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Product validation gate for RPI pipeline. Validates goal alignment with PRODUCT.md before discovery. Checks: gap alignment, persona fit, competitive differentiation, precedent, scope boundaries. Council-gated with --preset=product. Triggers: "design", "product validation", "validate product fit", "design gate".

Source: skills/design/SKILL.md

Quick Ref: Validates that a proposed goal aligns with the product's strategic direction before discovery begins major work. Council-gated with --preset=product.

Quick Start

Bash
/design "add caching layer for CLI"           # validate goal against PRODUCT.md
/design --quick "add caching layer"           # inline check, no council spawning
/design --strict "redesign hook system"       # higher threshold (avg >= 2.5)
/design                                       # infers goal from recent context

Execution Steps

Step 0: Check for PRODUCT.md

Locate PRODUCT.md in the repo root.

Bash
ls PRODUCT.md 2>/dev/null

If absent: Output a warning and return PASS with note: "No PRODUCT.md found -- skipping product validation gate. Run /product to generate one."

If present: Continue to Step 1.

Step 1: Load Product Context

Read PRODUCT.md and extract: - Mission -- the product's core purpose - Personas -- defined user types and their needs - Gaps -- known product gaps or roadmap items - Competitive landscape -- how the product differentiates

If any section is missing, note it as unavailable and score that dimension conservatively (1).

Step 2: Score Alignment Matrix

Evaluate the proposed goal against five dimensions. Use the scoring rubric in references/alignment-matrix.md.

Dimension Score (0-3) Rationale
Gap Alignment Does this goal address a known product gap?
Persona Fit Does this serve defined personas?
Competitive Diff Does this strengthen competitive position?
Precedent Has similar work been done before? What can we learn?
Scope Fit Is this appropriately scoped for the current phase?

Compute the average score across all five dimensions.

Step 3: Run Council

Invoke council with the product preset. See references/product-council-preset.md for judge configuration.

Text Only
Skill(skill="council", args="--preset=product validate design alignment for: <goal>")

Pass the alignment matrix from Step 2 as context to the council judges.

If --quick flag is set, skip council spawning and perform inline assessment instead.

Step 4: Write Design Artifact

Write the design artifact to .agents/design/:

Bash
mkdir -p .agents/design

Filename: <date>-design-<goal-slug>.md (e.g., 2026-03-30-design-add-caching-layer.md)

Artifact contents: - Goal statement - Alignment matrix with scores and rationale - Council verdict (or inline assessment if --quick) - Final verdict and recommendation

Step 5: Output Verdict

Determine the final verdict based on scores:

Condition Verdict
Average score >= 2.0 AND no dimension at 0 PASS -- goal aligns with product direction
Average score >= 1.5 OR one dimension at 0 with others strong WARN -- goal has alignment concerns, review before proceeding
Average score < 1.5 OR multiple dimensions at 0 FAIL -- goal does not align with product direction

When --strict is set, raise the PASS threshold to average >= 2.5.

Output the verdict in this format:

Text Only
DESIGN VERDICT: <PASS|WARN|FAIL>
  Gap Alignment:     <score>/3 -- <one-line rationale>
  Persona Fit:       <score>/3 -- <one-line rationale>
  Competitive Diff:  <score>/3 -- <one-line rationale>
  Precedent:         <score>/3 -- <one-line rationale>
  Scope Fit:         <score>/3 -- <one-line rationale>
  Average:           <avg>/3.0
  Artifact:          .agents/design/<filename>.md

Flags

Flag Effect
--quick Inline check without council spawning. Faster but less thorough.
--strict Raise PASS threshold from avg >= 2.0 to avg >= 2.5. Use for high-stakes changes.

Reference Documents

See Also