| name | methodology-pattern-extractor |
| description | Read accumulated meeting logs and session JSONL files, extract collaboration patterns that have repeated ≥ 3 times, and append them to `docs/methodology.md` §Patterns. Each entry captures trigger / action / outcome / next-time adjustment. Invoke when the user asks "update methodology", "extract patterns from this session", "consolidate recurring collaboration patterns", or after every 5+ meeting logs accumulate. |
Methodology Pattern Extractor
When to invoke
- The user says "update methodology", "extract a pattern", "I feel this flow has happened several times now".
- ≥ 5 meeting logs have accumulated but methodology.md §Patterns is still empty.
- After hitting an important milestone (end of spec phase, v1 release, major refactor close-out).
Inputs
- All
meetings/*.md
- Corresponding session JSONL (optional, for filling in details)
- The existing
docs/methodology.md (to avoid duplicate entries)
Rule: ≥ 3 sightings or it's not a pattern
Don't turn a one-off behaviour into a pattern. Criteria:
- The same triggering situation appears in ≥ 3 different meeting logs
- The response action each time is consistent or convergent
- There is an observable outcome
Items with fewer than 3 sightings can go into methodology.md §Backlog as "candidate patterns", annotated with the sighting count.
Output format
One entry per pattern, four lines:
### <Pattern name>
- **Trigger**: <what context activates this pattern>
- **Action**: <the observed response action>
- **Outcome**: <the resulting outcome>
- **Next-time adjust**: <what you'd improve next time, may be empty>
- **Sightings**: <meeting log dates ×N, comma-separated>
Example:
### Section-by-section approval
- **Trigger**: User asks Leader to draft a document section (design.md / foundations.md / plan.md)
- **Action**: Leader advances one section at a time, waits for OK before moving on
- **Outcome**: Avoids the high cost of "whole-doc rejection and rewrite"
- **Next-time adjust**: Before dispatching a sub-agent, confirm all prerequisites for the section are Resolved
- **Sightings**: 2026-05-15 ×3
Procedure
- Grep meeting logs for frequently appearing verbs / triggers ("dispatch", "review round", "prerequisite", "rejected", ...).
- For each high-frequency trigger, revisit its context — does the same action recur?
- Filter to candidates with ≥ 3 sightings.
- Extract Trigger / Action / Outcome / Next-time / Sightings.
- Append to
methodology.md §Patterns; never overwrite existing entries.
- If a candidate has only 1–2 sightings, add it to methodology.md §Backlog as a "candidate pattern".
Anti-patterns (also worth recording)
The same section may include §Anti-patterns: practices tried but found unsuitable. Bar for entry is lower: a single significant misstep with a clear lesson is enough.
Verification checklist
- Every pattern carries Sightings ≥ 3.
- No duplicates with existing entries (grep
methodology.md first).
- Original meeting logs are never modified.
- Pattern names use kebab-case or short phrases, no more than 6 words.
Deviation considerations
- Solo project, single author: "recurrence" includes the author's own habits; the ≥ 3 rule still applies.
- Cross-project: this skill's default scope is one repo; if extracting across repos, explicitly cite each origin.
Related skills
session-to-meeting-log: produces this skill's input.
backlog-routing-by-topic: candidate patterns go into methodology.md §Backlog.
subagent-review-cycles / spec-phase-orchestration / leader-developer-handoff-contract: codified forms of common patterns.