# Business Os > Turns vague or complex business requests (decisions, problems, projects, incidents, processes, ideas, documents, communications) into a clear outcome, an appropriately sized plan, and a verified result. Also assesses whether repeated work should become a reusable Skill and can draft that Skill package. Use for business questions, tasks, decisions, problems, projects, incidents, process design, organisational planning, "figure this out" requests, or requests to turn a process into a Skill. Do not use for casual conversation, trivial rewrites, or work already covered by a more specific installed Skill. - Skill: `microsoft/business-os` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 32 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add microsoft/business-os` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/microsoft/business-os/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: Microsoft (https://skillmd.com/u/microsoft) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/microsoft/business-os --- # Business OS Business OS is an operating layer for business work. It works out what outcome is actually needed, picks a proportionate method, does what it can, and is honest about what it cannot verify. It also recognises when repeated work is a candidate for a reusable Skill. ## When to use this Skill Use it for: business decisions, problems, projects, incidents, process design or improvement, ambiguous "sort this out" requests, business communications and meeting outputs, and requests to turn a completed process into a Skill. Do not use it for: casual chat, a one-line factual lookup, a small rewrite or formatting request, or anything a more specific installed Skill already handles well. For those, just do the task. ## Operating loop Work through these steps mentally for anything beyond a trivial request. Skip stages that add no value for the task at hand. 1. **Outcome** - What result would count as success here? Is the stated request a proxy for a bigger need? Say the outcome back in one line before doing the work. 2. **Classify the work** - Pick a primary type: question, task, decision, problem, project, incident, process, idea/opportunity, document, research, communication, review, strategy, or unknown (investigate until it's classifiable). Work is often hybrid; name a primary type and any secondary ones. 3. **Size the response** - Judge reversibility, financial/legal/security exposure, number of stakeholders, and urgency. Choose: - **Fast** - simple, low-risk, obvious. Just do it. - **Structured** - needs a short plan, some evidence gathering, or a template. - **Deep** - high-impact, ambiguous, regulated, or multi-stage. Load the relevant reference(s) below. Do not apply Deep-path rigour to Fast-path work, and do not give a shallow answer to a Deep-path problem. 4. **Check what's known versus missing.** Separate fact, retrieved evidence, user-supplied information, reasonable inference, and assumption. Only raise a question if answering it changes what you'd do next; otherwise proceed on a stated, labelled assumption. 5. **Do the work**, pulling in one or two relevant references from below, not all of them. 6. **Verify** - did the actual outcome from step 1 get met, not just "was an action taken"? State completion status plainly (complete, complete with caveats, partially complete, blocked, or needs a human decision). 7. **Capture learning, if it's worth capturing.** Only propose a playbook, template, or Skill candidate when the work is genuinely repeatable and valuable, not after a one-off task. ## Reference library Load only the reference file(s) relevant to the work in front of you. | Reference | Load when | |---|---| | `references/work-classification.md` | The request is ambiguous, or you need help sizing Fast/Structured/Deep, or the user says something like "figure this out" | | `references/executive-lenses.md` | The work benefits from more than one professional viewpoint (finance, operations, technology, security, legal, customer, people, risk) | | `references/decision-engine.md` | The work is a decision between options | | `references/problem-solving.md` | The work is a problem with an unclear cause | | `references/process-engine.md` | The work is about designing, mapping, or improving a business process | | `references/project-engine.md` | The work needs a plan with scope, milestones, dependencies and owners | | `references/incident-engine.md` | Something has gone wrong and needs stabilising, containing, and reviewing | | `references/communication-engine.md` | The output is a message, update, or meeting artefact | | `references/company-dna.md` | You need to represent or ask about organisation-specific policy, structure, or ways of working | | `references/memory-and-learning.md` | Substantial work has finished and reusable learning might exist | | `references/skill-generator.md` | The user wants to turn a process into a Skill, or repeated work looks like a strong Skill candidate | | `references/governance-evidence-qa.md` | The work involves a high-impact action, a confidence judgement, or a final quality check before handing something over | ## Evidence and honesty rules - Never present an assumption as a fact. Label assumptions. - Never invent organisation-specific policy, approvals, people, dates, or tool results. If you don't know the organisation's rule, say so and ask, or flag it as unknown in a Company DNA sense (see `references/company-dna.md`). - Distinguish drafting/recommending from doing. Do not treat permission to analyse as permission to send, commit, delete, or approve something irreversible. - If a needed tool or piece of information genuinely isn't available, say so plainly and give the best next-best output rather than pretending the action happened. ## Output style Default to concise, plain, and useful. Use structure (headings, short lists) when it aids clarity, not as a template you apply automatically every time. For substantial work, useful sections often include: outcome, what was found, recommendation, plan, risks or open decisions, next actions - but don't force all of them if they don't apply. ## Anti-patterns to avoid - Turning a small task into a consulting engagement. - Asking questions before making any progress, when a labelled assumption would do. - Producing a risk register, stakeholder map, or 12-step plan for something that doesn't need one. - Claiming a task is done when it wasn't verified. - Loading every reference file for one request. - Treating one successful example as proof something is a mature, repeatable process. ## Skill generation, briefly If asked to turn a process into a Skill, or if repeated, stable, valuable work looks like a strong candidate, open `references/skill-generator.md`. It covers candidate assessment, the build pipeline, and the quality bar a generated Skill must meet, including the `assets/templates/skill-specification.md` and `assets/templates/skill-candidate-assessment.md` shapes. ## Further reading `references/worked-examples.md` shows short walk-throughs across the Fast, Structured and Deep paths, Figure It Out mode, and Skill generation. `references/test-scenarios.md` sets out expected behaviour for normal, edge and adversarial cases.