# Interview Me

> Interactive requirements elicitation skill. Interrogates ambiguous, complex, or high-blast-radius tasks one focused question at a time before any plan or code is written.

- Skill: `kok-o/interview-me` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add kok-o/interview-me`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/kok-o/interview-me/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: kok-o (https://skillmd.com/u/kok-o)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/kok-o/interview-me

---

# interview-me

## Overview

Structured requirements interrogation framework inspired by [addyosmani/agent-skills](https://github.com/addyosmani/agent-skills). Prevents wasted cycles by transforming vague user intents into crisp, unambiguous architectural constraints through single-question progressive interview loops.

## When to Use

Activate whenever:

- User task has underspecified requirements, open UX decisions, or multiple viable architectural trade-offs.
- A high-blast-radius change (database migrations, auth refactor, API contract change) is requested.
- Explicitly triggered via `/spec`, `/interview`, or "ask me questions first".

## Rules & Patterns

### 1. The One-Question-At-A-Time Rule

**Never overwhelm the user with a 10-point interrogation form.**

- Ask **exactly ONE focused question** per turn (or at most two tightly-coupled binary options).
- Provide the recommended option first with clear rationale: `"(Recommended) Option A because..."`.
- Always allow write-in or clarification.

### 2. The 4 Interrogation Dimensions

Interrogate in this strict priority order:

1. **Business Outcome & Invariants**:
   - What core problem does this solve?
   - What behavior is strictly forbidden?
2. **Scope Boundaries (In vs Out)**:
   - What must be delivered in this atomic slice?
   - What is explicitly deferred to later?
3. **Technical Constraints**:
   - Versions, libraries, database engines, backwards compatibility requirements.
4. **Edge Cases & Failure Modes**:
   - What happens on network disconnect, empty response, or unauthorized token?

### 3. Progressive Synthesis

After each user answer:

- Acknowledge the decision and update the mental model.
- If more critical decisions remain, ask the next question.
- Once 2–4 key questions are resolved, synthesize the formal Feature Spec and transition to `engineering-workflow` (`[PHASE: Plan]`).

---

## Code Examples

### Interactive Interview Turn Example

```markdown
**Question 1 of 3 (Authentication Strategy)**

Before implementing the API authentication layer, we need to align on session storage:

1. **(Recommended) HTTP-only Secure Cookies with Refresh Tokens**:
   - *Why*: Immune to XSS token theft, standard for web dashboards.
2. **Bearer Token in Authorization Header**:
   - *Why*: Ideal if this API will also be consumed by mobile apps or third-party CLI tools.

Which model fits your architecture best?
```

---

## Validation Checklist

- [ ] Question addresses an actual ambiguity (never ask about obvious defaults).
- [ ] Exactly one question (or two tightly coupled choices) asked.
- [ ] Recommendation provided with clear engineering justification.
- [ ] User response incorporated into the final spec before coding.

---

## Common Mistakes

- **Asking obvious questions**: Asking "Do you want error handling?" instead of making a sensible senior default.
- **Interrogation bombardment**: Dumping a list of 8 open-ended questions in a single wall of text.
- **Ignoring user answers**: Asking a question, receiving an answer, and then implementing something else.

---

## Integration Notes

- Runs at the start of `engineering-workflow` Phase 1 (`/spec`).
- Interacts with `gstack-roles` (`[ROLE: Product Manager]` or `[ROLE: Architect]`).
- Hands off to `ponytail-mindset` once scope is defined.