Product Specify

product-specify

What this skill does

Transforms a high-level product idea into documented Product Decision Records (PDRs) through interactive exploration and trade-off analysis.

Key insight: Discussion and exploration happen before committing to formal documentation. The goal is to surface trade-offs, validate assumptions, and make informed decisions collaboratively.

Output: Individual PDR-{NNN}.md files (status Proposed) in .adlc/drafts/pdr/ with an auto-generated pdr.md index.

When to use

Note: Class boots detect decisions and suggest this skill — running it is how the capture happens (it writes the lightweight draft to .adlc/drafts/). Use it for interactive deep-dive exploration — when you want guided trade-off analysis, multi-option comparison, or structured decision facilitation before documenting.

• New product from scratch
• Major product pivots
• Documenting verbal decisions formally
• Team onboarding — walking through product rationale

When NOT to use

• Existing product (use /product-init instead)
• Minor PDR updates (use /product-clarify instead)

Execution Steps

Phase 0: Environment Setup

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sh: scripts/bash/setup-product-specify.sh [--json]
ps: scripts/powershell/setup-product-specify.ps1

Requires: the product-clarify skill (provides pdr-lib.sh): adlc-cli skills add tikalk/adlc-team-skills --skill product-clarify

Setup output (JSON):

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{
  "REPO_ROOT": "/path/to/project",
  "PDR_DRAFTS_DIR": "/path/to/project/.adlc/drafts/pdr",
  "PRD_FILE": "/path/to/project/PRD.md",
  "next_pdr": "001"
}

The script reports next_pdr — the next free PDR slot (status line Next PDR: PDR-{NNN}); Phase 6 numbers the new PDRs from it

Phase 1: Feature-Area Decomposition (Optional)

Analyze the product for distinct business domains. Auto-decompose if multiple domains detected. Use --no-decompose to skip.

Present detected areas:

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## Detected Feature Areas

| # | Feature Area | Key Domains | Rationale |
|---|--------------|-------------|-----------|
| 1 | **Auth** | Authentication, Authorization | Core user entry |
| 2 | **Core** | User Management, Profiles | Core data |
| 3 | **Business** | Payments, Subscriptions | Revenue domain |

Reply: Y to confirm, n for monolithic, or suggest changes.

Threshold:

• ≤3 areas: Auto-approve
• 4-6 areas: Confirm with user

• 6 areas: Suggest grouping

Phase 2: Product Analysis

Extract product drivers:

1. Problem Drivers: Core problem, who experiences it, current workarounds
2. Market Drivers: Target segments, competitive landscape, trends
3. Business Drivers: Revenue model, scaling expectations, strategic importance
4. Constraint Drivers: Technology mandates, budget, team skills, regulatory
5. Load Constitution: Read {REPO_ROOT}/docs/adlc/memory/constitution.md (legacy {REPO_ROOT}/.adlc/memory/constitution.md fallback — dual-read) if either exists
6. Check Existing Docs: Scan README.md, AGENTS.md, CONTRIBUTING.md for context

Phase 3: Product Exploration (Interactive)

For each major decision area, present options and facilitate discussion:

Decision areas (5-7 key decisions):

1. Problem Scope
2. Target Personas
3. Solution Approach (build vs buy vs partner)
4. Monetization
5. Go-to-Market
6. Success Metrics

Exploration format:

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## Product Decision: [Decision Area]

**Context**: [Why this decision matters]

**Options**:
| Option | Description | Trade-offs |
|--------|-------------|------------|
| A | [Option A] | Pros: [X] / Cons: [Y] |
| B | [Option B] | Pros: [X] / Cons: [Y] |

**Recommended**: Option [X]

**Questions**:
1. [Question about constraints]
2. [Question about trade-off priorities]

Rules:

• Present one decision area at a time
• Always provide a recommended option with reasoning
• Ask targeted questions to surface hidden requirements
• Skip decisions already determined by context or constitution
• Limit to 5-7 key decisions

Phase 4: Cross-Feature-Area Pre-Analysis

During exploration, watch for:

Phase 5: Decision Documentation

After each decision is confirmed, create a PDR file.

PDR file format (individual file, YAML frontmatter — use the shared template):

Use the template at {REPO_ROOT}/.agents/skills/product/templates/pdr-template.md as the canonical PDR format. The template includes YAML frontmatter (status, date, owner, category, feature-area, title) as the single source of truth for index generation, plus the standard PDR body sections (Context, Decision, Consequences, Alternatives, Links).

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---
status: proposed
date: YYYY-MM-DD
owner: [User/AI collaboration]
category: Feature
feature-area: [core | business | growth | ...]
title: [Decision Title]
---

# PDR-[NNN]: [Decision Title]

## Context
**Problem/Opportunity:**
[Clear description]

**Market Forces:**
- [Market factor 1]
- [Customer feedback]

## Decision
**Decision Statement:**
[Clear statement of what was decided]

**Rationale:**
[Why this option was chosen]

### Consequences
#### Positive
- [Benefit 1]

#### Negative
- [Trade-off 1]

#### Risks
- [Risk with mitigation]

### Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Measurement Method |
|--------|--------|-------------------|
| [Metric] | [Target] | [Method] |

### Alternatives Considered
#### Option A: [Alternative Name]
**Description:** [Brief description]
**Trade-offs:** [Neutral comparison]

### Constitution/Vision Alignment
| Principle | Alignment | Notes |
|-----------|-----------|-------|
| [Vision Principle] | ✅ Compliant / ⚠️ Deviation | [Explanation] |

Phase 6: Write PDR Files and Regenerate Index

1. Number PDRs sequentially: Start from PDR-001 for new projects, or continue from the next free slot the setup script computes (next_pdr in its JSON/status output) — never from "the highest existing PDR number" guessed by inspection: a stemmed record (e.g. PDR-002-amendment-2.md) is easy to miss, and its slot is still taken
2. Write individual files: {REPO_ROOT}/.adlc/drafts/pdr/PDR-{NNN}.md
3. Regenerate index: {REPO_ROOT}/.adlc/drafts/pdr/pdr.md

Index format:

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# Product Decision Records

## PDR Index

| ID | Feature-Area | Category | Status | Date | Owner |
|----|--------------|----------|--------|------|-------|
| PDR-001 | System | Target Market | Proposed | 2026-03-09 | User/AI |
| PDR-002 | Auth | Primary Persona | Proposed | 2026-03-09 | User/AI |

---

*Individual PDR files: PDR-*.md in this directory*

Phase 7: Summary Report

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## Feature Area Decomposition Summary

### Feature Areas Identified: 3

| # | Feature Area | PDRs Created |
|---|--------------|--------------|
| 1 | System-Level | PDR-001: Target Market |
| 2 | Auth | PDR-002: Primary Persona, PDR-003: Authentication Approach |
| 3 | Business | PDR-004: Pricing Model, PDR-005: Payment Integration |

### Next Steps
1. Review PDRs with /product-clarify
2. Generate PRD.md with /product-implement

PDR Numbering Rules

• Number from the next free slot the setup script computes (next_pdr), never from "the highest existing number" guessed by inspection: a stemmed record (e.g. PDR-002-amendment-2.md) is easy to miss, and its slot is still taken
• The slot scan reads every PDR-* stem in {REPO_ROOT}/.adlc/drafts/pdr/ and published memory (docs/adlc/memory/pdr/) — the same source next_pdr reports
• PDR IDs are zero-padded to 3 digits
• Never reuse numbers

Key Rules

Exploration First

• Do NOT generate PRD directly from product description
• Engage in discussion to validate assumptions
• Surface trade-offs before committing to decisions
• Allow iteration — user can revisit earlier decisions

Constitution Compliance

• PDRs must align with constitution principles
• Flag conflicts between product requirements and constitution
• Constitution violations require explicit override with justification

Incremental PDRs

• Create focused PDRs — one decision per PDR
• Link related PDRs when decisions interact
• Defer decisions that can be made later
• Mark provisional decisions that may need revision

Configuration

• PDR_DRAFTS_DIR — {REPO_ROOT}/.adlc/drafts/pdr
• PDR_INDEX — {REPO_ROOT}/.adlc/drafts/pdr/pdr.md
• PRD_FILE — {REPO_ROOT}/docs/adlc/product/PRD.md
• CONSTITUTION — {REPO_ROOT}/docs/adlc/memory/constitution.md (legacy .adlc/memory/constitution.md fallback)

12-Factor Alignment

• Factor III (Mission Definition): Defines the product mission before execution
• Factor XI (Directives as Code): PDRs are version-controlled decision records

Common Rationalizations

Red Flags

• Generating PRD before PDRs are accepted — /product-implement requires Accepted status; Proposed PDRs will be skipped.
• Skipping the constitution check — misaligned decisions propagate into the PRD and become expensive to fix.
• No alternatives documented — a PDR without alternatives is a statement, not a decision.

Verification

• Setup script returns valid JSON with all paths
• .adlc/drafts/pdr/ directory exists
• At least one PDR-*.md file created with status "Proposed"
• pdr.md index auto-generated with correct table
• Constitution alignment checked (if constitution exists)
• Cross-feature-area conflicts flagged
• No duplicate PDR IDs
• Each PDR has at least 2 alternatives documented