Reflect
Conduct a retrospective analysis of recent work to identify improvements.
Mode: AIX-local only. Requires interactive discussion with user about what went well, what didn't, and what to improve.
Purpose
Use this skill when:
- •Ending a significant work session
- •After completing a feature or sprint
- •When the same issues keep recurring
- •To improve the AI-human collaboration workflow
What It Analyzes
Session Artifacts
| Source | What's Analyzed |
|---|---|
| Git history | Commit patterns, reverts, fix-after-fix sequences |
| PR comments | Review friction, back-and-forth iterations |
| Test results | Flaky tests, coverage gaps, test-after-code |
| Handoff files | Compaction recovery issues, context loss |
| Todo lists | Abandoned tasks, scope creep, priority shifts |
Pattern Detection
| Anti-Pattern | Detection Signal | Improvement Area |
|---|---|---|
| Fix-after-fix | Multiple commits fixing same area | Review depth |
| Scope creep | PRs with unrelated changes | Planning rigor |
| Test gaps | Coverage drops in changed files | TDD enforcement |
| Context loss | Repeated questions after compaction | Handoff quality |
| Approval delays | Long PR review times | Review workflow |
Execution
Interactive Mode
bash
# Full session retrospective ./scripts/reflect.sh # Focus on specific area ./scripts/reflect.sh --focus workflow # Generate proposals only (skip analysis) ./scripts/reflect.sh --output proposals
Manual Steps
- •
Gather data
bashgit log --oneline --since="8 hours ago" git diff --stat HEAD~10..HEAD gh pr list --state merged --limit 5
- •
Identify patterns
- •Count reverts and fix commits
- •Review PR iteration counts
- •Check test coverage trends
- •
Discuss with user
- •What felt smooth?
- •What caused friction?
- •What would you do differently?
- •
Generate proposals
- •Specific, actionable improvements
- •Classify by effort (quick/medium/large)
- •Prioritize by impact
Example Output
markdown
## Session Retrospective **Scope:** Last 6 hours **Commits:** 23 **PRs Merged:** 2 ### What Went Well - TDD discipline maintained (tests before code) - Clean PR separation (auth vs. UI changes) - Good use of Task tool for delegation ### Issues Identified | Issue | Occurrences | Impact | |-------|-------------|--------| | Context loss after compaction | 2 | Medium | | Reviewer found issues coder missed | 3 | High | | Test flakiness in CI | 1 | Low | ### Anti-Pattern Analysis **Fix-after-fix detected in `src/auth/`** - 4 commits in sequence: feat, fix, fix, fix - Root cause: Incomplete spec in analyst phase - Recommendation: Add edge case checklist to analyst role **Scope creep in PR #127** - PR description: "Add login" - Actual changes: Login + logout + session timeout - Recommendation: Enforce single-responsibility PRs ### Proposals #### Quick Wins (< 1 hour) 1. **Add edge case section to analyst template** - File: `roles/analyst.md` - Change: Add "Edge Cases" checklist - Impact: Reduce fix-after-fix pattern 2. **Update handoff with test status** - File: `hooks/pre-compact.sh` - Change: Include last test run result - Impact: Better compaction recovery #### Medium Effort (1-4 hours) 3. **Create PR scope validator** - New hook: `validate-pr-scope.sh` - Detects PRs with mixed concerns - Impact: Enforce single-responsibility ### User Confirmation Required These proposals require your approval before implementation: - [ ] Proposal 1: Add edge case section - [ ] Proposal 2: Update handoff with test status - [ ] Proposal 3: Create PR scope validator Implement approved proposals? [Select numbers or 'all']:
Output Files
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
.aix/state/retrospectives/YYYY-MM-DD.md | Analysis report |
.aix/state/proposals/pending.md | Unapproved proposals |
.aix/state/proposals/implemented.md | Completed improvements |
Proposal Format
yaml
proposal:
id: prop-001
title: Add edge case section to analyst template
area: role
effort: quick
impact: high
file: roles/analyst.md
change: |
Add "## Edge Cases" section with:
- Error states
- Boundary conditions
- Concurrent access
- Network failures
rationale: |
3 fix-after-fix sequences in last session could have been
prevented with upfront edge case analysis.
Integration
With Wrap-Up Skill
The reflect skill can be invoked automatically by wrap-up:
bash
# wrap-up detects significant session, suggests reflect
wrap-up: "Significant session detected (23 commits, 2 PRs).
Run /reflect for retrospective analysis?"
With Handoff
Approved proposals are tracked in handoff for implementation:
markdown
## Pending Proposals - [ ] prop-001: Add edge case section (approved 2025-01-20)
See Also
- •Wrap-Up Skill - Session end check
- •Analyst Role - Planning improvements
- •Reviewer Role - Review improvements