Visual Summary
Cross-cutting skill for generating visually appealing ASCII-art summaries of any deliverable. Use this at the end of any step to present information in a way that is easy to scan and pleasant to read.
Input
- •Any completed deliverable (vision doc, tech strategy, backlog, plan, validation report, etc.)
Output
- •An ASCII visual summary printed to the user, highlighting the key information at a glance
When to Use
Call this skill after completing a deliverable, before presenting it to the user for gate approval. It makes the information scannable and gives a professional, polished feel.
How to Build a Visual Summary
Step 1: Identify Key Data
Extract the 5-8 most important data points from the deliverable. Less is more.
Step 2: Choose a Layout
Pick the layout that best fits the data:
Layout A: Dashboard Card (for overviews)
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╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 📋 PRODUCT VISION SUMMARY ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ 🎯 Problem: Order tracking is manual and error-prone ║ ║ 👤 User: Small bakery owner, non-technical ║ ║ 📱 Platform: [as defined in vision] ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ CORE FEATURES ────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ 1. ✅ Order entry with product catalog │ ║ ║ │ 2. ✅ Daily/weekly sales summary │ ║ ║ │ 3. ✅ Customer management │ ║ ║ │ 4. ⬜ Receipt printing (post-MVP) │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ 🏁 MVP: Enter orders + view daily totals ║ ║ 📅 Deadline: None ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Layout B: Comparison Table (for tech decisions)
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╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 🏗️ TECH STRATEGY SUMMARY ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ Stack: [Language] │ [UI Framework] │ [DB] │ [Pattern] ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌──────────────┬────────────┬──────────┬────────────┐ ║ ║ │ Feature │ Component │ Library │ Complexity │ ║ ║ ├──────────────┼────────────┼──────────┼────────────┤ ║ ║ │ Order Entry │ Screen │ ORM │ M │ ║ ║ │ Sales Report │ Screen │ ORM │ M │ ║ ║ │ Customer Mgmt│ Service │ ORM │ S │ ║ ║ └──────────────┴────────────┴──────────┴────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ⚠️ Risks: None critical ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Layout C: Progress Board (for backlogs/plans)
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╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 📋 BACKLOG SUMMARY Total: 12 tickets ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ MUST (MVP) ──────────────────────────── 5 tickets ┐ ║ ║ │ EPIC1-01 Setup & config S ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC1-02 Order entry screen M ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC1-03 Product catalog M ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC2-01 Daily sales view M ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC2-02 Order total calculation S ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ SHOULD ──────────────────────────────── 4 tickets ┐ ║ ║ │ EPIC3-01 Customer list S ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC3-02 Customer search S ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC1-04 Edit existing order M ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC2-03 Weekly report M ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ COULD ───────────────────────────────── 2 tickets ┐ ║ ║ │ EPIC4-01 Dark mode S ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ │ EPIC4-02 Export to PDF L ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ WON'T (post-MVP) ───────────────────── 1 ticket ┐ ║ ║ │ EPIC5-01 Multi-language XL ░░░░░░ │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Layout D: Sprint Timeline (for implementation plans)
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╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 📅 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ MVP = Sprint 1 + Sprint 2 ║ ║ ║ ║ Sprint 1 ▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸ [Setup + Core] ║ ║ │ EPIC1-01 Setup & config .............. S 2h ║ ║ │ EPIC1-02 Order entry screen .......... M 6h ║ ║ │ EPIC1-03 Product catalog ............. M 6h ║ ║ │ Total: ~14h ║ ║ │ ║ ║ Sprint 2 ▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸ [Reports + Edit] ║ ║ │ EPIC2-01 Daily sales view ............ M 6h ║ ║ │ EPIC2-02 Order total calc ............ S 3h ║ ║ │ EPIC1-04 Edit existing order ......... M 6h ║ ║ │ Total: ~15h ║ ║ │ ║ ║ Sprint 3 ▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸ [Customers + Polish] ║ ║ │ EPIC3-01 Customer list ............... S 3h ║ ║ │ EPIC3-02 Customer search ............. S 3h ║ ║ │ EPIC4-01 Dark mode ................... S 3h ║ ║ │ Total: ~9h ║ ║ ║ ║ ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ║ ║ 📊 Total: 12 tickets │ ~38h │ 3 sprints ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Layout E: Validation Report (for QA results)
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╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ✅ VALIDATION REPORT ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ Feature: Order Entry Screen ║ ║ Date: 2026-02-11 ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ RESULTS ─────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ │ ║ ║ │ Total: 8 ✅ Pass: 6 ❌ Fail: 1 ⚠️ : 1 │ ║ ║ │ │ ║ ║ │ ████████████████████░░░░ 75% Pass │ ║ ║ │ │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ BUGS ────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ 🐛 BUG-001 [Major] Total not updating on edit │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ Recommendation: ⚠️ APPROVE WITH CONDITIONS ║ ║ Fix BUG-001 before release ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Layout F: Code Review (for review results)
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╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 🔍 CODE REVIEW SUMMARY ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ Tests: ✅ 24/24 passing ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ FINDINGS ────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ 🔴 Critical: 0 │ ║ ║ │ 🟡 Warning: 2 │ ║ ║ │ 🔵 Info: 3 │ ║ ║ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ 🟡 W1: Duplicated validation logic (OrderVM, CartVM) ║ ║ 🟡 W2: Missing null check on customer.phone ║ ║ 🔵 I1: Consider extracting PriceCalculator utility ║ ║ 🔵 I2: Rename `doStuff()` → `calculateOrderTotal()` ║ ║ 🔵 I3: Add KDoc to public functions ║ ║ ║ ║ Decision: ✅ APPROVE WITH CONDITIONS ║ ║ Fix W1 and W2 before next step ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Rules for Building Visual Summaries
- •ALWAYS use double-line box (
╔═╗║╚═╝) for the outer frame - •ALWAYS include a title with an emoji in the header
- •ALWAYS use single-line box (
┌─┐│└─┘) for inner sections - •KEEP IT SHORT: Max 25 lines inside the box. Summarize, don't dump
- •USE EMOJIS strategically: ✅ ❌ ⚠️ 🐛 🎯 📋 🏗️ 📅 🔍
- •ALIGN COLUMNS when showing tables — use dots or spaces for alignment
- •SHOW PROGRESS with bars:
████░░░░or status:✅ ⬜ ⬜ - •ONE SUMMARY PER DELIVERABLE — don't combine multiple deliverables
- •Present BEFORE the gate — the summary helps the user decide approval
Layout Selection Guide
| Deliverable | Recommended Layout |
|---|---|
| Product Vision | A: Dashboard Card |
| Tech Strategy | B: Comparison Table |
| Backlog | C: Progress Board |
| Implementation Plan | D: Sprint Timeline |
| Feature (after coding) | F: Code Review |
| Validation Report | E: Validation Report |