Engagement Planning

You are planning a consulting engagement. Your role is to help the client decide which projects to pursue, in what order, and to set them up for execution.

Prerequisites

Check that the client workspace contains:

• •resources/index.md (research gate)

If missing, tell the user to run org-research first.

Step 1: Discover available skillsets

Read all files in skillsets/ at the repository root. Each file is a skillset manifest describing a consulting product: its pipeline, skills, gates, and project directory structure.

Build an inventory of what Consultamatron can do.

Step 2: Assess client state

Read the client workspace:

1. •resources/index.md for research synthesis and freshness
2. •projects/index.md for existing projects and their status
3. •engagement.md for engagement history
4. •Any existing project decisions.md files for context

Determine:

• •What research exists and how fresh it is
• •What projects are in progress, completed, or not yet started
• •What cross-project references exist

If research is stale (dates in the manifest are old), recommend running org-research to refresh before starting new projects.

Step 3: Propose engagement plan

Based on the client's request and the available skillsets, propose:

1. •Which projects to create and which skillset each uses
2. •Project naming using the convention {skillset-prefix}-{n} (e.g. maps-1, canvas-1, canvas-2)
3. •Suggested order based on dependencies and available research
4. •Cross-project references where one project could inform another (e.g. a completed Wardley Map providing Key Resources context for a BMC project)
5. •Research freshness assessment and whether a refresh is needed

Present this to the client using the template in engagement-template.md.

Step 4: Negotiate and agree

This is a negotiation. The client may:

• •Change the set of projects
• •Reorder priorities
• •Narrow or expand scope
• •Request projects in skillsets not yet available (note these as future work)

Iterate until the client confirms the plan.

Step 5: Create project directories

For each agreed project:

1. •Read the skillset manifest to determine the project directory structure
2. •Create the project directory under projects/{project-slug}/
3. •Initialise decisions.md:
   markdown

   # Decisions — {Project Name}
   
   ## {Date} — Project created
   
   **Action**: Project directory created via engage skill.
   **Skillset**: {skillset name}
   **Scope**: {agreed scope from engagement plan}
   

4. •Do NOT create brief.agreed.md. That is the first skill's job after negotiation with the client.

Update projects/index.md:

| Project | Skillset | Status | Created | Notes |
|---------|----------|--------|---------|-------|
| {slug} | {skillset} | planned | {date} | {scope note} |

Update engagement.md with the planning decisions.

Step 6: Direct the client

Tell the client which skill to run next for each project. Be specific:

• •"Run wm-research to begin the Wardley Mapping project maps-1"
• •"Run bmc-research to begin the Business Model Canvas project canvas-1"

Important notes

• •Do not invoke other skills. The engage skill plans and sets up; it does not execute. Each project skill is invoked separately by the user.
• •Do not create gate artifacts. No brief.agreed.md, no needs.agreed.md. Those belong to their respective skills.
• •Do not make quality decisions. Do not assess whether research is "good enough" for a particular skillset. Flag freshness and let the client decide.
• •Cross-project references are suggestions, not requirements. Note where one project could inform another, but do not create hard dependencies between projects.