aod-lens

name	aod-lens
description	Routes to 14 structured thinking methodologies (lenses) for systematic analysis. Use this skill when you need to think through problems, apply thinking lenses, reason through decisions, or perform systematic analysis. Auto-selects appropriate lens based on context - 5 Whys for failures, Pre-Mortem for risks, First Principles for assumptions, Systems Thinking for architecture, Four Causes for understanding, Cargo Cult Detection for validation, Golden Mean for calibration. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"davidmatousek"}

Thinking Lens Skill

Router that selects and applies thinking methodologies from docs/core_principles/.

Keyword → Lens Routing

Keywords	Lens	File
"failed", "broke", "why did", "root cause"	5 Whys	01-FIVE_WHYS_METHODOLOGY.md
"assumptions", "fundamentally", "from scratch"	First Principles	02-FIRST_PRINCIPLES.md
"risks", "could go wrong", "before we start"	Pre-Mortem	03-PRE_MORTEM.md
"guarantee failure", "avoid", "anti-patterns"	Inversion	04-INVERSION.md
"prioritize", "most value", "80/20"	Pareto Analysis	05-PARETO_ANALYSIS.md
"architecture", "interact", "components"	Systems Thinking	06-SYSTEMS_THINKING.md
"consequences", "downstream", "side effects"	Second-Order Effects	07-SECOND_ORDER_EFFECTS.md
"blocked", "bottleneck", "dependencies"	Constraint Analysis	08-CONSTRAINT_ANALYSIS.md
"challenge", "critique", "wrong with this"	Devil's Advocate	09-DEVILS_ADVOCATE.md
"compare", "choose between", "options"	Comparative Analysis	10-COMPARATIVE_ANALYSIS.md
"trade-off", "giving up", "sacrifice"	Opportunity Cost	11-OPPORTUNITY_COST.md
"explain", "purpose", "why does this exist", "complete picture"	Four Causes	12-FOUR_CAUSES.md
"going through motions", "process theater", "cargo cult", "actually working", "vibe coding"	Cargo Cult Detection	13-CARGO_CULT_DETECTION.md
"how much", "balance", "calibrate", "sweet spot", "too much", "too little", "spectrum"	Golden Mean	14-GOLDEN_MEAN.md

Workflow

1. Route: Match user keywords to lens using table above
2. Load: Read full methodology from docs/core_principles/[FILE]
3. Apply: Follow the step-by-step process and use template from that file

If ambiguous, ask:

"Would you like to focus on risks (Pre-Mortem), root cause (5 Whys), or trade-offs (Opportunity Cost)?"

Quick Reference

Problem Type	Lens
Something failed	5 Whys
Planning something risky	Pre-Mortem
Choosing between options	Comparative Analysis
Understanding a system	Systems Thinking
Prioritizing work	Pareto Analysis
Understanding why something exists	Four Causes
Checking if a practice is actually working	Cargo Cult Detection
Finding the right balance/amount	Golden Mean
Not sure	Pre-Mortem (safest default)

Hand-offs

Situation	Route To
Need to fix code after analysis	debugger skill
Document root cause in KB	retrospective skill
Security issue found	security-pattern-scanner skill

Lens Index

See docs/core_principles/00-THINKING_LENSES_INDEX.md for complete guide.

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