# Athola Claude Night Market Scope Guard > > Building more than what is needed takes choices away - Skill: `tomevault-io/athola-claude-night-market-scope-guard` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/athola-claude-night-market-scope-guard` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/athola-claude-night-market-scope-guard/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/athola-claude-night-market-scope-guard --- > Building more than what is needed takes choices away > from those who work here next. Scope-guard is humility > and foresight: preserving freedom by building only > what is earned. ## Table of Contents - [Philosophy](#philosophy) - [When to Use](#when-to-use) - [When NOT to Use](#when-not-to-use) - [Quick Start](#quick-start) - [1. Score the Feature](#1-score-the-feature) - [2. Check Against Backlog](#2-check-against-backlog) - [3. Verify Branch Budget](#3-verify-branch-budget) - [4. Monitor Thresholds](#4-monitor-thresholds) - [Core Workflow](#core-workflow) - [Step 1: Calculate Worthiness (`scope-guard:worthiness-scored`)](#step-1:-calculate-worthiness-(scope-guard:worthiness-scored)) - [Step 2: Compare Against Backlog (`scope-guard:backlog-compared`)](#step-2:-compare-against-backlog-(scope-guard:backlog-compared)) - [Step 3: Check Branch Budget (`scope-guard:budget-checked`)](#step-3:-check-branch-budget-(scope-guard:budget-checked)) - [Step 4: Document Decision (`scope-guard:decision-documented`)](#step-4:-document-decision-(scope-guard:decision-documented)) - [Anti-Overengineering Rules](#anti-overengineering-rules) - [Backlog Management](#backlog-management) - [Directory Structure](#directory-structure) - [Queue Rules](#queue-rules) - [Adding to Queue](#adding-to-queue) - [Integration Points](#integration-points) - [With superpowers:brainstorming](#with-superpowers:brainstorming) - [With superpowers:writing-plans](#with-superpowers:writing-plans) - [During superpowers:executing-plans](#during-superpowers-executing-plans) - [Required TodoWrite Items](#required-todowrite-items) - [Related Skills](#related-skills) - [Module Reference](#module-reference) # Scope Guard Prevents overengineering by both Claude and human during the brainstorm→plan→execute workflow. Forces explicit evaluation of every proposed feature against business value, opportunity cost, and branch constraints. ## Philosophy **Core Belief:** Not all features deserve implementation. Most ideas should be deferred to backlog until proven necessary. **Three Pillars:** 1. **Worthiness Scoring** - Quantify value vs cost before building 2. **Opportunity Cost** - Compare against existing backlog 3. **Branch Discipline** - Respect size thresholds ## When To Use - During brainstorming sessions before documenting designs - During planning sessions before finalizing implementation plans - When evaluating "should we add this?" decisions - Automatically via hooks when branches approach thresholds - When proposing new features, abstractions, or patterns ## When NOT To Use - Bug fixes with clear, bounded scope - Documentation-only changes - Trivial single-file edits (< 50 lines) - Emergency production fixes ## Quick Start ### 1. Score the Feature Use the Worthiness formula: ``` (Business Value + Time Criticality + Risk Reduction) / (Complexity + Token Cost + Scope Drift) ``` **Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability. See [decision-framework.md](modules/decision-framework.md) for details. **Thresholds:** - **> 2.0** → Implement now - **1.0 - 2.0** → Discuss first - **< 1.0** → Defer to backlog ### 2. Check Against Backlog Compare against `docs/backlog/queue.md`: - Does it beat top queued items? - Is there room in branch budget? ### 3. Verify Branch Budget **Default: 3 major features per branch** If at capacity, must drop existing feature, split to new branch, or justify override. ### 4. Monitor Thresholds Watch for Yellow/Red zones: - **Lines:** 1000/1500/2000 - **Commits:** 15/25/30 - **Days:** 3/7/7+ See [branch-management.md](modules/branch-management.md) for monitoring. ## Core Workflow ### Step 1: Calculate Worthiness (`scope-guard:worthiness-scored`) Score each factor (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13): - **Value Factors:** Business Value, Time Criticality, Risk Reduction - **Cost Factors:** Complexity, Token Cost, Scope Drift Details: [decision-framework.md](modules/decision-framework.md) ### Step 2: Compare Against Backlog (`scope-guard:backlog-compared`) 1. Check `docs/backlog/queue.md` for existing items 2. Compare Worthiness Scores 3. New item must beat top queued item OR fit within branch budget ### Step 3: Check Branch Budget (`scope-guard:budget-checked`) Count current features in branch. If at budget (default: 3), new feature requires: - Dropping an existing feature, OR - Splitting to new branch, OR - Explicit override with justification ### Step 4: Document Decision (`scope-guard:decision-documented`) Record outcome: - **Implementing:** Note Worthiness Score and budget slot - **Deferring (MANDATORY STEPS):** 1. **Create GitHub issue immediately** - See [github-integration.md](modules/github-integration.md) Steps 1-3 2. Mark `scope-guard:github-issue-created` complete 3. **Create Discussion** - See [github-integration.md](modules/github-integration.md) Step 4. Prompt: "Creating a Discussion with full reasoning context. [Y/n]" Publishing is the default. If the user explicitly declines, skip Discussion creation. If publishing fails, continue. 4. Optionally add to `docs/backlog/queue.md` with issue link - **Rejecting:** Document why (low value, out of scope) **IMPORTANT:** Deferral is NOT complete until a GitHub issue exists. This prevents context loss when branches are merged or abandoned. ## Anti-Overengineering Rules **Key Principles:** - Ask clarifying questions BEFORE proposing solutions - No abstraction until 3rd use case - Defer "nice to have" features - Stay within branch budget See [anti-overengineering.md](modules/anti-overengineering.md) for full rules and red flags. ## Backlog Management ### Directory Structure ``` **Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability. docs/backlog/ ├── queue.md # Active ranked queue └── archive/ ├── ideas.md # Deferred feature ideas ├── optimizations.md # Deferred performance work ├── refactors.md # Deferred cleanup └── abstractions.md # Deferred patterns ``` **Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability. ### Queue Rules - Max 10 items in active queue - Items older than 30 days without pickup → move to archive - Re-score monthly or when project context changes ### Adding to Queue When deferring, add to `docs/backlog/queue.md`: ```markdown | Rank | Item | Worthiness | Added | Branch/Epic | Category | |------|------|------------|-------|-------------|----------| | 1 | [New item description] | 1.8 | 2025-12-08 | current-branch | idea | ``` **Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability. Re-rank by Worthiness Score after adding. ## Integration Points ### With superpowers:brainstorming At end of brainstorming, before documenting design: 1. List all proposed features/components 2. Score each with Worthiness formula 3. Defer items scoring < 1.0 to backlog 4. Check branch budget for remaining items **Self-invoke prompt:** "Before documenting this design, let me evaluate the proposed features with scope-guard." ### With superpowers:writing-plans Before finalizing implementation plan: 1. Verify all planned items have Worthiness > 1.0 2. Compare against backlog queue 3. Confirm within branch budget 4. Document any deferrals **Self-invoke prompt:** "Before finalizing this plan, let me verify scope with scope-guard." ### During superpowers:executing-plans Periodically during execution: 1. Run threshold check: lines, files, commits, days 2. Warn if Yellow zone reached 3. Require justification if Red zone reached **Self-invoke prompt:** "This branch has grown significantly. Let me check scope-guard thresholds." ## Required TodoWrite Items When evaluating a feature, create these todos: 1. `scope-guard:worthiness-scored` 2. `scope-guard:backlog-compared` 3. `scope-guard:budget-checked` 4. `scope-guard:github-issue-created` (MANDATORY if deferring - blocks step 5) 5. `scope-guard:decision-documented` **Note:** Step 4 (`github-issue-created`) is REQUIRED when deferring items. You cannot mark `decision-documented` complete without first completing `github-issue-created` for deferrals. ## Related Skills - `superpowers:brainstorming` - Ideation workflow this guards - `superpowers:writing-plans` - Planning workflow this validates - `imbue:review-core` - Review methodology pattern ## Module Reference - **[decision-framework.md](modules/decision-framework.md)** - Worthiness formula, scoring, thresholds - **[github-integration.md](modules/github-integration.md)** - MANDATORY issue creation for deferrals - **[anti-overengineering.md](modules/anti-overengineering.md)** - Rules, patterns, red flags - **[branch-management.md](modules/branch-management.md)** - Thresholds, monitoring, zones - **[baseline-scenarios.md](modules/baseline-scenarios.md)** - Testing scenarios and validation ## Troubleshooting ### Common Issues **Command not found** Ensure all dependencies are installed and in PATH **Permission errors** Check file permissions and run with appropriate privileges **Unexpected behavior** Enable verbose logging with `--verbose` flag --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/athola) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.