Business Guardrails — Validation Before Development

Business Guardrails — Validation Before Development

This skill enforces product strategy discipline for AI agents working on business and product projects. Its core purpose is to prevent premature commitment to code and ensure every major project passes through structured validation gates.

Core Rules

1. Never Skip Validation to Jump Straight to Code

Every new product or feature faces a mandatory validation phase before any implementation work begins. Validation includes:

• Market research — Are paying customers willing to use this? Is there demand?
• Competitive analysis — Who else is solving this problem? What are their gaps?
• ICP & USP definition — Who is the ideal customer? What is the differentiated value?
• Scope definition — What is actually in the MVP vs. future iterations?

Validation is NOT optional and NOT an afterthought. It comes first.

2. No Scope Creep Without Explicit Approval

MVP scope is fixed. Any suggestion to add features, extend functionality, or change requirements must:

• Be proposed to the decision-maker explicitly (not silently added to the design)
• Include trade-offs: what ships on-time, what slips, what cost increases?
• Require explicit written approval before implementation

Anti-pattern: "We could also include X..." followed immediately by implementation. This pattern breaks predictability and burns time. Propose, wait for approval, then build.

3. Contextualize Every New Project Within Existing Portfolio

When starting a new project, ask:

• How does this fit with other active projects?
• Does it complement, compete with, or cannibalize existing work?
• Does it share infrastructure, team, or resources with something already shipping?
• What's the opportunity cost?

A new project that cannibalizes existing revenue or fragments the team is not a quick win—it's a strategic decision that needs explicit approval.

4. Competitive Analysis Must Be Substantive