055-design-parallel-change

Use when a database schema or data-meaning change needs Parallel Change, including expand, migrate, and contract sequencing for column renames, type or data reinterpretation, large-table backfills, relationship-table changes, enum/status transitions, timezone/default changes, and index or uniqueness changes. This should trigger before framework-specific Flyway implementation guidance when deciding whether a migration needs a compatibility window or whether a simpler migration is sufficient. Part of Plinth Toolkit

Quality

85%

Does it follow best practices?

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Securityby

Passed

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Quality

Content

71%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.

The body is a well-structured interactive design workflow with concrete decision criteria, verification planning, and a clean single-level reference. Its main weakness is redundancy between the 'What is covered', Constraints, and Workflow sections that inflates token use without adding guidance.

Suggestions

Remove or merge the 'What is covered in this Skill?' section, since its bullets duplicate the description and the Workflow steps.

Consolidate the Constraints MUSTs with the corresponding Workflow steps (or keep Constraints as a short bullet list and drop restated rationale) to reduce overlap.

Add an explicit validate-then-fix feedback loop in Step 4 (e.g. 'if verification checks fail, revise the expand/migrate/contract sequence and re-verify') to push workflow_clarity toward 5.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The body is mostly efficient but the 'What is covered in this Skill?' bullet list restates content already in the description and the Workflow, and the Constraints section overlaps the Workflow steps, so it could be tightened.	3 / 5
Actionability	Concrete decision criteria ('Recommend Parallel Change when old and new application versions or data interpretations must coexist'), explicit MUST constraints, and specific routing skill IDs (e.g. 313-frameworks-spring-db-migrations-flyway) give mostly executable guidance, with deep detail deferred to the reference.	4 / 5
Workflow Clarity	A clear 6-step sequence is present and Step 4 'Plan Verification and Operations' provides the validation checkpoint (fixture checks, row-count expectations, duplicate detection, rollback behavior) for this destructive domain, so the destructive cap does not apply; minor gaps remain in explicit feedback loops.	4 / 5
Progressive Disclosure	SKILL.md is a concise overview with a single, well-signaled one-level-deep reference (references/055-design-parallel-change.md, a real file) referenced in Constraints, Workflow step 1, and the Reference section, with content appropriately split.	5 / 5
	Total	16 / 20 Passed

Description

100%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.

The description is a strong, third-person trigger statement that explicitly covers what the skill does and when to use it, with concrete scenario coverage and clear routing away from sibling skills. It is concise yet comprehensive.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Names the domain and lists many concrete scenarios — 'column renames, type or data reinterpretation, large-table backfills, relationship-table changes, enum/status transitions, timezone/default changes, and index or uniqueness changes' plus expand/migrate/contract sequencing — giving comprehensive coverage.	5 / 5
Completeness	Opens with an explicit 'Use when...' clause giving the when, and states the what (Parallel Change expand/migrate/contract sequencing) with concrete trigger phrases — both what and when are explicit.	5 / 5
Trigger Term Quality	Natural trigger phrases users would actually say ('database schema change', 'column rename', 'large-table backfill', 'compatibility window', 'zero-downtime') appear alongside the technical term, covering synonyms and variations.	5 / 5
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	It carves a clear niche (migration design/decision) and explicitly defers framework-specific Flyway implementation to other skills, minimizing overlap and wrong-skill triggering.	5 / 5
	Total	20 / 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/055-design-parallel-change/SKILL.md
Commit: 05bf9d1

Reviewed: 9 minutes ago

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