Conciseness

The many tables are tight, but guidance repeats across sections ("Restore before creating" appears in both "FIRST: Restore Project State" and "Quick Start"), and the "5-Question Reboot Test" and "Read vs Write Decision Matrix" restate inferences Claude can make on its own ("Error occurred → Read relevant file — Need current state to fix"). Not 2 because there is no concept-explanation padding; not 4 because the repetition and inferable matrix rows could be trimmed.

Actionability

Concrete executable commands appear throughout: `sh "$PWF_SKILL_DIR/scripts/init-session.sh"`, `sh "$PWF_SKILL_DIR/scripts/check-complete.sh" --validate path/to/task_plan.md`, `sh "<skill-dir>/scripts/set-active-plan.sh" --list` with `--archive <id>`/`--yes`/`--restore <id>`, PowerShell equivalents, and the exact `### Phase N: Name` / `**Status:**` marker format. Not 5 because the session-catchup command hardcodes the `.factory/skills/...` install path and `resolve-plan-dir.sh` is described without a copy-paste example invocation.

Workflow Clarity

The lifecycle is clear with an explicit validation gate ("Validation must succeed before substantive work and after changing phase structure"), a feedback loop (the 3-Strike protocol escalating to the user), and preview/confirm gating for the destructive archive operation. Not 5 because the sequence is distributed across "FIRST: Restore Project State", "New plan creation contract", "Quick Start", and "Critical Rules" rather than one coherent ordered flow, leaving the reader to assemble the full lifecycle.

Progressive Disclosure

References are clearly signaled and one level deep ([templates/task_plan.md], [references.md](./references.md), [examples.md](./examples.md), [the inventory schema and worker handoff](plan-inventory.md)), and referenced scripts all exist in the bundle's scripts/ directory. However, scored against the actual bundle, four of the referenced navigation targets (templates/, templates/task_plan.md, references.md, examples.md, plan-inventory.md) are absent, so the navigation structure cannot be relied on. Not 4 because missing reference targets exceed "minor organization gaps".

Specificity

Lists several concrete actions with named artifacts ("Keeps task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md on disk; lifecycle hooks inject selected project planning context", "session-catchup.py --metadata reads same-project local agent session records"), though mid-description sentences about privacy posture ("The skill has no network upload path") describe constraints rather than capabilities, diluting coverage.

Completeness

Both parts are explicit: the what ("Persistent file-based planning for multi-step AI-agent work. Keeps task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md on disk") and the when ("Use for research or work needing 5+ tool calls"). Not 5 because the when-clause is narrow — it omits the body's broader triggers like multi-step tasks, building projects, or general organization — and the what is cluttered with security-detail sentences.

Trigger Term Quality

Relevant keywords like "planning", "multi-step", "research", and "5+ tool calls" are present, but common natural variations users would say ("task tracking", "stay organized", "progress tracking", "todo") are missing. Not 4 because the trigger vocabulary is narrow relative to the skill's actual use cases.

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

"Persistent file-based planning" with specific file names and hook behavior carves a distinct niche with clear triggers; only minor overlap risk with other planning/productivity skills. Not 5 because the generic "planning" and "research" terms could still collide with general task-management skills.