Design review
When to use
Use this skill in one explicitly selected mode:
- Prepare mode: assemble an evidence-backed review packet before a review.
- Document mode: record an outcome that an authoritative human source says was made.
Do not use it to make a design decision, edit the artifact, or infer approval from a
meeting invite or silence. Not for unscoped aesthetic preference, implementation work,
or publishing requirements and decisions without preview and human confirmation.
Inputs and source discipline
- Start with the mode, review scope, timezone, and as-of date/time. Identify the artifact
and exact version, revision, or snapshot; if the version is missing, say so and do not
merge evidence from different iterations.
- Gather requirements, user stories, constraints, research, feedback, and prior decisions
from named sources. Record source path or ID, source date, artifact location, and access
date/as-of for each item.
- In document mode, identify the authoritative review record and decision authority. Do
not infer participants, owners, intent, or approval from context.
- Keep evidence tied to the artifact version reviewed. A later revision is a new subject,
not a correction to the old record.
Method
- Confirm prepare or document mode and the exact artifact/version under review.
- Build a requirement-to-evidence trace: requirement, artifact location, supporting source
and date, and observed/inferred/unknown status. Include contradictory requirements or
feedback rather than silently choosing one.
- Inspect the artifact and evidence read-only. Record strengths, risks, open questions,
and traceable findings with confidence; do not add requirements that are not sourced.
- In prepare mode, list options, trade-offs, and questions for human reviewers without
selecting an option. In document mode, record only decisions explicitly stated by the
authoritative source and label them proposed, accepted, or superseded as supported.
- Separate recommendations from authorized decisions. A recommendation is not a human
decision, and an unresolved question stays unresolved.
- Draft the packet or outcome record with sources, dates, as-of provenance, unknowns, and
contradictions. Preview the exact save before requesting confirmation.
Truth and uncertainty rules
- Observed: a requirement, design detail, feedback item, or decision directly present in
the cited artifact or dated source.
- Inferred: an interpretation of a design effect or requirement relationship; explain
the evidence and confidence.
- Unknown: missing version, requirement, rationale, participant, authority, or outcome.
- Stale: evidence tied to an older artifact/version or outside the requested as-of
boundary; do not apply it to a newer revision without re-checking.
- Contradictory: requirements, feedback, or review sources disagree; preserve the
conflict and dates and ask the human authority to resolve it.
Never invent dates, metrics, percentages, owners, intent, money, causes, status, or
evidence. Never convert a suggestion into an accepted decision.
Output contract
Return a review record containing:
- mode, review scope, artifact/version, timezone, as-of date/time, and source coverage;
- the requirement/evidence trace with source/date references and confidence;
- findings, options, trade-offs, unknowns, stale evidence, and contradictions;
- in prepare mode, recommendations and explicit decision questions;
- in document mode, only sourced proposed, accepted, or superseded decisions, with the
authoritative source and date; never imply a decision where the record is unknown.
Safety and write boundaries
Default to read-only in both modes. Do not edit design files, requirements, tickets, or
decision records while preparing or reviewing. A document-mode save or other action needs
an exact preview, explicit confirm, and human authority; perform only the confirmed write.
Recommendations do not authorize design changes or decisions.
Verification and recovery
Read back the artifact/version and every requirement/evidence reference, then reconcile
decision labels, sources, dates, and as-of scope before delivery. After an authorized save,
read back the destination and reconcile it with the confirmed preview. If the artifact
changes, a version is stale, a source is contradictory, or a read fails, stop and mark the
affected item unknown or stale. If a write fails or is partial, preserve the draft and
error, report the exact state, and wait for human authority before retrying or recovering;
do not claim a decision was documented without read-back proof.
