| name | alignment-grill |
| description | Use before implementation when non-trivial product, feature, workflow, UI, architecture, or agent-runtime work is underspecified and Claude needs to establish shared intent, constraints, module/interface impact, vertical slices, acceptance checks, and verification before planning or coding. |
Alignment Grill
Use before broad execution, not after implementation starts.
Workflow
- Discover repo facts first: read relevant docs, entrypoints, schemas, tests, and existing modules before asking the user anything discoverable.
- Ask only blocking product or authority questions that cannot be answered from local evidence.
- Walk the design tree until these are explicit:
- goal and non-goals
- target users or operators
- constraints, risks, and authority boundaries
- affected modules/interfaces
- vertical-slice candidates
- acceptance checks
- verification commands or manual QA needs
- Convert the aligned result into either direct slice instructions or a PRD/task-file shaped artifact.
Output Contract
Before coding, produce a compact alignment summary with:
Goal
Non-goals
Constraints
Module/interface impact
Vertical slices
Acceptance checks
Verification plan
Open blockers
If no blockers remain, continue into implementation using the smallest vertical slice first.