sairam0424 Skill — Council (Multi-Voice Decision)
When this skill activates
Any ambiguous architectural decision where multiple valid approaches exist, when resolving contentious technical choices, or when the Adversarial Decision Loop (ADS) produces a split verdict.
Mandatory actions when this skill is active
Before invoking council
- Verify the decision actually warrants multi-voice debate:
- Are there 2+ genuinely viable options? (If one is obviously best, skip council)
- Is the decision hard to reverse? (If easily reversible, just pick one and iterate)
- Does the decision affect multiple stakeholders or systems?
- Frame the decision clearly with: context, options, constraints, and stakes.
The Four Voices
| Voice | Asks | Bias (intentional) |
|---|---|---|
| Architect | "What scales? What's maintainable in 2 years?" | Elegant, extensible systems |
| Skeptic | "What breaks? What haven't we considered?" | Caution, hidden failure modes |
| Pragmatist | "What ships? What delivers value soonest?" | Delivery speed, incrementalism |
| Critic | "What's excellent? What meets our standards?" | Quality, craftsmanship |
Council Protocol
- Frame — Present decision with context, options, constraints
- Positions — Each voice states recommendation + top 3 reasons + confidence (0-1)
- Challenge — Each voice rebuts the strongest counterargument
- Synthesize — Produce verdict with consensus score
- Output — Write to
.planning/decisions/COUNCIL-[timestamp].md
Interpreting Results
| Consensus Score | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| >= 0.85 | Strong agreement | Proceed with confidence |
| 0.65 - 0.84 | Moderate agreement | Proceed but address dissent concerns |
| 0.50 - 0.64 | Weak agreement | Seek user input before proceeding |
| < 0.50 | No consensus | Present all options to user, defer decision |
Guardrails
- Council is ADVISORY — user always has final say
- Maximum 2 rounds (initial + challenge). No infinite debates.
- Each voice limited to 200 words per round
- If consensus < 0.5: do NOT auto-select. Report "No consensus" honestly.
- Always document dissent — suppressed minority opinions create tech debt
- Use council templates (see
council-templates.md) for common decision types
After council
- Write the decision record to
.planning/decisions/ - If the decision creates an ADR: also write to
docs/adr/ - Log council invocation and verdict in AUDIT
- Track the Skeptic's unmitigated risks as action items
Self-check before task completion
- Did I verify the decision warranted a council (not a simple choice)?
- Did I document all dissenting opinions (never suppressed)?
- Did I write the council verdict to .planning/decisions/?
- Did I remind the user that council is advisory (user has final say)?