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This skill should be used when running an interactive interview before a spec phase, gathering requirements through dialogue, asking the user clarifying questions before delegating to a subagent, or when any Ralph phase command (research, requirements, design, tasks) needs adaptive brainstorming dialogue. Covers the 3-phase algorithm (Understand, Propose Approaches, Confirm and Store).
Passed 11 of 18 test cases with the skill, and 4 of 18 without it.
and 12 more in the full report
11 fixed3 passed either way6 still failing2 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 11 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
When encountering domain terminology during the interview for the inventory management module, which repository reference file must be navigated to locate relevant context definitions?
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| Navigates CONTEXT-MAP.md to reach applicable CONTEXT.md files. | Missed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
Treat every normal-mode interview governed by this framework as a grill. Run the approval-gated interview for start, triage, research, requirements, design, and tasks. Treat this skill and its references as the single source of truth for interview behavior. Phase commands supply exploration territory and artifact context; they do not redefine the algorithm.
Quick mode bypasses interview questions only. It still requires current discovery, contract loading, bypass receipts, delegation checks, and artifact-agent load parity.
Before each new or resumed interview:
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/normal-mode-gates.md.SKILL.md, references/algorithm.md, references/domain-modeling.md, every selected skill body, and every selected skill resource required for the current work. Load references/examples.md only when an example is needed.phase_gate.py record-skill-load.Block when this skill or the core algorithm reference cannot be loaded. Warn and continue when a domain skill fails to load. Put unresolved material conflicts in the first critical frontier.
Grill only a decision that meets both conditions:
Inspect facts with read-only tools or an Explore agent. Exclude setup choices, administrative preferences, status questions, facts the repository can answer, and low-impact polish. Treat a prescribed task action in a loaded domain skill as reference material during preload; do not execute it until the phase has approval and delegation begins.
Before building the tree, read the goal, state, .progress.md, prior phase artifacts, the configured .index/index.md, and the applicable CONTEXT.md reached through CONTEXT-MAP.md when present. Open only relevant indexed entries. Inspect code, configuration, tests, and existing specs for every discoverable fact. Run independent read-only lookups in parallel; a pending fact blocks only the nodes that depend on it.
Build a design tree from the phase territory. Each node contains a stable decision ID, dependencies, known evidence, viable options, recommendation, tradeoffs, and material consequences. Track nodes as open, investigating, resolved, or explicitly out of scope. The frontier contains every open critical decision whose prerequisites are resolved.
Ask the whole currently unblocked critical frontier. Use as many AskUserQuestion calls as needed, with at most four questions per call. Batch independent decisions together.
Before every AskUserQuestion call, call open-frontier for every decision ID in that batch.
After each response:
test cases passed, vs 4 / 18 without
More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.