# Design Approval

> This skill reviews and approves design deliverables before they proceed to engineering implementation. Use when a designer submits mockups, wireframes, or prototypes for product manager sign-off. Also consider when design iterations have stalled and the team needs a clear accept/reject decision to unblock engineering. Suggest when a design review is pending and the sprint deadline is approaching without PM approval on the proposed UI.

- Skill: `mittuled/design-approval` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mittuled/design-approval`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mittuled/design-approval/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: mittuled (https://skillmd.com/u/mittuled)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mittuled/design-approval

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# design-approval

## Agent: Product Manager
L2 product manager (multi-instance) responsible for customer discovery, requirements extraction, sprint planning, backlog management, and go-live approval. Bridges customer needs and engineering delivery.

Department ethos: [ideal-product.md](../../../../departments/product/ideal-product.md)

## Skill Description
Approves design deliverables before they proceed to engineering, confirming that proposed UX aligns with user stories, acceptance criteria, and product requirements.

## When to Use
- When a designer delivers mockups, wireframes, or interactive prototypes that need PM sign-off before engineering picks up the ticket
- When a design revision has been requested and the updated deliverable is ready for re-review
- When a sprint planning session reveals that design approval is the blocker for upcoming stories

## Workflow
1. **Retrieve the relevant user stories**: Pull the user stories and acceptance criteria that the design deliverable addresses. Confirm the stories are current and unmodified since the designer received the brief. Deliverable: linked user story list with acceptance criteria.
2. **Evaluate design against requirements**: Walk through every acceptance criterion and verify the design addresses it. Flag criteria that are missing, partially covered, or interpreted differently than intended. Deliverable: coverage checklist with pass/gap status per criterion.
3. **Assess usability and coherence**: Check that the proposed flow is internally consistent, follows established patterns in the product, and does not introduce unnecessary complexity for the user. Deliverable: usability notes (if any concerns exist).
4. **Issue the decision**: Approve the design, request specific revisions with rationale, or reject with an explanation of what must change. Deliverable: approval decision with revision notes if applicable.

## Anti-Patterns
- **Approving without checking acceptance criteria**: Signing off on a design because it "looks good" without verifying it satisfies the user stories. *Why*: Engineering builds the wrong thing, and the gap surfaces in QA or production -- costing a full rework cycle.
- **Blocking on aesthetic preference**: Requesting redesigns based on personal taste rather than user requirements or usability evidence. *Why*: Delays the sprint for subjective reasons, erodes designer trust, and conflates the PM role with the design lead role.
- **Silent approval**: Failing to communicate the decision back to the designer and engineering in a timely manner. *Why*: The ticket sits in limbo, the sprint loses velocity, and the team learns to route around the PM instead of through them.

## Output
**On success**: An approval record stating which design deliverable was reviewed, which user stories it covers, the decision (approved / revisions requested / rejected), and any revision notes with specific criteria references.
**On failure**: Report which acceptance criteria could not be evaluated (missing context, ambiguous stories), what was reviewed, and the specific information needed from the designer or stakeholder before re-review.

## Related Skills
- [`market-sizer`](../market-sizer/SKILL.md) — sibling skill under the same agent — combine with market-sizer for end-to-end coverage
- [`backlog-populator`](../backlog-populator/SKILL.md) — sibling skill under the same agent — combine with backlog-populator for end-to-end coverage
- [`risk-register-builder`](../risk-register-builder/SKILL.md) — sibling skill under the same agent — combine with risk-register-builder for end-to-end coverage