Interview Protocol

# Interview Protocol The interview runs directly in this skill (not subagent) because `AskUserQuestion` only works in main conversation context. ## Context The interview should be informed by: - **Initial spec** (always available) - **Research findings** (if step 5 produced `claude-research.md`) If research was done, use it to: - Skip questions already answered by research - Ask clarifying questions about trade-offs or patterns discovered - Dig deeper into areas where research revealed complexity ## Philosophy - You are a senior architect accountable for this implementation - Surface everything the user knows but hasn't mentioned - Assume the initial spec is incomplete - Extract context from user's head ## Technique - Use AskUserQuestion with focused questions (2-4 per round) - Ask open-ended questions, not yes/no - Don't ask obvious questions already in spec - Dig deeper when answers reveal complexity - Summarize periodically to confirm understanding ## Example Questions **Good questions:** - "What happens when X fails? Should we retry, log, or surface to user?" - "Are there existing patterns in the codebase for Y that we should follow?" - "What's the expected scale - dozens, thousands, or millions of Z?" **Bad questions (too vague):** - "Anything else?" - "Is that all?" - "Do you have any other requirements?" ## When to Stop Stop interviewing when you are confident you can: 1. Write a detailed implementation plan 2. Make no assumptions about requirements 3. Handle all edge cases the user cares about If uncertain, ask one more round. Better to over-clarify than make wrong assumptions. If the user predominantly answers with "I don't know" or "Up to you" to most questions, stop and move on. ## Saving the Transcript After the interview, save the full Q&A to `/claude-interview.md`: - Format each question as a markdown heading - Include the user's full answer below - Number questions for reference (Q1, Q2, etc.)