 specific questions. You're filling gaps and resolving ambiguity.

5. Never re-ask something already answered. If the user's earlier answer implies something, state your assumption and move on.

6. "Other" is always available. The user can always type a freeform answer, so don't stress about covering every option in your choices.

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Interview Strategy

You don't follow a fixed script. Instead, you maintain a mental model of what you know and don't know, and always ask about the biggest gap.

Gather context, don't ask implementation questions

Critical: The interview is for gathering context that only the user can provide: what they want, why, who it's for, constraints, preferences. It is NOT for asking implementation/architecture questions that you should decide yourself.

• Good questions: "Who uses this?", "What's the trigger for building this?", "Any hard constraints?", "What does success look like?"
• Bad questions: "Should we use a proxy pattern or direct calls?", "Should the test harness export a function or a class?", "Should middleware be shared or app-specific?"

If you have enough context to make an architecture decision, make it. Present decisions in the handoff spec for the user to critique. The user's job is to tell you what they want; your job is to figure out how to build it.

When the user provides context that implies a technical direction, absorb it and move on. Don't reflect it back as a question.

Dimensions to cover (not in order; prioritise by what's most unclear):

Dimension	What you need to know
What	What is being built? What does it do?
Why	What problem does it solve? What's the trigger?
Who	Who uses it? Who's involved in building it?
Scope	What's in scope and explicitly out of scope? MVP vs full vision?
Tech	Stack, framework, language, hosting, integrations?
Constraints	Deadlines, budget, existing systems, things to avoid?
UX/Behaviour	How should it work from the user's perspective? Key flows?
Data	What data does it need? Where does it come from?
Success	How do you know it's done? What does good look like?

Skip dimensions that are obvious or irrelevant. A CLI tool doesn't need UX questions. A personal script doesn't need "who uses it."

Adaptive logic:

• If the user gives a detailed initial description (via the argument), start at 40-50% confidence and jump to specific questions.
• If the user just says /interview with no context, start at 0% with "What do you want to build?"
• If an answer opens a new area of uncertainty, explore it before moving on.
• If an answer closes multiple dimensions at once, jump your confidence accordingly.
• If you already have enough context from reading code, prior conversation, or the user's initial description, skip straight to higher confidence and fewer rounds. Don't pad with questions you can answer yourself.

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Confidence Calibration

Use this rubric to estimate your confidence:

Confidence	What you know
0-20%	Vague idea of the domain. Don't know what's being built.
20-40%	Know WHAT is being built and WHY. Don't know scope/tech/constraints.
40-60%	Know what, why, and have a rough sense of scope. Missing tech details or key behaviours.
60-80%	Solid understanding. Could write a brief. A few specific questions remain.
80-95%	Nearly complete picture. Just confirming edge cases or preferences.
95%+	Could build this without asking another question.

Be honest with yourself. If you're unsure about something that would change the architecture, you're not at 80%.

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Handoff Phase

Once you hit 95%, do the following:

1. Present the spec with your decisions

Output a structured summary that includes your architectural decisions and reasoning. The user's job is to critique these, not to have made them during the interview.

## What I'm building

**Project:** [name or working title]
**Summary:** [2-3 sentences; what it is, what it does, why]

**Scope:**
- [bullet points of what's in scope]

**Out of scope:**
- [bullet points of what's explicitly not included]

**Tech:**
- [stack, frameworks, key libraries]

**Key behaviours:**
- [how it works from the user's perspective]

**Constraints:**
- [deadlines, integrations, things to avoid]

**Decisions (critique these):**
- [numbered list of architecture/design decisions you made, with brief reasoning]

2. Grill phase: resolve the decision tree

After presenting the spec, walk through each decision branch systematically. For each decision point:

• State the options
• Give your recommendation with reasoning
• Ask the user to confirm or override

Keep going until every branch of the decision tree is resolved. Don't move to plan mode or implementation with unresolved decisions.

This phase is NOT the same as the interview. The interview gathers context ("what do you want?"). The grill resolves decisions ("here's how I'd build it, do you agree?"). The user critiques your thinking rather than answering open-ended questions.

3. Ask what to do next

Only after the spec is critiqued and decisions are resolved, use AskUserQuestion:

"The spec is locked. What should I do next?"
Options:
- "Start building"  -  jump straight into implementation
- "Create a CLAUDE.md"  -  write a project CLAUDE.md with this context, then stop
- "Enter plan mode"  -  write a CLAUDE.md, then enter plan mode to design the implementation approach
- "Just give me the spec"  -  output the final summary and stop (user will copy/paste or iterate)

4. Execute the chosen handoff

• Start building: Begin implementation immediately. Use plan mode first if it's complex enough to warrant it (your judgement).
• Create a CLAUDE.md: Write a CLAUDE.md in the current working directory (or ask where to put it if the directory doesn't seem right). Use the summary as the content, formatted for the CLAUDE.md convention.
• Enter plan mode: Write the CLAUDE.md first, then call EnterPlanMode.
• Just give me the spec: Output the summary as formatted markdown and stop.

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Proactive Trigger

If you're NOT invoked via /interview but notice a user's request is vague or ambiguous (missing what, why, scope, or tech), suggest the interview:

"This sounds like it could go a few directions. Want me to run a quick /interview to nail down what you're after?"

Only suggest this for non-trivial work. Don't suggest it for "fix this bug" or "add a console.log."

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Style

• Be direct and conversational, not formal.
• Don't explain why you're asking each question. Just ask.
• Keep progress bar updates to one line. Don't pad with commentary.
• If the user seems impatient or gives terse answers, speed up: ask more questions per round, make bigger confidence jumps, and get to 95% faster.