discuss-proposal

Discuss Proposal

Discuss a proposal with the user to refine it before accepting or dismissing. Your review is permanently recorded as a comment on the proposal, and you may create a revision if you identify concrete improvements.

Usage

/discuss-proposal {proposalId}

Instructions

You have been asked to discuss and review a proposal with the user. Follow these steps:

1. Fetch the proposal using the get_proposal MCP tool:

   get_proposal({ id: "{proposalId}" })
   

2. Validate project match — ensure this proposal belongs to your current project:

   • Call get_project_state() to determine your current project.
   • Compare proposal.project with the current project name.
   • If they do not match, gracefully decline:

     send_message({ to: "user", body: "Cannot discuss proposal '<title>' — it belongs to project '<proposal.project>' but I am currently scoped to project '<my-project>'. Please route this to an agent working on '<proposal.project>'.", threadId: "proposal-{proposalId}" })
     

     Do not change the proposal's status (leave it as-is). Stop execution here — do not proceed with the review.
   • If they match, continue to the next step.

3. Check existing comments and revisions to understand prior discussion:

   list_proposal_comments({ id: "{proposalId}" })
   list_revisions({ id: "{proposalId}" })
   

4. Report status via MCP:

   set_status({ status: "working", task: "Reviewing proposal: <title>" })
   

5. Analyze the proposal and send your analysis to the user via MCP:

   send_message({ to: "user", body: "<your analysis>", threadId: "proposal-{proposalId}" })
   

   Your analysis should cover:

   • Strengths: What's good about this proposal?
   • Weaknesses: What could be improved or is missing?
   • Feasibility: How complex is implementation? What are the risks?
   • Cost estimate: Rough effort estimate (small/medium/large)
   • Suggestions: Specific improvements or alternatives
   • Questions: Anything unclear that needs user input

6. Record your review as a comment on the proposal. This is mandatory — every review must be permanently attached to the proposal record:

   comment_on_proposal({ id: "{proposalId}", body: "<review summary>" })
   

   The comment body should be a concise summary of your review findings. It does not need to duplicate the full chat message — focus on the key points: strengths, weaknesses, and any recommended changes.

7. Engage in discussion: After sending your initial analysis, check for user responses periodically using read_messages. Respond to questions and refine your thinking based on feedback.

8. If you identify concrete improvements, create a revision. Follow these sub-steps in order:

   a. Announce your intent to the user FIRST — you must NOT silently revise. Send a message explaining exactly what you plan to change and why:

   send_message({ to: "user", body: "I'd like to revise this proposal. Here's what I plan to change:\n- <change 1 and reason>\n- <change 2 and reason>\nShall I proceed?", threadId: "proposal-{proposalId}" })
   

   b. Wait for user confirmation by checking read_messages — do not revise until the user agrees or the discussion makes it clear the changes are wanted.

   c. Create the revision with a meaningful changelog:

   revise_proposal({
     id: "{proposalId}",
     title: "Updated title if changed",
     description: "Updated description if changed",
     type: "product or engineering if changed",
     changelog: "Specific description of what changed and why — e.g. 'Added phased rollout plan for API coverage; corrected assumption about frontend Zod schemas'"
   })
   

   Only include the fields you are actually changing (title, description, type). Omit fields that remain the same. The changelog field is always required and must be descriptive — never use generic text like "updated proposal".

9. When the discussion concludes, suggest next steps:

   • Accept the proposal as-is
   • Accept with the revision already applied
   • Dismiss with reasoning
   • Continue discussion in a follow-up

When to Comment vs. Revise

• Always comment: Every invocation of this skill must produce a comment_on_proposal call. The comment records your review for posterity, even if no changes are needed.
• Revise only when you have concrete improvements: If your review identifies specific, actionable changes to the proposal's title, description, or type, create a revision. Vague feedback ("could be better") is not grounds for a revision — that belongs in the comment only.
• Comment AND revise: When you do revise, still create the comment first. The comment captures your reasoning; the revision captures the changes.

Question Routing (MANDATORY)

All questions about the proposal MUST be sent to the user via Adjutant MCP messages. This is non-negotiable.

send_message({ to: "user", body: "Question about proposal '<title>': <your question>" })

Rules:

• Do NOT use AskUserQuestion — it blocks execution and the user may not be at the terminal
• Do NOT print questions to stdout — the user monitors agents via the Adjutant dashboard, not terminal output
• Do NOT block waiting for answers — send the question via MCP, note your assumption, and continue
• If you make assumptions, state them clearly in the MCP message so the user can correct you later
• If ambiguous on multiple points, send ONE message with all questions numbered, then proceed with reasonable defaults

Notes

• Keep the discussion threaded under threadId: "proposal-{proposalId}" so it stays organized.
• Be constructive — the goal is to improve the proposal, not just critique it.
• If the proposal cannot be found, report the error to the user via send_message and stop.
• The proposal contains: title, description, type (product/engineering), project, author, status, and revision history.
• If other agents have already commented or revised, acknowledge their input in your review rather than repeating the same points.