110-java-maven-best-practices
Use when you need to review, improve, or troubleshoot a Maven pom.xml file — including dependency management with BOMs, plugin configuration, version centralization, multi-module project structure, build profiles, or any situation where you want to align your Maven setup with industry best practices. Part of the skills-for-java project
83
78%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
Pending
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./skills/110-java-maven-best-practices/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
100%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
This is a strong skill description that clearly defines its scope around Maven pom.xml management with specific, actionable capabilities listed. It opens with an explicit 'Use when' clause and includes numerous natural trigger terms that Maven users would employ. The only minor weakness is the trailing 'Part of the skills-for-java project' which adds no selection value, but overall this is a well-crafted description.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Lists multiple specific concrete actions: review, improve, troubleshoot pom.xml, dependency management with BOMs, plugin configuration, version centralization, multi-module project structure, build profiles, and aligning with best practices. | 3 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (review, improve, troubleshoot pom.xml with specific areas like BOMs, plugins, profiles) and 'when' (explicit 'Use when' clause at the start covering multiple trigger scenarios). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural keywords users would say: 'Maven', 'pom.xml', 'dependency management', 'BOMs', 'plugin configuration', 'multi-module', 'build profiles', 'version centralization'. These cover a wide range of terms a user working with Maven would naturally use. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Highly specific to Maven pom.xml configuration, which is a clear niche. The mention of specific Maven concepts like BOMs, pom.xml, build profiles, and multi-module structure makes it very unlikely to conflict with other skills (e.g., Gradle, general Java, or generic build tools). | 3 / 3 |
Total | 12 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
57%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill provides a reasonable overview of Maven best practices with good progressive disclosure to a reference file and a clear validation-first safety constraint. However, it suffers from redundancy (multi-module scope described twice), lacks any inline code examples showing concrete good/bad patterns, and the workflow after initial validation is entirely deferred to the reference, leaving the main skill file without actionable implementation guidance. The post-modification validation step is also missing.
Suggestions
Add at least one concrete inline example showing a good vs bad POM pattern (e.g., hardcoded version vs dependencyManagement), so the skill is actionable without requiring the reference file for basic cases.
Remove the duplicate multi-module scope description — it appears both in the 'What is covered' bullets and in the Constraints section. Keep it only in Constraints.
Add an explicit post-modification validation step to the workflow (e.g., 'After applying changes, run `./mvnw validate` again to confirm the project remains valid').
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The 'What is covered' section is somewhat redundant with the constraints section — multi-module scope and cross-module checks are described twice in nearly identical language. The bullet list of topics is useful but could be tighter. Some items like 'Standard directory layout' don't need to be listed since Claude already knows Maven conventions. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | The skill provides one concrete command (`./mvnw validate` or `mvn validate`) and clear procedural constraints (stop if validation fails), but all detailed examples, patterns, and actual implementation guidance are deferred to the reference file. There are no inline code examples showing good vs bad POM configurations, no executable snippets for dependency management or BOM usage. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | There is a clear validation-first workflow (run validate → check for errors → stop if failed), and the multi-module discovery sequence is described (read root → check for modules → read children → analyze). However, there are no explicit validation checkpoints after applying changes, no feedback loop for re-validating after modifications, and the post-validation workflow (the actual improvement steps) is entirely absent from this file. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The skill is structured as a clear overview with a single, well-signaled reference to the detailed guidance file. The reference link is explicit and one level deep. The top-level content appropriately summarizes scope, constraints, and when to use the skill without inlining excessive detail. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 9 / 12 Passed |
Validation
100%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 11 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
No warnings or errors.
- Repository
- jabrena/cursor-rules-java
- Commit
9ec21dd
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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