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before-you-build

★ 37,559

by wshobson · part of wshobson/agents

Pre-build product and feature risk review for founders, product managers, and AI-assisted builders. Use this skill when the user is about to build a landing page, MVP, SaaS product, internal tool, agent workflow, or major feature and needs to check demand, positioning, monetization, retention, trust, distribution, and adoption risk before implementation starts.

🧩 One of 7 skills in the wshobson/agents package — works on its own, and pairs well with its siblings.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

Before You Build

Run a compact pre-mortem before implementation. The goal is not to block building; it is to identify the highest-risk assumption, the smallest validation step, and the build scope that should be delayed until evidence improves.

When To Use

Use this skill when a user asks to build or ship:

  • A new product, MVP, prototype, landing page, SaaS app, marketplace, content site, agent workflow, or internal tool
  • A major feature with unclear adoption, revenue, retention, trust, or distribution impact
  • A public launch asset where weak positioning could waste development or promotion effort

Skip this skill when the task is a narrow implementation fix, refactor, test repair, dependency update, or already-validated change with clear acceptance criteria.

Risk Checklist

Review the idea across these risks:

  • Demand: Is there evidence that a specific buyer or user urgently wants this?
  • Positioning: Can the target user understand what it is and why it matters in one sentence?
  • Monetization: Is there a credible path to payment, budget, or strategic value?
  • Retention: Is there a reason users would return after the first try?
  • Trust: Does the product require credibility, data access, integrations, or behavior change that users may resist?
  • Distribution: Is there a repeatable way to reach the target user?
  • Feature adoption: For feature work, will the feature change user behavior or just add surface area?

If the verdict is not obvious, use references/risk-checklist.md for deeper questions.

Output Format

Keep the response short and decision-oriented:

  1. Risk verdict: Low, medium, or high risk, with one sentence explaining why.
  2. Main assumption: The single assumption most likely to break the project.
  3. Evidence to find first: The smallest useful signal before building more.
  4. Do next: One concrete validation step or reduced build scope.
  5. Delay: What not to build yet.

Guidance

  • Be direct about weak evidence, but avoid dismissing the user's idea.
  • Prefer smaller validation steps over large research plans.
  • Separate product risk from engineering difficulty.
  • If the idea is already validated, say what evidence makes it lower risk and suggest the smallest implementation slice.
  • If facts are missing, name the missing evidence instead of inventing market claims.