--- name: coreyhaines31/pm source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/coreyhaines31-pm@1/SKILL.md source_sha256: 836e9477dba4 --- # /pm — Project management across the portfolio Methodology-first project management. Kanban + Eisenhower + async. One board per business. Tool-agnostic via adapters. ## Mental model Each business gets its own kanban with 5 columns: ``` Backlog → Ready → In Progress → Review/Blocked → Done/Archived ``` - **Backlog**: everything that *might* matter — not yet committed - **Ready**: triaged, well-defined, can be picked up - **In Progress**: actively being worked - **Review/Blocked**: waiting on someone else, review, or external dependency - **Done/Archived**: shipped or killed **Eisenhower** sits on top of the board — used to triage Backlog → Ready (which items make the cut) and to pick next from Ready (which Ready item to pull). ``` Urgent Not Urgent Important Q1: Do Q2: Schedule ← Q2 is the high-leverage zone Not Important Q3: Delegate Q4: Delete ``` **Async-first**: every status snapshot should read like a Loom you didn't have to record. Make work visible without requiring a meeting. ## Step 1 — Detect mode and target Parse the invocation: | Invocation | Mode | Target | |---|---|---| | `/pm setup [business]` | setup | the named business | | `/pm triage [business]` | triage | the named business (or ask) | | `/pm next [business]` | next | the named business | | `/pm next` | next | **across all boards** (cross-portfolio) | | `/pm status [business]` | status | the named business (or ask) | | `/pm unblock [business]` | unblock | the named business (or ask) | | `/pm weekly` | weekly | all boards (Friday pulse) | | `/pm weekly [business]` | weekly | the named business | ## Step 2 — Load board config + personal overlay Read `${MAKERSKILLS_CONFIG:-$HOME/.config/makerskills}/pm/boards.md` (personal — real business list + tool mapping per business). Falls back to `references/boards.md` in the repo if the local file doesn't exist yet — that's a template. Also try to load `${MAKERSKILLS_CONFIG:-$HOME/.config/makerskills}/pm/team.local.md` if present — this is where the user lists partners, active clients, and typical blocker phrasings. Use it to make status output specific ("Waiting on 's review") instead of generic. | Field | Example | |---|---| | business | `` | | tool | `notion` / `github` / `plane` / `linear` / `obsidian` / `manual` | | board_id or URL | tool-specific | | column overrides | only if this board doesn't use the default 5 columns | If the business has no mapping yet, jump to **setup** automatically — ask which tool, save the mapping, return to the requested mode. ## Step 3 — Load the adapter Read the relevant section of `references/adapters.md` for the tool. Each adapter section explains how to: - List cards / issues / pages by column - Read a single card's full content - Create a card - Move a card between columns - Add a comment / note Adapters use: - **Notion** → `$NOTION_API_KEY` (already in zshenv). Database with `Status` select property. - **GitHub Projects** → `gh` CLI (already authed). `gh project item-list`, `gh project item-edit`. - **Plane** → Plane API (needs `$PLANE_API_KEY` and workspace slug). - **Linear** → Linear MCP or API key. - **Obsidian** → local kanban markdown files in the vault. Read/write directly. - **Manual** → ask the user to paste the current board state; offer to write back to a local markdown file. ## Step 4 — Run the mode ### setup - Ask which tool the business uses - Walk through column setup (default 5 columns; offer custom) - Save mapping to `${MAKERSKILLS_CONFIG:-$HOME/.config/makerskills}/pm/boards.md` (NOT to `references/boards.md` in the repo — that's a template only). Create the parent directory if it doesn't exist yet. - Optionally seed the board with starter cards from a conversation about what's on the user's mind for that business ### triage - Pull the Backlog column - Apply Eisenhower (Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4) — show the user the matrix view - Recommend moves: - Q1 (urgent + important) → move to Ready or In Progress now - Q2 (important, not urgent) → move to Ready, schedule when - Q3 (urgent, not important) → delegate (to whom?) or move to Ready if no one - Q4 (neither) → archive - Apply moves via the adapter (or output text the user applies manually) ### next - **Single board**: pull Ready, then In Progress. If WIP exceeded, surface what to finish first. If WIP available, recommend top Ready item by Eisenhower priority. - **Cross-portfolio** (`/pm next` with no business): pull Ready from every board, Eisenhower-rank, recommend top 1–3 across all businesses. Bias toward Q1 then Q2. ### status Generate an async-shareable snapshot: ```markdown # [Business] — Status as of YYYY-MM-DD **Shipped this week:** N cards - - **In progress:** N cards - — **Review/Blocked:** N cards - — blocked on **Up next:** top 2–3 from Ready - - **Open question:** ``` Output is paste-ready for Slack, Notion, email, partner DM. ### unblock - Read everything in Review/Blocked - For each card: surface the blocker, suggest an action (nudge X, escalate to Y, descope, kill, move back to In Progress if blocker is gone) - Output a short list of moves ### weekly **Friday pulse + planning**: 1. For each board: shipped this week, in progress, blocked 2. Cross-portfolio: where's momentum? where's drift? 3. Plan next week: 3–5 Q2 items to pull from Ready into In Progress on Monday 4. Output the combined snapshot — pasteable into Notion weekly log, partner update, or personal journal ## WIP limits Default WIP per column (override in your local `boards.md` per business): | Column | Default WIP | |---|---| | In Progress | 3 | | Review/Blocked | (no limit — but flag if >5) | If WIP exceeded in `next` mode, **don't pull more** — recommend finishing or moving something to Review/Blocked first. ## Async-first writing rules When generating status / weekly outputs: - **Lead with the headline** — what shipped this week, or what's at risk - **Be specific** — "shipped X" not "made progress on Y" - **No verbs without subjects** — write so the reader can pick up cold - **Blockers name the blocker** — "waiting on designer's review" not "blocked" - **Open questions are explicit** — one bolded line per status that asks for what would unblock momentum ## Composes with - `decide` — when a project hits a real decision, route to `/decide` - `deep-research` — when a card needs research before it's actionable - `business-brainstorm` — when an idea on the Backlog deserves pressure-testing before triage - `jab-hook` — when status / shipped items become BIP-post material - Memory (`project_*.md`) — for portfolio context per business ## Notes on quality - **Limit WIP.** Multitasking is the most reliable way to ship nothing. Cap In Progress at 3 (override in your local `boards.md` per business if truly needed). If the cap is hit, don't pull more — recommend finishing or moving something to Review/Blocked. - **Lead with the headline** in every status output — what shipped this week, or what's at risk. Not "made progress on X" — that's noise. - **Be specific.** "Shipped the primary logo variant" beats "made progress on branding." Specificity signals real motion; vagueness signals none. - **No verbs without subjects.** Write status so the reader can pick up cold — 3 weeks later or forwarded to a partner who missed the last update. - **Blockers name the blocker.** "Waiting on designer's review of the homepage draft" — not "blocked." Blockers without names create no urgency. - **Open questions are explicit** — one bolded line per status that asks for what would unblock momentum. Async momentum lives or dies on how well open questions are surfaced. - **Tool-agnostic by design.** pm speaks Kanban + Eisenhower; the adapters (Notion / GitHub / Plane / Linear / Obsidian / manual) translate. Adding a new tool = one adapter file, not a rewrite.