alexe-ev Run Technical Discovery
Purpose
Help teams run a time-boxed technical discovery process that surfaces feasibility constraints, explores architectural options, and resolves engineering unknowns — before committing to delivery.
Skill type
Conceptual skill
Use this skill when
- A product initiative has significant technical uncertainty that could invalidate the plan
- Engineering can't provide reliable estimates without exploration time
- A novel approach (new AI capability, new integration, new platform feature) needs to be validated
- An architectural decision needs structured exploration before a path is chosen
Do not use this skill when
- Technical complexity is low and discovery isn't needed
- The goal is sprint planning for known work (use plan-delivery-collaboration)
Required inputs
- Product initiative with technical uncertainty
- Key technical questions that must be resolved
Optional inputs
- Existing system architecture
- Technical constraints (data residency, security, performance)
- Engineering team input on unknowns
- Desired time box for discovery
Upstream context
Works best when:
- Product initiative is defined (problem and goals)
- Engineering has flagged unknowns
Downstream handoff
Output can feed:
- write-requirements-prd (discovery findings → requirements)
- plan-delivery-collaboration (discovery outputs enable reliable estimates)
- manage-technical-debt-tradeoffs (discovery surfaces debt implications)
Instructions
- Define the key technical questions to resolve in discovery.
- Agree on the time box (typically 1–2 sprints).
- Define the definition of done: what does discovery need to produce to unblock planning?
- Identify spike tasks or prototype experiments needed to answer each question.
- Define how findings will be documented and shared.
- Plan a discovery readout to align product and engineering on implications.
Output
Provide:
- Technical questions to resolve
- Discovery time box
- Definition of done
- Spike tasks or experiments per question
- Documentation and sharing plan
- Discovery readout format
- Decision points that discovery will unlock
Risks / caveats
- Open-ended discovery without time boxing turns into research that delays delivery indefinitely
- Discovery output must be in a form product can use — not just internal engineering notes
- "We need more discovery" is sometimes avoidance — distinguish genuine unknowns from lack of confidence