Design

Task Analysis Process

Goal: Before writing any code, make sure you understand the requirements and have an implementation plan ready.

Conventions

• Read capy knowledge base conventions at shared-capy-knowledge-protocol.md.
• Read profile detection at shared-profile-detection.md. When an active profile contributes a design/ subdirectory (e.g., ${TOOLBOX_PLUGIN_ROOT}/profiles/k8s/design/), its questions.md feeds the idea-refinement question pool and its sections.md lists required sections the design document must cover. Both the idea-to-design and continue-WIP flows consult the shared procedure; see each flow's workflow file for the specific integration points.

For fresh ideas, two reference files provide methodology and evaluation rubric: frameworks.md (ideation lenses for the diverge phase) and refinement-criteria.md (evaluation dimensions and MVP scoping for the converge phase). These are loaded during the instruction-load step and consumed by idea-process.md Step 3 sub-phases.

Workflow

Mandatory order — understanding before engagement. The flow below is strictly sequential. Do not engage with the idea prose beyond a keyword scan, ask refinement questions, or write design content until all instructions — this SKILL.md, the relevant process file, the shared profile-detection procedure, every resolved profile's design/ content, and (for fresh ideas) the reference files frameworks.md and refinement-criteria.md — are fully loaded.

The /kk:design skill has two entry points; each has its own process file with a detailed workflow. Both follow the same mandatory ordering:

1. Keyword scan only. The idea prose (or WIP feature directory) is scanned at the keyword/filename level — enough to drive profile detection, not enough to engage with the content.
2. Load instructions. Read the relevant process file (idea-process.md or existing-task-process.md), and (for fresh ideas) the reference files frameworks.md (ideation lenses) and refinement-criteria.md (evaluation rubric).
3. Detect active profiles. Delegate to shared-profile-detection.md. For fresh ideas, this uses the design interaction pattern (token matching against idea prose). For WIP features, this uses file-based detection with design-pattern fallback.
4. Load profile content. For each active profile contributing a design/ subdirectory, read its index.md and all always-load entries (questions.md, sections.md). These feed the refinement question pool and required design sections.
5. Engage with subject matter. Only now: ask refinement questions, analyze the idea, write design content.

Ideas and Prototypes

Use this for ideas that are not fully thought out and do not have a fully-formed design/specification and/or implementation-plan.

For example: I've got an idea I want to talk through with you before we proceed with the implementation.

Your job: Help me turn it into a fully formed design, spec, implementation plan, and task list.

See idea-process.md.

Continue WIP Feature

Use this to resume work on a feature that already has design docs and a task list in /docs/wip/.

For example: Let's continue working on the auth system.

Your job: Review the current state of the feature, understand what's been done and what's next, then proceed with implementation.

See existing-task-process.md.