tomevault-io RL Optimization Skill
Apply reinforcement learning principles to improve spec-kit prompts and templates.
When This Skill Activates
This skill provides background awareness when you're:
- Editing
commands/*.mdfiles (prompt engineering) - Modifying
extensions/workflows/*/templates - Discussing friction points from real-world usage
- Reviewing feedback about workflow effectiveness
- Analyzing how workflows performed in other projects
Core Principles
Prompt Effectiveness Criteria
When editing command prompts, ensure they score well on:
| Criterion | Question to Ask |
|---|---|
| Initial Clarity | Will the agent understand what to do immediately? |
| Step Sequence | Are steps in logical order with clear transitions? |
| Action Specificity | Are actions concrete and unambiguous? |
| Output Guidance | Is the expected output format clear? |
| Error Recovery | What happens if something goes wrong? |
| Completion Signal | How does the agent know when it's done? |
Template Effectiveness Criteria
When editing templates, ensure:
| Criterion | Question to Ask |
|---|---|
| Section Utility | Will each section be filled with useful content? |
| Logical Order | Does the structure flow naturally? |
| Placeholder Clarity | Are placeholders self-explanatory? |
| Completeness | Are all necessary sections present? |
| Conciseness | Is there any redundancy to remove? |
Red Flags to Watch For
In Prompts
- Vague instructions: "Create the file" → "Create the file with ALL sections from the template"
- Missing error handling: No guidance for when things fail
- Assumed knowledge: References to concepts not explained
- Ambiguous sequences: "Then do X or Y" without criteria for choosing
- No completion criteria: Agent doesn't know when to stop
In Templates
- Sections that are always skipped (remove or make optional)
- Missing sections users frequently add manually
- Placeholders that confuse more than help
- Redundant information across sections
- Poor ordering that breaks logical flow
Improvement Patterns
Pattern: Explicit Over Implicit
# Before (implicit)
Fill in the bug report template.
# After (explicit)
Fill in ALL sections of the bug report template. Do not skip any section,
even if information seems redundant. Pay special attention to:
- Reproduction Steps: Must be executable commands
- Root Cause: Use Five Whys analysis
- Prevention: Specific actions, not general statements
Pattern: Guided Decisions
# Before (ambiguous)
Choose the appropriate workflow.
# After (guided)
Choose the workflow based on the task:
- Bug with known cause → /speckit.bugfix
- Bug needing investigation → /speckit.bugfix (document investigation in root cause)
- Small improvement (<7 tasks) → /speckit.enhance
- Large feature → /speckit.specify
Pattern: Failure Recovery
# Before (no recovery)
Run the tests.
# After (with recovery)
Run the tests. If tests fail:
1. Check if failure is related to your changes
2. If yes, fix and re-run before proceeding
3. If no (pre-existing failure), document in notes and continue
When Making Changes
Before committing prompt or template changes:
- Check against criteria - Score the change on effectiveness criteria
- Look for red flags - Scan for patterns that cause friction
- Consider edge cases - What happens when things go wrong?
- Test mentally - Walk through as if you were the agent
- Compare before/after - Is the improvement clear?
Suggesting Intakes
When you notice patterns that suggest an RL intake would be valuable:
- User describes repeated friction with a workflow
- Multiple issues reference the same prompt confusion
- A workflow was used extensively in another project
- Post-mortem reveals systemic prompt issues
Suggest: "This sounds like good data for an RL intake. Want me to run /rl-intake to capture these patterns?"
Reference
See references/prompt-patterns.md for detailed examples of good and bad patterns.
Full process documentation: docs/rl-intake-process.md
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