Results for “design-research”

Use when auditing an ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference (DAC) Research-Manuscript submission for Softconf readiness, covering the two-stage abstract-then-manuscript deadline, the 6+1-page ACM double-column page budget with its references-only last page, the double-blind anonymization sweep, TPC conflict-of-interest declaration, and desk-reject triage before the mid-to-late-November cutoff.

Use to plan a full ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference (DAC) Research-Manuscript campaign backward from the mid-to-late-November manuscript deadline through the two-stage abstract-then-manuscript submission on Softconf, the winter review, the March notification, the April camera-ready and copyright for the ACM Digital Library, and the July conference in Long Beach — with the Engineering-Track and Late-Breaking-Results side calendars.

Build work collaboratively in reviewable pieces, handing each piece back for review before starting the next, so the person stays in the lead and steers while the work happens instead of reviewing a finished result. Use when someone says to pair with them on something, asks to collaborate rather than direct, wants to review as it goes, or wants to guide the work piece by piece — on code, on a design decision, or on writing. For a test-first build it runs tdd, for restructuring it runs refactor, for an interface contract it runs design-an-api, and for plan work it runs iterative-plan-review or plan-implementation, each collaboratively; invoke any of those directly instead to run it straight through without pausing. Does not pace someone through code that already exists and builds nothing — use code-walkthrough. Does not explain, summarize, or research something instead of producing it — use code-overview or research.

Talk to customers without leading them using Mom Test rules: discuss their life not your idea, ask about specifics in the past, and talk less. Use when the user mentions "customer interviews", "validate my idea", "users say they want it but dont buy", "leading questions", "The Mom Test", "customer feedback bias", or "interview script". Also trigger when preparing user research questions, interpreting ambiguous customer feedback, or designing customer discovery processes that avoid false positives. Covers commitment and advancement, avoiding compliments, and extracting signal from noise. For product-market fit, see jobs-to-be-done. For rapid prototype testing, see design-sprint.

When the user wants to find, qualify, and build a list of prospects to reach out to — across B2B SaaS, general B2B, or local small businesses. Also use when the user mentions "prospecting," "build a prospect list," "find prospects," "find leads," "lead gen list," "find SaaS companies that," "find B2B companies," "find local businesses," "ICP-fit accounts," "who should we go after," "outbound list," "target account list," "find clients near me," "businesses without websites," "prospect research," "qualified leads," "find my first customers," "early adopters," "design partners," "beta users," or "who has this problem." Use this for the list-building and qualification phase. For writing the outbound copy after the list is built, see cold-email. For deep competitive research on specific accounts, see competitor-profiling.

Universal Reasoning Framework implementing λο.τ calculus over holarchic structures. Provides severity-based routing (R0-R3 pipelines), modular cognitive architecture (DEC, EVL, PAT, SYN, MEA, HYP, INT), fractal execution patterns, multi-level validation (η≥4, KROG), and adaptive learning. Triggers on: (1) complex multi-step reasoning, (2) high-stakes decisions requiring validation, (3) research synthesis across domains, (4) system design and architecture, (5) crisis management, (6) performance optimization. Implements scale-invariant reasoning from micro (tool calls) through meso (skill composition) to macro (orchestrated workflows).

Causal inference framework for answering "does X cause Y?" beyond correlation. DoWhy (Microsoft Research) provides the identify-estimate-refute loop: define a causal graph (DAG), identify the causal effect using backdoor/frontdoor/instrumental variable criteria, estimate treatment effects with multiple estimators, and validate results with automated refutation tests. Use when: distinguishing causation from correlation, estimating treatment effects (ATE, ATT, CATE), designing and analyzing A/B tests with confounders, using instrumental variables, performing counterfactual reasoning ("what would have happened if..."), validating causal claims with sensitivity analysis, working with observational data where randomization is impossible, or any analysis where the question is "what is the CAUSAL effect of X on Y" rather than just "how do X and Y relate?"

Use this skill whenever a developer wants to turn an idea into a complete, production-ready, end-to-end system plan BEFORE writing any code. Trigger on 'plan this system', 'design the architecture for', 'help me blueprint', 'deep plan for X', 'break this idea into components', 'expand into action points', 'full implementation plan', or when the user pastes a project idea wanting architecture, components, pipelines, and file-level execution mapped out. Casual phrasing also triggers: 'help me think this through end-to-end', 'plan before coding'. Also covers living-workspace patterns: self-improving knowledge bases, reflection loops with auditor agents, four-agent teams, schema-as-code, wiki health scoring. **Resume triggers**: 'where did we leave off', 'continue this plan', 'resume my blueprint' - rehydrates state from disk via SESSION.md/NEXT.md/decisions/. Web research is mandatory every invocation.

World-class color theory expertise combining the scientific precision of Josef Albers' "Interaction of Color," the systematic thinking of color systems from Pantone and RAL, and the perceptual psychology insights from researchers like Bevil Conway. Color is not just aesthetics - it's communication, emotion, and usability compressed into wavelengths. Great color work is invisible when done right. Users don't notice "nice colors" - they notice when they can't read text, when buttons don't look clickable, when errors don't feel urgent, or when the interface feels "off" without knowing why. Color theory is the science of making the right thing feel obvious. Use when "color theory, color palette, color scheme, color harmony, complementary colors, analogous colors, contrast ratio, dark mode colors, light mode, color tokens, semantic colors, color accessibility, color blindness, color psychology, color system, brand colors, data visualization colors, color, design, accessibility, contrast, dark-mode, theming, tokens