| name | product-discovery |
| description | Discover product requirements from human stakeholders — map who to talk to, ask questions that surface hidden assumptions, detect gaps in real time, resolve conflicts, and translate conversations into structured SDD specs. Phase 0 upstream of Spec-Driven Development. |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | Agent-agnostic — works with any agent supporting a spec-driven or requirements pipeline. |
Product Discovery — Stakeholder Map
Pre-discovery work begins before any conversation. Load this reference first when planning discovery:
| Reference | Load when | File |
|---|
| Stakeholder Mapping & Sequencing | You need to decide who to interview and in what order | references/stakeholder-mapping.md |
| Interview Protocol Design | You're designing a question stack for a specific stakeholder type | references/question-patterns.md |
| Gap Detection Techniques | You're preparing to recognize what stakeholders don't say | references/gap-detection.md |
Pipeline: Phase 0 — Discovery
RAW NEED → [MAP] → [INTERVIEW] → [SYNTHESIZE] → [DISTILL] → [VALIDATE] → SPEC.md
| | | | |
Who to What to Resolve Convert to Stakeholder
talk to ask conflicts structured review
Load the reference for the phase you're entering.
Core principles
- Closed questions confirm what you already think; open questions discover what you didn't know to ask. If the answer can be "yes" or "no," you're validating, not discovering.
- Knowledge holders come first; authority holders validate — they don't originate. The person who knows the problem is not the same person who approves the budget.
- Conflicts are almost never about what they appear to be. Surface disagreements are proxies for unstated differences in assumptions, risk tolerance, or incentives.
- Every weasel word represents a gap. "Probably," "ideally," "eventually" — each is a known issue the stakeholder hasn't committed to addressing.
Quick Start — Where to Enter
| You have this | Start here |
|---|
| A vague idea or problem space | Load references/stakeholder-mapping.md — identify who to interview |
| An interview scheduled with no protocol | Load references/question-patterns.md and references/gap-detection.md — design your question stack |
| Raw interview notes from one or more sessions | Load references/transcript-to-spec.md — distill into structured spec components |
| A draft spec that needs stakeholder verification | Load references/transcript-to-spec.md (Interpretation Audit Trail section) — run the validation loop |
| Stakeholders who disagree on requirements | Load references/conflict-resolution.md — classify and resolve before spec |
| Limited time with a stakeholder | Load references/time-constrained-discovery.md — maximize signal in minimal time |
| An AI agent conducting interviews | Load references/ai-conducted-discovery.md — account for sycophancy and trust dynamics |
Done with discovery? Use product-methodology to choose scope, then product-design-and-ux to define user-facing behavior. Jump to the Is Discovery Complete? checklist at the bottom.
Trigger Conditions
Load this skill when:
- You're starting product discovery for a new feature or project
- You have a vague idea that needs to become a structured specification
- You need to interview stakeholders but don't have a protocol
- You have raw interview notes that need to become a SPEC.md
- You're about to enter Phase 1 (SPECIFY) of SDD and need upstream input
- You're evaluating whether you've done enough discovery work
Loading Guide
| Phase | Load When | File |
|---|
| MAP | You need to identify who to interview, in what order, and how to find the right stakeholders | references/stakeholder-mapping.md |
| INTERVIEW | You're about to conduct stakeholder interviews and need question patterns, gap detection, and conflict handling | references/question-patterns.md + references/gap-detection.md + references/conflict-resolution.md |
| SYNTHESIZE | You have raw interview notes and need to identify conflicts, risks, and gaps before distillation | references/conflict-resolution.md |
| DISTILL | You need to transform interview notes into structured SPEC.md with ACs, edge cases, and NFRs | references/transcript-to-spec.md |
| VALIDATE | You have a draft spec and need to verify interpretations with stakeholders | references/transcript-to-spec.md (Interpretation Audit Trail section) |
Cross-Cutting Concerns
These dimensions apply across all phases. Load when relevant:
| Concern | Load when | File |
|---|
| AI-conducted discovery | An AI agent is conducting discovery interviews | references/ai-conducted-discovery.md |
| Power dynamics | Stakeholders span multiple organizational levels; hierarchy may distort responses | references/power-dynamics.md |
| Time constraints | Stakeholder time is limited; need maximum signal extraction | references/time-constrained-discovery.md |
Templates
| Template | Pipeline Phase | Load when | File |
|---|
| Discovery Plan | MAP | You need to structure the full discovery effort — stakeholder map, interview schedule, timeline | templates/discovery-plan.md |
| Interview Guide | INTERVIEW | You need a structured question stack for an interview session | templates/interview-guide.md |
| Distillation Worksheet | DISTILL | You're transforming raw notes into structured spec components | templates/distillation-worksheet.md |
| Gap Register | SYNTHESIZE | You need to track unresolved gaps, deferred decisions, and open questions across interviews | templates/gap-register.md |
| Interpretation Log | DISTILL → VALIDATE | You need to track every translation from stakeholder language to spec language | templates/interpretation-log.md |
Quick Reference: Is Discovery Complete?
Before handing off to SDD Phase 1 (SPECIFY), check:
