053-design-simple-rules

Use when Java design, refactoring, or implementation tradeoffs should be evaluated with Kent Beck's simple design rules, including passes the tests, reveals intention, has no duplication, and has the fewest elements. This should trigger for requests such as Apply simple design rules; Review this design with Beck's rules; Choose between these refactoring options; Keep this Java design simple. Part of Plinth Toolkit

Quality

86%

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Passed

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Quality

Content

78%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.

A well-organized, lean instruction-only skill body: clear ordered workflow, real one-level reference, and no padding. The main improvement areas are slight redundancy between the "What is covered" list and the Workflow, and the absence of an explicit validation/reporting checkpoint.

Suggestions

Trim the "What is covered in this Skill?" bullet list or fold it into the Workflow, since it largely restates the ordered rules and steps.

Add an explicit reporting/validation checkpoint in step 5 (e.g., name the verification signal format and require confirming tests still pass before recommending an option).

Make the "Compare Options and Report" step more actionable by specifying the required output fields (chosen option, rejected tradeoffs, validation signal, remaining risk) as a concrete template.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The body is lean and does not explain concepts Claude already knows, but the "What is covered in this Skill?" list partially restates the Workflow steps, so it could be tightened slightly.	4 / 5
Actionability	As an instruction-only skill it provides concrete evaluation guidance — ordered MUST rules and per-step criteria (e.g., "identify the behavior... and the tests, characterization checks, build checks, or manual evidence") — with only minor gaps in specificity on how to report.	4 / 5
Workflow Clarity	Five numbered workflow steps are clearly sequenced in priority order with correctness anchored first, but there is no explicit validation/feedback checkpoint; acceptable since this is evaluative rather than destructive/batch work, leaving it just below a 5.	4 / 5
Progressive Disclosure	The SKILL.md is a concise overview that clearly signals a single one-level-deep reference (verified to exist at references/053-design-simple-rules.md) via both a MUST-read constraint and a Reference section link, making navigation easy.	5 / 5
	Total	17 / 20 Passed

Description

95%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.

A strong, well-formed description: third-person voice, explicit what-and-when, comprehensive natural trigger phrases, and a clearly distinct niche. The only minor weakness is that the stated actions are evaluation-framed rather than enumerated as discrete concrete operations.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Names the domain (Java design/refactoring) and several concrete actions plus the four named Beck rules ("passes the tests, reveals intention, has no duplication, and has the fewest elements"), but the actions are framed as evaluation rather than distinct operations, leaving minor coverage gaps.	4 / 5
Completeness	Explicitly answers both what (evaluate Java design/refactoring tradeoffs with Beck's four named rules) and when ("Use when... This should trigger for requests such as..."), with concrete trigger phrases.	5 / 5
Trigger Term Quality	Provides comprehensive natural trigger phrases users would actually say ("Apply simple design rules; Review this design with Beck's rules; Choose between these refactoring options; Keep this Java design simple"), including synonyms and a direct "Use when" clause.	5 / 5
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The Java-specific Beck simple-design-rules niche plus explicit named triggers ("Part of Plinth Toolkit") give it a clear, distinct niche with minimal conflict risk against other skills.	5 / 5
	Total	19 / 20 Passed

Validation

100%

Warnings & errors only

Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.

Validation — 16 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

No warnings or errors.

Repository: jabrena/plinth
Path: skills/053-design-simple-rules/SKILL.md
Commit: 77b8825

Reviewed: about 23 hours ago

Table of Contents

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