Pm Spec Writing

What it does

When your agent uses it

• The user has an idea they want to build
• A feature to spec out
• A project to scope
• Needs to convert a half-formed idea into a clear implementation brief

Example prompts

• “/pm-spec-writing”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Clarify the idea
2. 2Scope by impact and effort
3. 3Write the spec
4. 4Sequence and ship

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 482c9bf. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Pm Spec Writing loads about 2.2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~6.7k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 153 tokens; SKILL.md has 813 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~153

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~2.2k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~6.7k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from rampstackco/claude-skills at commit 482c9bf, republished under its MIT licence (© rampstackco). 813 words, ~2,227 tokens.

name

pm-spec-writing

description

Translate ideas, feature requests, or vague concepts into specific, actionable dev briefs. Use this skill whenever the user has an idea they want to build, a feature to spec out, a bug to file, a project to scope, or needs to convert a half-formed idea into a clear implementation brief. Triggers on I want to add, we should build, can we make, what is the plan for, how do we implement, dev brief, feature spec, PRD, user story, acceptance criteria, scope this, prioritize. Also triggers when the user has a list of things they want to build and needs help converting them into well-formed tasks.

category

product

catalog_summary

PRDs, user stories, acceptance criteria, dev briefs

display_order

1

HIGH IMPACT / LOW EFFORT       Ship immediately
  Examples: copy fixes, contrast fixes, meta tags,
            broken links, missing alt text, redirects

HIGH IMPACT / HIGH EFFORT      Plan and batch
  Examples: new page type, new feature, schema overhaul,
            major redesign, new integration

LOW IMPACT / LOW EFFORT        Nice-to-have batch
  Examples: tooltip improvements, minor copy polish,
            cosmetic UX touches

LOW IMPACT / HIGH EFFORT       Skip or defer indefinitely
  Examples: rebuilding what already works, exotic
            edge case features, premature optimization

TITLE: [Specific, action-oriented]

PROBLEM
[1-2 sentences. The user problem and current state.]

USERS
[Who specifically benefits. Be precise about the user segment.]

PROPOSAL
[1 paragraph. The proposed solution. Stay at the conceptual level.]

USER STORIES
- As a [user type], I want to [action], so that [outcome]
- As a [user type], I want to [action], so that [outcome]

ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
- Given [context], when [action], then [expected outcome]
- Given [context], when [action], then [expected outcome]

OUT OF SCOPE
[What this spec explicitly does NOT cover. Important for scope control.]

DEPENDENCIES
[Other systems, APIs, designs, content needed before this can ship.]

SUCCESS METRIC
[The one primary metric that tells us this worked. With current baseline if known.]

ESTIMATED EFFORT
[Small (hours) / Medium (1-3 days) / Large (1-2 weeks) / XL (sprints)]

PRIORITY
[P0 launch blocker / P1 next sprint / P2 within quarter / P3 backlog]

CONTEXT: [1-2 sentences explaining why this matters]

TASK: [Specific files, exact changes needed]

CONSTRAINTS: [What must NOT change, what to preserve]

VERIFY: [Exact steps to confirm the work is done correctly]

URL or context: [Where it happens]

Symptom: [What the user sees or experiences]

Expected: [What should happen instead]

Steps to reproduce:
1. [Specific step]
2. [Specific step]
3. [Specific step]

Hypothesis: [Likely root cause if known]

Files to investigate: [Likely files involved if known]

Priority:
  P0 - blocking critical user flow, ship immediately
  P1 - degrades UX significantly, fix this sprint
  P2 - minor issue, fix when convenient
  P3 - nice-to-have improvement

Browser/device: [If reproducibility might be browser-specific]

specs/
  initiative-name/
    spec-feature-1.md
    spec-feature-2.md
    brief-task-1.md
    README.md   (overview and sequencing)

© rampstackco, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (references) in skills/pm-spec-writing of rampstackco/claude-skills.

• SKILL.md
• README.md
• references/dev-brief-template.md
• references/feature-spec-template.md
• references/prioritization-frameworks.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 482c9bf