optimize-workflow

name	optimize-workflow
description	Analyze and optimize the research workflow for efficiency

Optimize Workflow Skill

Purpose

Analyze the current research workflow, identify bottlenecks, and suggest concrete optimizations.

When to Use

• Periodically (weekly) as a research hygiene practice
• When feeling stuck or unproductive
• After completing a major milestone
• When onboarding a new team member

Instructions

1. Audit current workflow:

   • Review task completion rates on Kanban
   • Check average time from "todo" to "done"
   • Identify tasks that have been "in-progress" too long
   • Look for repeated patterns (same type of task done manually)

2. Identify bottlenecks:

   • What takes the most time?
   • What causes the most context switches?
   • What manual steps could be automated?

3. Propose optimizations:

## Workflow Optimization Report

### Current Metrics
- Avg task completion time: X days
- Tasks stuck in review: N
- Automation opportunities: N

### Bottleneck: [Name]
**Impact**: [How much time/effort wasted]
**Root cause**: [Why this happens]
**Proposed fix**: [Concrete action]
**Effort to fix**: [small/medium/large]

### Recommended Actions
1. [Quick win — do this today]
2. [Medium-term improvement]
3. [Long-term investment]

4. Create tasks for the recommended actions
5. Consider new extensions that could automate identified patterns