intent-shaping

name	intent-shaping
description	Extracts the real business outcome when the user has a vague direction or jumps to tactics before the goal is clear. Activate when triggered by CF-01 from the release-decision framework, or when user says "I want to improve X", "we should add Y", "increase adoption", "make it better", or describes a tactic without stating a goal. Do not use when the goal is already measurable and specific.
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"author":"FeatBit","version":"1.1.0","category":"release-management"}

Intent Shaping

This skill handles CF-01: Intent Clarification from the release-decision framework.

Its job is to extract a real, measurable business outcome from a vague or tactic-first statement before any hypothesis, implementation, or measurement work begins.

When to Activate

• User describes a desire without a measurable outcome ("we want more engagement")
• User names a solution before naming the problem ("we should add a better CTA")
• User mixes goal and implementation ("improve the onboarding flow so users see the feature")
• goal field is empty or vague

On Entry — Read Current State

Use the project-sync skill's get-experiment command to load the current project state from the database. Check:

• goal and intent — are they already filled from a previous cycle? If so, confirm with the user whether to refine or start fresh.
• lastLearning — was there a prior cycle? Use it as context for the new intent.
• stage — if already past intent, confirm the user wants to revisit.

This read is required. Do not rely on conversation memory alone — the database is the canonical source.

Core Principle

Separate what we want to happen in the world from what we plan to build.

A goal is a desired change in user behavior or a business metric. A solution is one possible path to that goal. Neither can stand in for the other.

Decision Actions

Tactic-first detection

If the user leads with a solution, ask what outcome that solution is meant to produce.

"If that [tactic] works exactly as intended, what would you expect to see change — and for whom?"

Outcome extraction

Once a direction exists, sharpen it into a measurable form:

• What specific behavior or metric should change?
• For which audience?
• From what baseline?

Scope check

Confirm the goal belongs to this iteration — not a 6-month vision.

Operating Rules

• Ask one question at a time
• Never proceed to hypothesis or implementation until goal is measurable
• Hand off to hypothesis-design once the goal is sharp

Persist State

Use Skill("project-sync", ...) to sync state to the web database. All three writes are required:

assert Skill("project-sync", f'update-state {experiment_id} --goal "..." --intent "..." --lastAction "Intent clarified"').ok
assert Skill("project-sync", f"set-stage {experiment_id} intent").ok
assert Skill("project-sync", f'add-activity {experiment_id} --type stage_update --title "Intent clarified"').ok

Terminology note: goal and intent overlap intentionally. goal = the measurable business outcome. intent = what the user said they wanted to improve or learn (may still be broad). Both are written at this stage.

Execution Procedure

def shape_intent(project_id, user_message):
    state = Skill("project-sync", f"get-experiment {project_id}")
    if not is_blank_intent(state) and not user_wants_reset(user_message):
        # goal and intent already set — hand off rather than overwrite
        Skill("hypothesis-design", project_id)
        return
    patterns = read("references/goal-extraction-patterns.md")
    # extraction loop: ask one question at a time until goal is measurable
    # tactic-first → ask "if that tactic works, what changes for whom?"
    # vague-improvement → ask "what specific behavior or metric should change?"
    # scope check → confirm this is an iteration goal, not a 6-month vision
    goal = extract_goal(user_message, patterns)
    intent = user_message  # preserve the original phrasing
    assert Skill("project-sync", f'update-state {project_id} --goal "{goal}" --intent "{intent}" --lastAction "Intent clarified"').ok
    assert Skill("project-sync", f"set-stage {project_id} intent").ok
    assert Skill("project-sync", f'add-activity {project_id} --type stage_update --title "Intent clarified"').ok
    Skill("hypothesis-design", project_id)

Signal Inference

Entry shape	How to handle
Tactic-first ("add a better CTA")	Ask what outcome that tactic is meant to produce
Vague-improvement ("more engagement")	Ask which specific behavior or metric should change, and for whom
Resumed cycle with lastLearning	Use the prior learning as framing for the new intent question
goal already measurable	Skip extraction; hand off to hypothesis-design immediately
Scope too broad (6-month vision)	Ask which part of the vision applies to the next 2–4 week iteration

Measurability check: a goal is measurable when you can say "we'll know it worked when [specific metric] [moves in direction] by [any amount]".

Reference Files

• references/goal-extraction-patterns.md — question sequences, vague→clear examples, common anti-patterns