discovery-workshop

Input

$ARGUMENTS

If no input is provided above, ask: "Are you planning a discovery session or summarising one that's already happened? Then share the project context or raw notes."

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What This Skill Does

Two modes - tell Claude which one you need:

Mode	When to use	Output
Plan	Before the session - need an agenda, questions, or interview guide	Workshop plan + question set
Summarise	After the session - have raw notes, transcript, or bullet dump	Structured findings document

If it's unclear, ask: "Do you need help planning the session or summarising what came out of it?"

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What to Gather First

Input	Plan mode	Summarise mode
Project name + brief description	Yes	Yes
Who will attend / was interviewed	Yes	Yes
What is already known	Helpful	Helpful
Raw notes / transcript	No	Yes
Duration available	Yes	No

If raw notes are provided, go straight to Summarise mode. Don't ask for more than what's needed.

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Mode 1 - Plan

Output Template - Workshop Plan

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DISCOVERY PLAN

Project: [Name] | Date: [Session date or TBC] | Duration: [e.g. 90 mins] Facilitator: [PM or name] | Attendees: [Roles or names]

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Session Goal

[One sentence: what must we know by the end of this session that we don't know now?]

Key Unknowns Going In

The questions this session must answer:

1. [Unknown 1 - most critical]
2. [Unknown 2]
3. [Unknown 3]

Agenda

Time	Block	Purpose
0-5 min	Welcome + context	Align everyone on why we're here
5-20 min	Current state	Understand the problem as it exists today
20-45 min	Pain points + impact	Dig into what's broken and who it hurts
45-65 min	Ideal future state	What does good look like?
65-80 min	Constraints + risks	What could stop us?
80-90 min	Next steps	Who does what before the next session

Adjust timing for your actual duration. For interviews (1:1), drop the welcome block and spend more time on pain points.

Question Bank

Current state:

• Walk me through what happens today when [the problem occurs].
• How often does this happen? Who is affected?
• What do you do to work around it?

Pain + impact:

• What's the biggest frustration with the current situation?
• What happens if this doesn't get fixed? What does it cost the business?
• Who feels this pain most acutely?

Future state:

• If this was solved perfectly, what would be different about your day?
• How would you know the solution was working?
• What's the minimum that would make a real difference?

Constraints:

• What can't we change, even if we wanted to?
• Has this been tried before? What happened?
• Who needs to approve any change?

For sponsors only:

• What does success look like in 12 months?
• What would make you pull the plug on this project?
• What's the budget and timeline you have in mind?

What to Capture During the Session

• Exact quotes - the words people use reveal what they actually care about
• Disagreements between attendees - these are hidden risks
• Anything said with strong emotion - frustration, excitement, fear
• Items that get deferred with "we'll figure that out later"

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Mode 2 - Summarise

Output Template - Findings Summary

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DISCOVERY FINDINGS

Project: [Name] | Session date: [Date] | Prepared by: [PM] Attendees: [Roles or names] | Session type: Workshop / Interview

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The Real Problem

[2-3 sentences. What is the root cause? This may differ from what was stated at the start of the session. If it does, say so explicitly.]

Who Is Affected and How

Stakeholder	Current pain	Impact
[Role]	[What they experience]	[What it costs them - time, money, quality]

What Success Looks Like

[What did attendees say good looks like? Be specific - "faster" is not a success criterion, "onboarding completed in 1 day instead of 5" is.]

Key Findings

#	Finding	Source	Confidence
F1	[Specific insight]	[Who said it / observed]	High / Medium / Low

Confidence = High if stated directly, Medium if inferred, Low if contradicted by someone else.

Conflicts and Disagreements

[What did different attendees disagree on? These are not problems to smooth over - they are the most important things to resolve before requirements are written.]

• [Person A] believes [X]. [Person B] believes [Y]. Unresolved.

Still Unknown

What the session did not answer - these become the agenda for the next session or the open items in the requirements:

Unknown	Why it matters	How to resolve
[Question]	[What depends on the answer]	[Next step]

Recommended Next Steps

Action	Owner	By When
[Specific next action]	[Role]	[Date]