global-skills/skills/grill/SKILL.md

name, description, concerns

name	description	concerns
grill	Calibrated interrogation to stress-test a fuzzy plan, design, or architecture before writing a spec or code. Asks one question at a time with recommended answers to extract concrete goals (§G) and constraints (§C). Use when asked to "grill me", "stress-test this", "challenge my plan", or before authoring a spec.	system-one-balance

Grill — Calibrated Plan Stress-Testing

Drags ambiguity into concrete goals (§G) and constraints (§C) before execution begins. A bad assumption caught here costs one question; caught later, it costs an architectural refactor.

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Phase 0: Setup and Protocols

1. Interrogation Invariants:
   • One Question at a Time: Never ask multiple questions in a single turn. Ask one question, provide a recommended answer, and wait.
   • Recommend an Answer: Always provide a concrete default so the user can reply with "yes" or choose an alternative.
   • Inspect Context First: If an answer can be found in files, code, docs, or git history, inspect them directly instead of asking the user.
   • Propose, Don't Decide: Challenge tradeoffs and surface hidden edge cases, but leave final product choices to the user.

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Phase 1: Ingest and Check

1. Determine user knowledge and desired pressure level from context:
   • Knowledge Level:
     • New: Explain missing frames briefly (2 sentences); focus on first principles and goals.
     • Working: Challenge standard tradeoffs, alternatives, and validation criteria.
     • Expert: Probe failure modes, boundary limits, migration costs, and reversibility.
   • Pressure Level:
     • Light: Clarify goals, scope, and missing definitions.
     • Standard: Challenge assumptions, resource bottlenecks, and execution paths.
     • Hard: Probe edge cases, adverse incentives, failure modes, and rollback mechanisms.

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Phase 2: Processing (Core Logic)

Climb the Question Ladder in sequence. Stop as soon as the plan is clear; do not ask every rung by reflex:

1. Goal (§G): What must the code or feature accomplish in one single, unambiguous sentence?
2. Done Criteria (§C / §V): What observable signal (test, metric, terminal output) proves this works?
3. Boundaries (§C): What is explicitly out of scope for this change?
4. Non-Negotiables (§C): What architectural patterns, libraries, or constraints are strictly required or forbidden?
5. Surfaces (§I): What external membranes (API endpoints, CLI flags, DB tables, schemas) will be modified?
6. Failure Modes (§V): What is the primary edge case or input that breaks the happy path?
7. Unknowns (?): What do we not yet know? (Park unresolved items as ? bullets; do not guess them).

Question Format

Question: ...
Recommended answer: ...
Why it matters: [1 sentence rationale]

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Phase 3: The System One Balance Pass

• Augment, Don't Handcuff:
  • Stop grilling immediately once the goal and boundaries are defined.
  • Never interrogate the user on routine file edits, typo fixes, or straightforward tasks.
  • Accept the user's recommended answer or override without debate.

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Phase 4: Output Execution & Verification

Stop grilling when all of the following hold:

• §G is one line, one reading, zero "or maybe".
• §C covers every non-negotiable stated or implied.
• Every blocking unknown is answered or parked as an explicit ?.

Emit the structured handoff block to pass to the spec or build workflow:

## Grill Handoff
- **§G**: [One-line goal]
- **§C**: [Constraints and non-negotiables]
- **§I**: [Surfaces touched]
- **Parked Unknowns (`?`)**: [Items deferred to research]