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✍️ Building Your Own Skill

Step-by-step guide to creating a new PM skill from scratch.

Before You Start

What Makes a Good Skill?

A skill is worth creating when:

  • ✅ It solves a repeatable PM task (not a one-off)
  • ✅ It's based on a recognized framework or methodology
  • ✅ It produces a concrete artifact or decision
  • ✅ It can be self-scored against a quality rubric
  • ✅ It takes 10-60 minutes per use

A skill is NOT:

  • ❌ A generic prompt ("write me a strategy")
  • ❌ A one-time analysis with no reusable structure
  • ❌ A tool tutorial (how to use Jira, Figma, etc.)
  • ❌ A philosophical essay about product management

Choose the Right Skill Type

Choose... When...
🧱 Component The output is a single artifact (PRD, user story, battle card). Fill-in template, no back-and-forth.
🔄 Interactive The output depends heavily on context that varies each time. Needs clarifying questions first.
🎭 Workflow The process spans multiple phases and orchestrates other skills. End-to-end playbook.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Start from the Template

Copy SKILL_TEMPLATE.md to your new skill directory:

skills/
└── [domain]/
    └── [skill-name]/
        └── SKILL.md

Naming rules:

  • Folder name = kebab-case (e.g., problem-statement, ab-test-design)
  • Must match the name field in frontmatter
  • Be descriptive but short (2-4 words)

Step 2: Fill in the Frontmatter

---
name: your-skill-name
description: One line, ≤200 chars, what this skill does
type: component | interactive | workflow
domain: discovery | strategy | planning | specification | execution | launch | growth | analytics | communication | leadership
difficulty: beginner | intermediate | advanced
estimated_time: "15-30 min"
prerequisites: [list-of-skill-names-or-empty]
outputs: ["artifact-name"]
triggers:
  - "Natural language phrase that should activate this skill"
  - "Another trigger phrase"
  - "A third trigger phrase"
---

Tips:

  • Write 3-5 triggers that sound like how a real PM would ask for help
  • prerequisites should only list skills that must be done first (keep it short)
  • estimated_time should reflect a typical session, not a power user

Step 3: Write the Purpose

Write 1-3 sentences covering:

  1. What this skill produces
  2. When to use it
  3. What it's NOT (scope boundary)
## Purpose

[What this skill does and what artifact it produces.]

[When you would use this — the triggering scenario.]

[What this skill is NOT — prevent misuse.]

Step 4: Document Key Concepts

## Key Concepts

### [Name of Core Framework]
[Explain the framework with tables, diagrams, or lists]

### Why This Works
- [Reason 1]
- [Reason 2]
- [Reason 3]

### Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)
- **Not [X]:** [Why this doesn't apply]

### When to Use This
- [Scenario 1]
- [Scenario 2]

### When NOT to Use This
- [Scenario 1 — and what to use instead]

Step 5: Build the Application Section

This is the core of the skill. Each step should:

  1. Give clear instructions
  2. Provide a fill-in template in a code block
  3. Include quality checks after each step
## Application

### Step 1: [Action Name]

[Instructions explaining what to do and why.]

\```markdown
**Field 1:** [What to fill in — with example placeholder]
**Field 2:** [What to fill in]
\```

**Quality check:**
- [ ] [Yes/no question to verify quality]
- [ ] [Another verification question]

---

### Step 2: [Next Action]
[Continue pattern...]

How many steps?

  • Component skills: 4-7 steps
  • Interactive skills: 3-5 phases with questions
  • Workflow skills: 4-8 phases with sub-skills

Step 6: Add Examples

Every skill needs at least one good and one bad example:

## Examples

### ✅ Good Example
\```markdown
[Complete, realistic example — fully filled in]
\```
**Why this works:** [Explain what makes it excellent]

### ❌ Bad Example
\```markdown
[Complete bad example — realistic mistakes]
\```
**Why this fails:** [Explain what's wrong and how to fix it]

Tips:

  • Make examples realistic (use believable product scenarios)
  • Bad examples should contain common mistakes (not extreme failures)
  • Explain why — not just what

Step 7: Create the Quality Rubric

Design 5 dimensions that capture the most important quality signals:

## Quality Rubric

Score each dimension 0-2. **Target: 8+ out of 10.**

| Dimension | 0 (Missing) | 1 (Partial) | 2 (Excellent) |
|-----------|-------------|-------------|----------------|
| [Dim 1] | [What's missing] | [What's partial] | [What's excellent] |
| [Dim 2] | ... | ... | ... |
| [Dim 3] | ... | ... | ... |
| [Dim 4] | ... | ... | ... |
| [Dim 5] | ... | ... | ... |

**If score < 8:** Revise the weakest dimension before finalizing.

Dimension design tips:

  • Focus on the most common quality gaps, not edge cases
  • Level 1 ("Partial") should capture the "typical first draft" quality
  • Level 2 ("Excellent") should match what a senior PM would produce

Step 8: Document Common Pitfalls

List 2-4 named failure modes:

## Common Pitfalls

### Pitfall 1: [Descriptive Name]
**Symptom:** [What you'll see when this happens]
**Consequence:** [Why it's bad — what goes wrong downstream]
**Fix:** [How to avoid or correct it]

Step 9: Add References

## References

### Related Skills
- `skills/[domain]/[skill-name]/SKILL.md` — [How it relates to this skill]

### External Frameworks
- [Framework Name] — [Brief description and original source]

Step 10: Final Footer

---

**Skill type:** [component | interactive | workflow]
**Domain:** [Domain Name]
**Prerequisites:** [list or "None"]

Quality Checklist

Before submitting your skill, verify:

  • Frontmatter has all 9 required fields
  • name matches the folder name
  • 3-5 natural-sounding triggers
  • Purpose is clear in 1-3 sentences
  • Key Concepts section teaches the core framework
  • Application has step-by-step with templates AND quality checks
  • At least 1 good example + 1 bad example with explanations
  • Quality rubric has 5 dimensions with 0/1/2 scoring
  • 2-4 common pitfalls with symptom/consequence/fix
  • References include related skills and external frameworks
  • Footer matches frontmatter values

File Structure

skills/
└── [domain]/
    └── [your-skill-name]/
        └── SKILL.md          ← Your skill file (required)

Directory placement rules:

  • Skill goes in the directory matching its domain field
  • Each skill gets its own subdirectory
  • The file must be named SKILL.md (all caps)

📚 Back to Docs → · 📐 Skill Format Reference →