Skill: New Project Scaffold
Inputs
| Artefact |
Required? |
Purpose |
| Approved project profile and roadmap |
yes |
Drive scaffold scope |
| Repository conventions and existing files |
yes |
Preserve local structure |
Outputs
| Artefact |
Consumer |
Acceptance condition |
| Project documentation scaffold |
Project team |
No destructive overwrite, links resolve, roadmap represented |
Capability contract
Read/search are required. File creation requires explicit scaffold authority. Do not install tools, initialise remote services, or publish artefacts implicitly.
Degraded mode
Fallback without write access: return the directory tree and file templates as a proposed patch.
Decision rules
| State |
Action |
Failure avoided |
| Empty project |
Create approved minimal scaffold |
Context overload |
| Existing partial documentation |
Fill gaps and preserve content |
Destructive replacement |
| Conflicting methodology files |
Stop and reconcile with roadmap |
Contradictory process |
Domain anti-patterns
- Creating empty placeholder documents. Fix: include purpose, owner, and next action.
- Copying a universal scaffold. Fix: derive files from the approved roadmap.
- Replacing existing project rules. Fix: preserve and reconcile them.
- Adding tool-specific adapters as canonical truth. Fix: keep sources model-neutral.
- Claiming setup is complete without link checks. Fix: validate the scaffold and references.
Trigger
User says any of: "start a new project", "create a new project",
"scaffold a project", "new client project", "initialize project"
MANDATORY FIRST STEP
Before anything else, invoke superpowers:brainstorming to explore the project
intent, requirements, and design. Do NOT skip this step. Do NOT ask clarifying
questions before invoking brainstorming.
How to Use the SRS-Skills Engine (PRIME Workflow)
Every skill in this engine follows the PRIME methodology (Kodukula & Vinueza, 2024):
| Step |
What the Consultant Does |
SRS-Skills Equivalent |
| P — Prepare |
Gather all project data before prompting |
Populate _context/ files with real stakeholder data, not placeholders |
| R — Relay |
Submit the prompt with precise instructions |
Invoke the SKILL.md (tell Claude: "Run the [skill name] skill") |
| I — Inspect |
Critically evaluate AI output against objectives |
Read the generated document; check it against _context/ source files |
| M — Modify |
Refine if output diverges from expectations |
Edit the output or update _context/ and re-invoke the skill |
| E — Execute |
Approve and build the final artifact |
Run build-doc.sh to produce the .docx |
Quality rule: Never execute (build the .docx) without completing Inspect and Modify. The first AI output is a draft, not a deliverable.
The _context/ directory is the Project Input Folder (PIF) for this project — a living repository of project-specific context that feeds every skill. The richer the PIF, the higher the quality of every generated document (Kodukula & Vinueza, 2024).
Interview Protocol
After brainstorming, ask these questions ONE AT A TIME. Do not ask the next until
the previous is answered.
Q1: What is the project name? (This becomes the directory name — use hyphens,
e.g., Livecare-Hospital-ERP)
Q2: In 2–3 sentences, what does this software do and what problem does it solve?
(This pre-populates _context/vision.md and is used to deduce the domain)
Q3: Which methodology best fits this project?
- A) Waterfall — regulated industry, fixed scope, formal IEEE 830 SRS required
- B) Agile — iterative delivery, user stories, Scrum/Kanban
- C) Hybrid — formal SRS for backend/core + agile user stories for frontend/features
Q4: Who is the project owner / primary client contact name?
Domain Deduction (NO USER INPUT REQUIRED)
After Q2, Claude analyses the project description and deduces the domain automatically
using these signals:
| If description mentions... |
Deduce domain |
| patients, hospitals, clinics, EMR, EHR, PHI, medical, healthcare, pharmacy, nursing |
healthcare |
| banking, payments, ledger, transactions, trading, insurance, loans, fintech, accounting |
finance |
| students, courses, LMS, grades, enrollment, university, school, e-learning |
education |
| inventory, POS, e-commerce, retail, products, orders, cart, warehouse (retail context) |
retail |
| fleet, shipments, tracking, logistics, freight, warehouse (supply chain), delivery, routing |
logistics |
| government, citizens, public services, procurement, permits, case management, municipal |
government |
| farm, crops, livestock, agriculture, harvest, planting, irrigation, cattle, poultry, FMIS |
agriculture |
If ambiguous (two domains equally match): Ask the user during the brainstorming
session — e.g., "This sounds like it could be healthcare OR government — which primary
domain applies?"
If no domain matches: Use other — no domain defaults are injected; scaffold
only the directory structure and empty context files.
Additional Guidance
Extended project-scaffold guidance was moved to references/new-project-deep-dive.md to keep this entrypoint compact and fast to load.
Use that deep dive for:
Scaffold ActionsQuick LinksWhat We Are BuildingDocument Inventory by PhaseContext Files (_context/)Progress SummaryImmediate Next StepsProblem StatementGoalsStakeholdersSuccess CriteriaFeature Name- Additional deep-dive sections continue in the reference file.
1---2name: new-project3description: Use when the task matches skill: new project scaffold and this skill's local workflow.4---56# Skill: New Project Scaffold78<!-- dual-compat-start --><!-- dual-compat-end -->9## Inputs10| Artefact | Required? | Purpose |11|---|---|---|12| Approved project profile and roadmap | yes | Drive scaffold scope |13| Repository conventions and existing files | yes | Preserve local structure |1415## Outputs16| Artefact | Consumer | Acceptance condition |17|---|---|---|18| Project documentation scaffold | Project team | No destructive overwrite, links resolve, roadmap represented |1920## Capability contract21Read/search are required. File creation requires explicit scaffold authority. Do not install tools, initialise remote services, or publish artefacts implicitly.2223## Degraded mode24Fallback without write access: return the directory tree and file templates as a proposed patch.2526## Decision rules27| State | Action | Failure avoided |28|---|---|---|29| Empty project | Create approved minimal scaffold | Context overload |30| Existing partial documentation | Fill gaps and preserve content | Destructive replacement |31| Conflicting methodology files | Stop and reconcile with roadmap | Contradictory process |3233## Domain anti-patterns34- Creating empty placeholder documents. Fix: include purpose, owner, and next action.35- Copying a universal scaffold. Fix: derive files from the approved roadmap.36- Replacing existing project rules. Fix: preserve and reconcile them.37- Adding tool-specific adapters as canonical truth. Fix: keep sources model-neutral.38- Claiming setup is complete without link checks. Fix: validate the scaffold and references.3940## Trigger41User says any of: "start a new project", "create a new project",42"scaffold a project", "new client project", "initialize project"4344## MANDATORY FIRST STEP45Before anything else, invoke `superpowers:brainstorming` to explore the project46intent, requirements, and design. Do NOT skip this step. Do NOT ask clarifying47questions before invoking brainstorming.4849---5051## How to Use the SRS-Skills Engine (PRIME Workflow)5253Every skill in this engine follows the **PRIME methodology** (Kodukula & Vinueza, 2024):5455| Step | What the Consultant Does | SRS-Skills Equivalent |56|------|--------------------------|----------------------|57| **P — Prepare** | Gather all project data before prompting | Populate `_context/` files with real stakeholder data, not placeholders |58| **R — Relay** | Submit the prompt with precise instructions | Invoke the SKILL.md (tell Claude: "Run the [skill name] skill") |59| **I — Inspect** | Critically evaluate AI output against objectives | Read the generated document; check it against `_context/` source files |60| **M — Modify** | Refine if output diverges from expectations | Edit the output or update `_context/` and re-invoke the skill |61| **E — Execute** | Approve and build the final artifact | Run `build-doc.sh` to produce the `.docx` |6263> **Quality rule:** Never execute (build the `.docx`) without completing Inspect and Modify. The first AI output is a draft, not a deliverable.6465The `_context/` directory is the **Project Input Folder (PIF)** for this project — a living repository of project-specific context that feeds every skill. The richer the PIF, the higher the quality of every generated document (Kodukula & Vinueza, 2024).6667---6869## Interview Protocol7071After brainstorming, ask these questions ONE AT A TIME. Do not ask the next until72the previous is answered.7374**Q1:** What is the project name? (This becomes the directory name — use hyphens,75e.g., `Livecare-Hospital-ERP`)7677**Q2:** In 2–3 sentences, what does this software do and what problem does it solve?78(This pre-populates `_context/vision.md` and is used to deduce the domain)7980**Q3:** Which methodology best fits this project?81- A) **Waterfall** — regulated industry, fixed scope, formal IEEE 830 SRS required82- B) **Agile** — iterative delivery, user stories, Scrum/Kanban83- C) **Hybrid** — formal SRS for backend/core + agile user stories for frontend/features8485**Q4:** Who is the project owner / primary client contact name?8687---8889## Domain Deduction (NO USER INPUT REQUIRED)9091After Q2, Claude analyses the project description and deduces the domain automatically92using these signals:9394| If description mentions... | Deduce domain |95|---|---|96| patients, hospitals, clinics, EMR, EHR, PHI, medical, healthcare, pharmacy, nursing | `healthcare` |97| banking, payments, ledger, transactions, trading, insurance, loans, fintech, accounting | `finance` |98| students, courses, LMS, grades, enrollment, university, school, e-learning | `education` |99| inventory, POS, e-commerce, retail, products, orders, cart, warehouse (retail context) | `retail` |100| fleet, shipments, tracking, logistics, freight, warehouse (supply chain), delivery, routing | `logistics` |101| government, citizens, public services, procurement, permits, case management, municipal | `government` |102| farm, crops, livestock, agriculture, harvest, planting, irrigation, cattle, poultry, FMIS | `agriculture` |103104**If ambiguous (two domains equally match):** Ask the user during the brainstorming105session — e.g., "This sounds like it could be healthcare OR government — which primary106domain applies?"107108**If no domain matches:** Use `other` — no domain defaults are injected; scaffold109only the directory structure and empty context files.110111---112113## Additional Guidance114115Extended project-scaffold guidance was moved to [references/new-project-deep-dive.md](references/new-project-deep-dive.md) to keep this entrypoint compact and fast to load.116117Use that deep dive for:118- `Scaffold Actions`119- `Quick Links`120- `What We Are Building`121- `Document Inventory by Phase`122- `Context Files (`_context/`)`123- `Progress Summary`124- `Immediate Next Steps`125- `Problem Statement`126- `Goals`127- `Stakeholders`128- `Success Criteria`129- `Feature Name`130- Additional deep-dive sections continue in the reference file.
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