Understand-Goal 150 Protocol
Core Principle: Achieve complete clarity, not just confirm understanding. Know the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of success before acting.
What This Skill Does
When you invoke this skill, you're ensuring:
- •Full understanding of what needs to be done
- •Clear success criteria — how you'll know it's done right
- •Known constraints — what limits apply
- •Hidden expectations surfaced and addressed
The Clarity Framework
| Dimension | What to Clarify |
|---|---|
| Goal | What needs to be achieved? Why does it matter? |
| Scope | What's included? What's explicitly excluded? |
| Format | What does the output look like? |
| Constraints | What limits apply? (time, resources, quality) |
| Success | How will we know it's done right? |
| Risks | What could make this fail? |
The 150% Clarity Rule
- •100% Core: Clear on the goal and expected result
- •50% Enhancement: Clear on constraints, hidden requirements, and edge cases
When to Use This Skill
Universal trigger: Any situation where clarity is needed.
Specific triggers:
- •Starting new tasks or projects
- •Requirements seem vague or ambiguous
- •Multiple interpretations possible
- •Scope keeps shifting
- •Expectations unclear
- •Before major effort investment
- •When you realize mid-work you're not sure what's needed
Key insight: This skill applies whenever clarity is lacking, not just at the start.
Execution Protocol
Step 1: UNDERSTAND THE CORE
Identify the fundamental goal:
- •What is actually needed?
- •Why is this needed? (the real reason)
- •What problem does this solve?
Step 2: DEFINE SUCCESS
Establish clear success criteria:
- •What does "done" look like?
- •How will we measure success?
- •What's the minimum acceptable outcome?
- •What's the ideal outcome?
Step 3: MAP CONSTRAINTS
Identify all limitations:
- •Time constraints
- •Resource limits
- •Quality requirements
- •Format specifications
- •Dependencies
Step 4: SURFACE HIDDEN EXPECTATIONS
Probe for unstated requirements:
- •What's assumed but not said?
- •What would cause disappointment?
- •What must NOT happen?
- •Who else cares about this?
Step 5: CONFIRM CLARITY
Validate your understanding:
- •Restate in your own words
- •Present your understanding of success
- •Get explicit confirmation
- •Document the agreement
Clarity Questions
Ask to achieve clarity:
About the Goal:
- •"What's the core objective here?"
- •"Why is this important?"
- •"What problem are we solving?"
About Success:
- •"What does success look like?"
- •"How will we know it's done right?"
- •"What's acceptable vs ideal?"
About Constraints:
- •"What limits apply?"
- •"Any hard deadlines?"
- •"What resources are available?"
About Hidden Requirements:
- •"What should definitely NOT happen?"
- •"What would cause disappointment?"
- •"What am I missing?"
Output Format
When using Goal-Clarity 150:
code
🎯 **Goal-Clarity 150 Achieved** **Goal Understood:** [What needs to be done and why] **Success Criteria:** - ✅ Done when: [measurable outcome] - 🎯 Ideal: [best case result] - ⚠️ Minimum: [acceptable baseline] **Constraints Identified:** - [Time/resource/quality limits] **Hidden Requirements Surfaced:** - [Unstated expectations now explicit] **Confirmed Understanding:** [Summary in your own words] Ready to proceed with clarity.
Operational Rules
- •CLARITY BEFORE ACTION: Don't act without understanding
- •ASK, DON'T ASSUME: Questions > assumptions
- •SURFACE THE HIDDEN: Find what's not being said
- •DEFINE SUCCESS: Know what "done right" looks like
- •CONFIRM EXPLICITLY: Get clear agreement
- •REVISIT WHEN NEEDED: Clarity can erode; refresh it
Examples
❌ Low Clarity (Dangerous)
code
User: "Make the app faster" AI: [Starts optimizing database queries] Result: Optimized wrong thing; user meant UI responsiveness
✅ High Clarity (Safe)
code
User: "Make the app faster" AI: "🎯 Goal-Clarity 150 To ensure I focus on the right thing: **Understanding:** You want the app to be faster. **Clarifying questions:** - What feels slow right now? (page loads? transitions? API calls?) - How fast should it feel? (instant? < 2 seconds?) - Are there specific pages/features to prioritize? - What's causing the most frustration? **Once I understand:** - Success = [specific metric improvement] - Focus = [specific areas] - Constraints = [time/effort limits] What aspects feel slowest to you?"
✅ Mid-Work Clarity Check
code
AI: "I've been working on this for a while and want to check: 🎯 Goal-Clarity Check **My understanding:** Building user dashboard with stats **Success I'm aiming for:** Clean UI, real-time data, mobile-friendly **Questions that emerged:** - Should it auto-refresh or manual refresh? - Any specific charts/graphs needed? - Does it need export functionality? Want to confirm before I continue."
Failure Modes & Recovery
| Failure | Detection | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Acting on assumptions | Working without confirmed clarity | Stop, ask clarifying questions |
| Partial clarity | Some aspects still vague | Probe specific unclear areas |
| Scope drift | Work expanding beyond original goal | Return to clarity, reconfirm scope |
| Hidden requirements emerge late | Surprise expectations mid-work | Surface them, adjust or discuss |
Relationship to Other Skills
| Skill | Focus |
|---|---|
| deep-think-150 | Quality of thinking |
| max-quality-150 | Quality of execution |
| goal-clarity-150 | Quality of understanding |
Use together: Clarity on what to do → Think deeply about how → Execute with max quality.
Session Log Entry (MANDATORY)
After completing this skill, write to .sessions/SESSION_[date]-[name].md:
code
### [date - HH"MM] Understand-Goal 150 Complete **Action:** Clarified goals and constraints **Result:** <clarity achieved/confirmed> **Artifacts:** <updated docs/plans>
Remember: Clarity is not a one-time event. Goals can shift, requirements can change, understanding can be incomplete. Use this skill whenever you need to be sure you're solving the right problem the right way.