confidence-scoring

created	"2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z"
modified	"2026-02-06T00:00:00.000Z"
reviewed	"2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z"
name	confidence-scoring
description	Assess quality of PRPs and work-orders using systematic confidence scoring. Use when evaluating readiness for execution or subagent delegation.
user-invocable	false
allowed-tools	Read, Grep, Glob

Confidence Scoring for PRPs and Work-Orders

This skill provides systematic evaluation of PRPs (Product Requirement Prompts) and work-orders to determine their readiness for execution or delegation.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use blueprint-prp-create instead when...
Scoring a draft PRP/work-order before execution or delegation	Authoring the PRP itself from research and context
Deciding whether a work-order is ready for a subagent or needs refinement	Producing the work-order content (use blueprint-work-order)
Reviewing existing PRPs/work-orders for context completeness and validation gates	Generating the PRD that the PRP derives from (use blueprint-derive-plans)

Scoring Dimensions

1. Context Completeness (1-10)

Evaluates whether all necessary context is explicitly provided.

Score	Criteria
10	All file paths explicit with line numbers, all code snippets included, library versions specified, integration points documented
8-9	Most context provided, minor gaps that can be inferred from codebase
6-7	Key context present but some discovery required
4-5	Significant context missing, will need exploration
1-3	Minimal context, extensive discovery needed

Checklist:

• File paths are absolute or clearly relative to project root
• Code snippets include actual line numbers (e.g., src/auth.py:45-60)
• Library versions are specified
• Integration points are documented
• Patterns from codebase are shown with examples

2. Implementation Clarity (1-10)

Evaluates how clear the implementation approach is.

Score	Criteria
10	Pseudocode covers all cases, step-by-step clear, edge cases addressed
8-9	Main path clear, most edge cases covered
6-7	Implementation approach clear, some details need discovery
4-5	High-level only, significant ambiguity
1-3	Vague requirements, unclear approach

Checklist:

• Task breakdown is explicit
• Pseudocode is provided for complex logic
• Implementation order is specified
• Edge cases are identified
• Error handling approach is documented

3. Gotchas Documented (1-10)

Evaluates whether known pitfalls are documented with mitigations.

Score	Criteria
10	All known pitfalls documented, each has mitigation, library-specific issues covered
8-9	Major gotchas covered, mitigations clear
6-7	Some gotchas documented, may discover more
4-5	Few gotchas mentioned, incomplete coverage
1-3	No gotchas documented

Checklist:

• Library-specific gotchas documented
• Version-specific behaviors noted
• Common mistakes identified
• Each gotcha has a mitigation
• Race conditions/concurrency issues addressed

4. Validation Coverage (1-10)

Evaluates whether executable validation commands are provided.

Score	Criteria
10	All quality gates have executable commands, expected outcomes specified
8-9	Main validation commands present, most outcomes specified
6-7	Some validation commands, gaps in coverage
4-5	Minimal validation commands
1-3	No executable validation

Checklist:

• Linting command provided and executable
• Type checking command provided (if applicable)
• Unit test command with specific test files
• Integration test command (if applicable)
• Coverage check command with threshold
• Security scan command (if applicable)
• All commands include expected outcomes

5. Test Coverage (1-10) - Work-Orders Only

Evaluates whether test cases are specified.

Score	Criteria
10	All test cases specified with assertions, edge cases covered
8-9	Main test cases specified, most assertions included
6-7	Key test cases present, some gaps
4-5	Few test cases, minimal detail
1-3	No test cases specified

Checklist:

• Each test case has code template
• Assertions are explicit
• Happy path tested
• Error cases tested
• Edge cases tested

Calculating Overall Score

For PRPs

Overall = (Context + Implementation + Gotchas + Validation) / 4

For Work-Orders

Overall = (Context + Gotchas + TestCoverage + Validation) / 4

Score Thresholds

Score	Readiness	Recommendation
9-10	Excellent	Ready for autonomous subagent execution
7-8	Good	Ready for execution with some discovery
5-6	Fair	Needs refinement before execution
3-4	Poor	Significant gaps, recommend research phase
1-2	Inadequate	Restart with proper research

Response Templates

High Confidence (7+)

## Confidence Score: X.X/10

| Dimension | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Context Completeness | X/10 | [specific observation] |
| Implementation Clarity | X/10 | [specific observation] |
| Gotchas Documented | X/10 | [specific observation] |
| Validation Coverage | X/10 | [specific observation] |
| **Overall** | **X.X/10** | |

**Assessment:** Ready for execution

**Strengths:**
- [Key strength 1]
- [Key strength 2]

**Recommendations (optional):**
- [Minor improvement 1]

Low Confidence (<7)

## Confidence Score: X.X/10

| Dimension | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Context Completeness | X/10 | [specific gap] |
| Implementation Clarity | X/10 | [specific gap] |
| Gotchas Documented | X/10 | [specific gap] |
| Validation Coverage | X/10 | [specific gap] |
| **Overall** | **X.X/10** | |

**Assessment:** Needs refinement before execution

**Gaps to Address:**
- [ ] [Gap 1 with suggested action]
- [ ] [Gap 2 with suggested action]
- [ ] [Gap 3 with suggested action]

**Next Steps:**
1. [Specific research action]
2. [Specific documentation action]
3. [Specific validation action]

Examples

Example 1: Well-Prepared PRP

## Confidence Score: 8.5/10

| Dimension | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Context Completeness | 9/10 | All files explicit, code snippets with line refs |
| Implementation Clarity | 8/10 | Pseudocode covers main path, one edge case unclear |
| Gotchas Documented | 8/10 | Redis connection pool, JWT format issues covered |
| Validation Coverage | 9/10 | All gates have commands, outcomes specified |
| **Overall** | **8.5/10** | |

**Assessment:** Ready for execution

**Strengths:**
- Comprehensive codebase intelligence with actual code snippets
- Validation gates are copy-pasteable
- Known library gotchas well-documented

**Recommendations:**
- Consider documenting concurrent token refresh edge case

Example 2: Needs Work

## Confidence Score: 5.0/10

| Dimension | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Context Completeness | 4/10 | File paths vague ("somewhere in auth/") |
| Implementation Clarity | 6/10 | High-level approach clear, no pseudocode |
| Gotchas Documented | 3/10 | No library-specific gotchas |
| Validation Coverage | 7/10 | Test command present, missing lint/type check |
| **Overall** | **5.0/10** | |

**Assessment:** Needs refinement before execution

**Gaps to Address:**
- [ ] Add explicit file paths (use `grep` to find them)
- [ ] Add pseudocode for token generation logic
- [ ] Research jsonwebtoken gotchas (check GitHub issues)
- [ ] Add linting and type checking commands

**Next Steps:**
1. Run `/blueprint:curate-docs jsonwebtoken` to create a curated rule entry
2. Use Explore agent to find exact file locations
3. Add validation gate commands from project's package.json

Integration with Blueprint Development

This skill is automatically applied when:

• /prp:create generates a new PRP
• /blueprint:work-order generates a work-order
• Reviewing existing PRPs for execution readiness

The confidence score determines:

• 9+: Proceed with subagent delegation
• 7-8: Proceed with direct execution
• < 7: Refine before execution

Tips for Improving Scores

Context Completeness

• Use grep to find exact file locations
• Include actual line numbers in code snippets
• Reference curated .claude/rules/ entries for library patterns

Implementation Clarity

• Write pseudocode before describing approach
• Enumerate edge cases explicitly
• Define error handling strategy

Gotchas Documented

• Search GitHub issues for library gotchas
• Check Stack Overflow for common problems
• Document team experience from past projects

Validation Coverage

• Copy commands from project's config (package.json, pyproject.toml)
• Include specific file paths in test commands
• Specify expected outcomes for each gate