prd-discover

name	prd-discover
description	Extract a validated problem brief through user interview and codebase exploration. Activate ONLY when the user says "new PRD", "plan a feature", or "write a PRD". Not for implementation specs, bug triage, or general feature discussion.

PRD Discover

Extract the real problem before anyone talks about solutions. This skill produces one artifact: a problem brief that grounds every downstream decision.

Activation guard: Only run this skill when the user explicitly requests a PRD. Do not activate on general feature discussions, bug reports, or implementation questions.

Step 1: Interview the User About the Problem

Ask these five questions. Do NOT proceed until all five have answers.

1. Who is struggling? — Name the specific user or persona.
2. What is the pain? — Describe from the user's perspective, not the team's.
3. What happens today? — Current workaround, manual process, or nothing.
4. Why now? — What changed that makes this urgent.
5. Any solution ideas? — Capture verbatim, but tag as [SOLUTION IDEA].

If the user leads with a solution ("build feature X"), redirect:

"Before we go there — what user problem does X solve? Who experiences it? What do they do today without it?"

Do not accept "users want X" as a problem statement. Probe: "What evidence do we have that this solves a real problem?"

Step 2: Explore the Codebase

Scan the repository for context relevant to the problem:

1. Architecture: modules, data models, API surface affected
2. Existing patterns: how similar features are built today
3. Constraints: technical debt, dependencies, or limitations
4. Prior art: has something like this been attempted before?

Report findings to the user. If greenfield with no codebase, skip to Step 3.

Step 3: Produce the Problem Brief

Create the output directory and write the artifact:

mkdir -p /tmp/prd-{name}

Copy the template from assets/problem-brief-template.md and fill every section from the interview and codebase exploration.

Non-Negotiable Acceptance Criteria

The problem brief is NOT complete unless ALL of these are true:

• Problem stated from the user's perspective — not the team's or a stakeholder's
• No solution presented as a requirement — all tagged [SOLUTION IDEA]
• "Who" names a specific user or persona — not "users" generically
• "Why Now" has a concrete trigger — not "it would be nice"
• Codebase context section exists (or explicitly marked "greenfield")
• The brief fits on one page — if it doesn't, the problem is not focused enough

Output

• Artifact: /tmp/prd-{name}/problem-brief.md
• Next skill: prd-interview