| name | 20-understand-goal-150 |
| description | [20] UNDERSTAND. Achieve complete clarity on goals, expectations, and success criteria. Use when starting new tasks, when requirements seem unclear, when scope is ambiguous, or anytime you need full understanding of what success looks like. Triggers on "clarify goal", "understand requirements", "what exactly needed", "define success", or when facing unclear expectations. |
Understand-Goal 150 Protocol
Core Principle: Achieve complete clarity, not just confirm understanding. Know the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of success before acting.
What This Skill Does
When you invoke this skill, you're ensuring:
- Full understanding of what needs to be done
- Clear success criteria — how you'll know it's done right
- Known constraints — what limits apply
- Hidden expectations surfaced and addressed
The Clarity Framework
| Dimension | What to Clarify |
|---|
| Goal | What needs to be achieved? Why does it matter? |
| Scope | What's included? What's explicitly excluded? |
| Format | What does the output look like? |
| Constraints | What limits apply? (time, resources, quality) |
| Success | How will we know it's done right? |
| Risks | What could make this fail? |
The 150% Clarity Rule
- 100% Core: Clear on the goal and expected result
- 50% Enhancement: Clear on constraints, hidden requirements, and edge cases
When to Use This Skill
Universal trigger: Any situation where clarity is needed.
Specific triggers:
- Starting new tasks or projects
- Requirements seem vague or ambiguous
- Multiple interpretations possible
- Scope keeps shifting
- Expectations unclear
- Before major effort investment
- When you realize mid-work you're not sure what's needed
Key insight: This skill applies whenever clarity is lacking, not just at the start.
Execution Protocol
Step 1: UNDERSTAND THE CORE
Identify the fundamental goal:
- What is actually needed?
- Why is this needed? (the real reason)
- What problem does this solve?
Step 2: DEFINE SUCCESS
Establish clear success criteria:
- What does "done" look like?
- How will we measure success?
- What's the minimum acceptable outcome?
- What's the ideal outcome?
Step 3: MAP CONSTRAINTS
Identify all limitations:
- Time constraints
- Resource limits
- Quality requirements
- Format specifications
- Dependencies
Step 4: SURFACE HIDDEN EXPECTATIONS
Probe for unstated requirements:
- What's assumed but not said?
- What would cause disappointment?
- What must NOT happen?
- Who else cares about this?
Step 5: CONFIRM CLARITY
Validate your understanding:
- Restate in your own words
- Present your understanding of success
- Get explicit confirmation
- Document the agreement
Clarity Questions
Ask to achieve clarity:
About the Goal:
- "What's the core objective here?"
- "Why is this important?"
- "What problem are we solving?"
About Success:
- "What does success look like?"
- "How will we know it's done right?"
- "What's acceptable vs ideal?"
About Constraints:
- "What limits apply?"
- "Any hard deadlines?"
- "What resources are available?"
About Hidden Requirements:
- "What should definitely NOT happen?"
- "What would cause disappointment?"
- "What am I missing?"
Output Format
When using Goal-Clarity 150:
🎯 **Goal-Clarity 150 Achieved**
**Goal Understood:**
[What needs to be done and why]
**Success Criteria:**
- ✅ Done when: [measurable outcome]
- 🎯 Ideal: [best case result]
- ⚠️ Minimum: [acceptable baseline]
**Constraints Identified:**
- [Time/resource/quality limits]
**Hidden Requirements Surfaced:**
- [Unstated expectations now explicit]
**Confirmed Understanding:**
[Summary in your own words]
Ready to proceed with clarity.
Operational Rules
- CLARITY BEFORE ACTION: Don't act without understanding
- ASK, DON'T ASSUME: Questions > assumptions
- SURFACE THE HIDDEN: Find what's not being said
- DEFINE SUCCESS: Know what "done right" looks like
- CONFIRM EXPLICITLY: Get clear agreement
- REVISIT WHEN NEEDED: Clarity can erode; refresh it
Examples
❌ Low Clarity (Dangerous)
User: "Make the app faster"
AI: [Starts optimizing database queries]
Result: Optimized wrong thing; user meant UI responsiveness
✅ High Clarity (Safe)
User: "Make the app faster"
AI: "🎯 Goal-Clarity 150
To ensure I focus on the right thing:
**Understanding:** You want the app to be faster.
**Clarifying questions:**
- What feels slow right now? (page loads? transitions? API calls?)
- How fast should it feel? (instant? < 2 seconds?)
- Are there specific pages/features to prioritize?
- What's causing the most frustration?
**Once I understand:**
- Success = [specific metric improvement]
- Focus = [specific areas]
- Constraints = [time/effort limits]
What aspects feel slowest to you?"
✅ Mid-Work Clarity Check
AI: "I've been working on this for a while and want to check:
🎯 Goal-Clarity Check
**My understanding:** Building user dashboard with stats
**Success I'm aiming for:** Clean UI, real-time data, mobile-friendly
**Questions that emerged:**
- Should it auto-refresh or manual refresh?
- Any specific charts/graphs needed?
- Does it need export functionality?
Want to confirm before I continue."
Failure Modes & Recovery
| Failure | Detection | Recovery |
|---|
| Acting on assumptions | Working without confirmed clarity | Stop, ask clarifying questions |
| Partial clarity | Some aspects still vague | Probe specific unclear areas |
| Scope drift | Work expanding beyond original goal | Return to clarity, reconfirm scope |
| Hidden requirements emerge late | Surprise expectations mid-work | Surface them, adjust or discuss |
Relationship to Other Skills
| Skill | Focus |
|---|
| deep-think-150 | Quality of thinking |
| max-quality-150 | Quality of execution |
| goal-clarity-150 | Quality of understanding |
Use together: Clarity on what to do → Think deeply about how → Execute with max quality.
Session Log Entry (MANDATORY)
After completing this skill, write to .sessions/SESSION_[date]-[name].md:
### [HH:MM] Understand-Goal 150 Complete
**Action:** Clarified goals and constraints
**Result:** <clarity achieved/confirmed>
**Artifacts:** <updated docs/plans>
Remember: Clarity is not a one-time event. Goals can shift, requirements can change, understanding can be incomplete. Use this skill whenever you need to be sure you're solving the right problem the right way.
