Detects common failure patterns in proposals, architectures, plans, and decisions. Use when reviewing any plan to identify red flags before they become problems. Covers architecture, timeline, team, process, and technology anti-patterns. Works on any domain — not just code.
From kw-pluginnpx claudepluginhub kwiggen/claude-code-plugin --plugin kw-pluginThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
Guides Next.js Cache Components and Partial Prerendering (PPR) with cacheComponents enabled. Implements 'use cache', cacheLife(), cacheTag(), revalidateTag(), static/dynamic optimization, and cache debugging.
Migrates code, prompts, and API calls from Claude Sonnet 4.0/4.5 or Opus 4.1 to Opus 4.5, updating model strings on Anthropic, AWS, GCP, Azure platforms.
Details PluginEval's skill quality evaluation: 3 layers (static, LLM judge), 10 dimensions, rubrics, formulas, anti-patterns, badges. Use to interpret scores, improve triggering, calibrate thresholds.
Identifies recurring failure patterns in plans and decisions. Anti-patterns look reasonable on the surface but lead to predictable problems. Detecting them early saves months of pain.
| Pattern | Description | Symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Big Ball of Mud | No clear structure, everything coupled | Can't change X without breaking Y |
| Golden Hammer | Using one approach for everything | "We'll use [tool] for that too" |
| Premature Microservices | Splitting before understanding boundaries | 3 people managing 20 services |
| Distributed Monolith | Microservices with tight coupling | Must deploy all services together |
| Resume-Driven Development | Choices for career, not product | "Let's use Rust for the admin panel" |
| Pattern | Description | Symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline Fantasy | Optimistic estimates ignoring reality | "6 weeks if everything goes well" |
| Scope Creep Blindness | Not accounting for inevitable growth | Same deadline, 2x scope |
| Parallel Path Delusion | Assuming unlimited parallelization | "Add more people to go faster" |
| MVP Maximalism | MVP that's actually V3 | 47 features in "minimum" product |
| Demo-Driven Development | Building for demos, not production | "It works on my machine" |
| Pattern | Description | Symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Hero Culture | Reliance on key individuals | "Only Sarah can fix that" |
| Knowledge Silos | Critical info in one person's head | Bus factor of 1 |
| Conway's Law Violation | Structure doesn't match team | Boundaries don't align |
| Understaffed Ambition | Big plans with tiny teams | 2 people building "the platform" |
| Absent Ownership | No clear owner for components | Issues fall through cracks |
| Pattern | Description | Symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo Cult Agile | Ceremonies without principles | Standups but no shipping |
| Analysis Paralysis | Over-planning, under-executing | Month 3 of "finalizing requirements" |
| Infinite Refactoring | Never shipping, always improving | "One more cleanup before release" |
| Documentation Theater | Docs that no one reads | 200-page spec, outdated day 1 |
| Meeting Madness | More meetings than doing | "Let's schedule a meeting" |
| Pattern | Description | Symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Shiny Object Syndrome | Chasing latest tech without reason | "Rewrite in [new hotness]" |
| Not Invented Here | Building what should be bought | Custom auth, custom logging, custom everything |
| Vendor Lock-in Denial | Ignoring exit costs | "We can always migrate later" |
| Premature Optimization | Optimizing before measuring | Caching layer with 10 users |
| Framework Overload | Too many frameworks/libraries | 47 dependencies for a button |
Look for phrases that indicate anti-patterns:
Timeline signals: "If everything goes well...", "We can do it faster if...", "Just need to hire...", "Should only take..."
Architecture signals: "We'll figure out boundaries later...", "Everything talks to everything...", "It's only temporary...", "We can always refactor..."
Team signals: "Only [person] knows...", "We'll hire for that...", "[Person] will handle all of...", "The team can absorb..."
Process signals: "We don't need docs...", "We'll add tests later...", "Let's discuss in the meeting...", "Requirements are evolving..."
For each suspected anti-pattern:
Certain patterns appear together and compound risk:
Startup Death Spiral: Timeline Fantasy + Understaffed Ambition + Hero Culture
Enterprise Trap: Analysis Paralysis + Documentation Theater + Meeting Madness
Tech Debt Avalanche: "Refactor later" + No ownership + Premature optimization
Microservices Mistake: Premature Microservices + Distributed Monolith + Understaffed
| Level | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Will cause failure if not addressed | Stop and fix before proceeding |
| High | Will cause significant problems | Address in planning phase |
| Medium | Will cause friction and delays | Include in risk mitigation |
| Low | Worth noting but manageable | Track and address opportunistically |
Use antipattern-detector for recognizing known failure patterns (architecture, timeline, team, process, technology). Use assumption-challenger for surfacing hidden assumptions treated as facts. Both run together in /validate.
Before presenting an analysis, verify:
# Anti-Pattern Analysis: [Plan Name]
## Summary
- **Patterns Detected**: [Count]
- **Critical**: [Count] | **High**: [Count] | **Medium**: [Count] | **Low**: [Count]
- **Overall Risk Level**: Critical / High / Medium / Low
- **Pattern Combinations Found**: [List any compound patterns]
## Critical Issues (Must Address)
### [Pattern Name]
**Category**: [Category] | **Severity**: Critical
**Evidence**: [What triggered detection]
**Risk**: [What will go wrong]
**Fix**: [How to address]
---
## High-Priority Issues (Should Address)
[Same format]
## Medium-Priority Issues (Consider Addressing)
[Same format]
## Patterns NOT Detected
[List patterns checked but not found — builds confidence]
## Recommendations
### Before Proceeding
1. [Critical action]
### During Execution
1. [Mitigation]
### Warning Signs to Monitor
- [Metric or signal to watch]