Complex Task Brief

Get a real brief before building complex work

For anything non-trivial or under-specified, do not start coding on assumptions. First converge on what's actually wanted, then persist it.

Process

1. Grill the requirements. Invoke the grill-with-docs skill if available, otherwise the grilling skill (both mattpocock-skills). Let it interrogate the request until the scope, constraints, edge cases, and definition of done are unambiguous. Don't skip the questioning to look fast — a wrong assumption here is the expensive one.
   • Not installed on this machine? npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills --skill=grill-with-docs
2. Write the brief down. Capture the agreed scope as a short brief — in the task tracker, a BRIEF.md, or the project memory's "Open threads". Include: goal, in-scope, out-of-scope, constraints, and how we'll know it's done.
3. Confirm, then build. Get a quick nod from the user on the brief before implementation.

Why

Large tasks fail from under-specification, not from typing speed. A five-minute brief prevents building the wrong thing for an hour.