solution-scoping

Solution Scoping

Decide what to build first—and what to cut.

Why This Exists

Forces hard prioritization decisions before development starts, when cutting features is cheap.

Input Requirements

This skill works best with:

• problem-framing output (problem statement, JTBD, assumptions)
• user-modeling output (personas, scenarios, insights)

Can also work with a raw feature list if the user has one.

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Context

Ingest upstream artifacts or ask:

• What problem are you solving?
• Who are you solving it for?
• What features are you considering?
• Any constraints—time, budget, skills?

Step 2: Generate Feature List

If not provided, brainstorm features based on:

• User jobs-to-be-done
• Persona pain points
• Scenarios from user modeling
• Competitor features (if known)

Keep it exhaustive initially—we'll cut later.

Step 3: Apply Prioritization

Use one or more frameworks to force ranking:

Impact vs Effort Matrix

• High impact, low effort → Do first
• High impact, high effort → Plan carefully
• Low impact, low effort → Maybe later
• Low impact, high effort → Cut

MoSCoW Method

• Must have — Product doesn't work without it
• Should have — Important but not critical
• Could have — Nice to have
• Won't have — Explicitly out

User Value Filter For each feature, ask:

• Does it solve the core problem?
• Which persona needs it most?
• What happens if we ship without it?

Step 4: Define MVP Boundary

Draw a hard line:

• What's in the first release?
• What's deferred to v1.1?
• What's cut entirely?

The MVP should be the smallest thing that tests your core assumption.

Step 5: Validate Cuts

For each cut, confirm:

• Can the product still solve the core problem?
• Will users still get value?
• Are we cutting for good reasons or fear?

Output Format

Automatically save the output to design/04-solution-scoping.md using the Write tool while presenting it to the user.

# Solution Scoping: [Project Name]

## Context
[Brief summary of the problem and target user]

**Core assumption to test:**
[The main bet this MVP validates]

**Constraints:**
- Timeline: [If any]
- Budget: [If any]
- Skills: [Technical limitations]
- Other: [Platform, dependencies, etc.]

---

## Feature Inventory

### All Considered Features
| # | Feature | User Value | Effort | Notes |
|---|---------|------------|--------|-------|
| 1 | [Feature] | [High/Med/Low] | [High/Med/Low] | [Context] |
| 2 | [Feature] | [High/Med/Low] | [High/Med/Low] | [Context] |
| 3 | [Feature] | [High/Med/Low] | [High/Med/Low] | [Context] |
| 4 | [Feature] | [High/Med/Low] | [High/Med/Low] | [Context] |
| 5 | [Feature] | [High/Med/Low] | [High/Med/Low] | [Context] |

---

## Prioritization

### Must Have (MVP)
*Product doesn't work without these*

| Feature | Rationale |
|---------|-----------|
| [Feature] | [Why it's essential] |
| [Feature] | [Why it's essential] |
| [Feature] | [Why it's essential] |

### Should Have (v1.1)
*Important, but MVP can ship without them*

| Feature | Rationale | Dependency |
|---------|-----------|------------|
| [Feature] | [Why it's important] | [What it needs first] |
| [Feature] | [Why it's important] | [What it needs first] |

### Could Have (Future)
*Nice to have, low priority*

| Feature | Rationale |
|---------|-----------|
| [Feature] | [Why it's deferred] |
| [Feature] | [Why it's deferred] |

### Won't Have (Cut)
*Explicitly out of scope*

| Feature | Reason for Cut |
|---------|----------------|
| [Feature] | [Why we're not building this] |
| [Feature] | [Why we're not building this] |

---

## MVP Definition

### What We're Building
[2-3 sentence description of the MVP]

### Core User Flow
[The one primary flow the MVP enables]
1. User [action]
2. System [response]
3. User [achieves goal]

### What Success Looks Like
- [Metric or outcome 1]
- [Metric or outcome 2]

### What We're NOT Building (Yet)
- [Explicit cut 1]
- [Explicit cut 2]
- [Explicit cut 3]

---

## Risk Check

### Cuts That Might Hurt
| Cut | Risk | Mitigation |
|-----|------|------------|
| [Feature we cut] | [What could go wrong] | [How we'll handle it] |

### Scope Creep Triggers
*Watch out for these during development*
- [Temptation 1]
- [Temptation 2]

---

## Open Questions
- [Decision still needed]
- [Assumption to validate before committing]

Prioritization Tips

When everything feels "Must Have":

• Ask: "Would users pay for this feature alone?"
• Ask: "Can users accomplish their goal without it?"
• Ask: "What's the workaround if we don't build it?"

When you can't decide:

• Default to smaller scope
• Ship, learn, then add
• A shipped MVP beats a perfect spec

When stakeholders push back on cuts:

• Frame as "not yet" not "never"
• Show the dependency chain
• Remind: we can add, but we can't un-ship

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

• The Feature Buffet — "Let's just add one more thing"
• The Safety Blanket — Keeping features because cutting feels scary
• The Competitor Copy — Including features just because others have them
• The Premature Scale — Building for 10,000 users when you have 10

Handoff

After presenting the scoped MVP, ask:

"Ready to generate the PRD with /prd-generation, or want to adjust priorities first?"

Note: File is automatically saved to design/04-solution-scoping.md. This feeds into PRD generation (Must Have → MVP features, Should Have → v1.1 roadmap, Won't Have → Out of Scope).