Process use when you need to work with database schema design. This skill provides schema design and migrations with comprehensive guidance and automation. Trigger with phrases like "design schema", "create migration", or "model database".
62
54%
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 ./plugins/database/database-schema-designer/skills/designing-database-schemas/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
67%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 covers the basics of what the skill does and when to use it, including explicit trigger phrases. However, it lacks specificity in concrete actions (what exactly does it do beyond 'guidance and automation'?), and the trigger terms could be more comprehensive. The phrase 'comprehensive guidance and automation' is vague filler that doesn't help Claude distinguish this skill.
Suggestions
Replace 'comprehensive guidance and automation' with specific concrete actions, e.g., 'Creates table definitions, defines relationships and constraints, generates migration files, handles index creation'.
Expand trigger terms to include more natural user phrases like 'database tables', 'SQL schema', 'foreign keys', 'data model', 'ALTER TABLE', '.sql migration files'.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | The description names the domain (database schema design) and mentions some actions like 'schema design and migrations' but doesn't list multiple specific concrete actions. 'Comprehensive guidance and automation' is vague filler rather than concrete capability. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | The description answers both 'what' (schema design and migrations) and 'when' (explicit trigger phrases and a 'Use when' equivalent at the start). It provides explicit trigger guidance with example phrases. | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | It includes some relevant trigger phrases like 'design schema', 'create migration', and 'model database', which are reasonable terms users might say. However, it misses common variations like 'database tables', 'SQL schema', 'alter table', 'foreign key', 'ERD', or 'data model'. | 2 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | The focus on database schema design is somewhat specific, but 'migrations' could overlap with general database management or ORM-related skills. The triggers are reasonably distinct but could still conflict with broader database skills. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 9 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
42%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill provides comprehensive database schema design guidance with good domain-specific recommendations (data types, indexing strategies, multi-tenancy patterns). However, it suffers from being overly verbose with explanations Claude already knows (normalization theory, basic relationship types), lacks executable code examples, and presents everything as a monolithic document without progressive disclosure. Adding validation checkpoints and splitting content into referenced files would significantly improve it.
Suggestions
Add complete, executable DDL code blocks for at least one example (e.g., the e-commerce schema) instead of prose descriptions, so Claude can follow a concrete template.
Remove explanations of concepts Claude already knows — normalization form definitions, basic relationship type descriptions — and replace with just the actionable rules (e.g., 'Normalize to 3NF; denormalize strategically for performance').
Add explicit validation checkpoints: e.g., 'Run the DDL against a test database to verify no errors', 'Check EXPLAIN output for key queries to validate index strategy'.
Split detailed content (error handling table, examples, index strategy guidance) into separate referenced files to improve progressive disclosure and reduce the main skill's token footprint.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The content is reasonably well-organized but includes explanations Claude already knows (normalization forms, what 1NF/2NF/3NF mean, basic relationship types like one-to-many). The prerequisites section includes items that are more like project context than actual prerequisites. Some sections like the detailed normalization walkthrough and relationship definitions are unnecessary for Claude. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | The instructions provide specific data type recommendations and constraint patterns, which is useful. However, there are no complete, executable DDL code blocks showing a full example schema. The examples section describes schemas in prose rather than providing copy-paste-ready SQL. The guidance is concrete in places (e.g., NUMERIC(12,2) for money, gen_random_uuid()) but lacks executable end-to-end examples. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 10-step workflow is clearly sequenced and logically ordered (identify entities → define keys → normalize → relationships → data types → standard columns → constraints → indexes → denormalize → generate DDL). However, there are no validation checkpoints — no step says 'test the DDL against the database' or 'validate referential integrity before proceeding.' For a skill that generates DDL scripts, missing validation/verification steps is a notable gap. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The content is a monolithic wall of text with no bundle files and no references to separate detailed documents. The error handling table, all examples, resources, and the full normalization guide are all inline. Content like the error handling table, detailed examples, and the index strategy guidance could be split into separate referenced files for better organization. | 1 / 3 |
Total | 7 / 12 Passed |
Validation
81%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 9 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
allowed_tools_field | 'allowed-tools' contains unusual tool name(s) | Warning |
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 9 / 11 Passed | |
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Table of Contents
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