Checklist Generation Skill

Purpose

This skill provides expertise in generating domain-specific quality checklists for specifications. Unlike static templates, it dynamically produces questions and validation items based on the actual content of the specification. The output is a tailored checklist that tests whether the specification adequately addresses the relevant quality domains.

When It Activates

The skill is triggered when the conversation involves:

• •Generating quality validation checklists for a specification
• •Running completeness checks against requirements
• •Preparing review checklists before implementation
• •Discussing quality gates or readiness criteria
• •Validating specification coverage across specific domains

Dynamic Question Generation Methodology

The skill does NOT use static, one-size-fits-all checklists. Instead, it follows a dynamic generation pipeline:

1. •Parse Specification: Extract all requirements (FR/NFR), user stories, data model entities, API endpoints, and success criteria from the specification.
2. •Detect Relevant Domains: Determine which quality domains are applicable based on the specification content. Skip domains that have no relevance to the project.
3. •Generate Domain Questions: For each relevant domain, produce specific questions derived from the actual requirements and entities in the specification.
4. •Add Traceability References: Each question includes a [Spec §X.Y] reference linking it back to the specific section or requirement it validates.
5. •Filter and Prioritize: Remove redundant questions and order by importance within each domain.

Available Domains

The skill supports five quality domains:

1. UX Domain

Questions about user experience, interface design, and interaction patterns.

• •Accessibility requirements for each user-facing feature
• •Error state handling and user feedback mechanisms
• •Navigation flows and information architecture
• •Responsive design and device support considerations

2. API Domain

Questions about API design, contracts, and integration points.

• •Endpoint completeness (CRUD coverage for each entity)
• •Request/response schema validation and error codes
• •Authentication and authorization per endpoint
• •Pagination, filtering, and sorting support

3. Security Domain

Questions about security posture, threat mitigation, and data protection.

• •Authentication mechanism specification (method, token lifecycle)
• •Authorization model and role-based access definitions
• •Input validation and sanitization requirements
• •Data encryption requirements (at rest, in transit)

4. Performance Domain

Questions about performance targets, scalability, and resource management.

• •Response time targets for critical operations
• •Concurrency and throughput requirements
• •Caching strategy and invalidation rules
• •Database query performance constraints

5. Data Domain

Questions about data modeling, integrity, and lifecycle management.

• •Entity relationship completeness and constraint definitions
• •Data validation rules for each field
• •Migration strategy and backward compatibility
• •Retention policies and archival requirements

Question Pattern Types

Questions are generated using five pattern types:

Output Format

The checklist is output as markdown with checkboxes, grouped by domain:

## UX Checklist

- [ ] Accessibility: Does FR-005 specify keyboard navigation for the dashboard? [Spec §3.5]
- [ ] Error states: Does US3 define the empty state when no results are found? [Spec §4.3]

## API Checklist

- [ ] Does `GET /users` specify pagination parameters and defaults? [Spec §5.1]
- [ ] Does `POST /orders` define validation error response schema? [Spec §5.3]

Each item includes a [Spec §X.Y] reference for traceability.

Relevance Filtering

Not all domains apply to every specification. The skill applies relevance filtering:

• •UX: Skipped if the specification has no user-facing interface (e.g., pure backend service)
• •API: Skipped if no API contracts or endpoints are defined
• •Security: Always included (security is universally relevant)
• •Performance: Skipped if no NFRs mention performance, latency, or throughput
• •Data: Skipped if no data model or entities are defined

When a domain is skipped, the report notes the reason for exclusion.

References

For domain definitions, question patterns, and configuration options, consult:

• •references/checklist-domains.md -- Full domain definitions and applicability rules
• •references/question-patterns.md -- Question pattern templates and generation logic