excel-variance-analyzer
Analyze budget vs actual variances in Excel with drill-down and root cause analysis. Use when performing variance analysis or explaining budget differences. Trigger with phrases like 'excel variance', 'analyze budget variance', 'actual vs budget'.
53
61%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
—
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
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npx tessl skill review --optimize ./plugins/business-tools/excel-analyst-pro/skills/excel-variance-analyzer/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 well-crafted skill description that clearly defines its scope (budget vs actual variance analysis in Excel), provides concrete actions (drill-down, root cause analysis), and includes explicit trigger guidance with natural user phrases. It follows the recommended pattern of 'what it does' + 'Use when' + trigger terms, making it easy for Claude to select appropriately.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Lists multiple specific concrete actions: 'Analyze budget vs actual variances', 'drill-down', and 'root cause analysis' in Excel. These are concrete, well-defined analytical actions. | 3 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (analyze budget vs actual variances with drill-down and root cause analysis) and 'when' (explicit 'Use when' clause plus 'Trigger with phrases like' providing concrete trigger terms). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural trigger terms: 'excel variance', 'analyze budget variance', 'actual vs budget', 'variance analysis', 'budget differences'. These cover common ways users would phrase such requests. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Highly specific niche combining Excel, budget variance analysis, and root cause analysis. Unlikely to conflict with general Excel skills or general budgeting skills due to the precise focus on variance analysis. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 12 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
22%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill reads more like a project outline or table of contents than actionable guidance. It describes what variance analysis involves at a conceptual level but provides zero concrete Excel formulas, VBA code, or Python scripts that Claude could actually execute. The examples section describes desired outcomes rather than showing how to achieve them, and the workflow lacks any validation or verification steps.
Suggestions
Add concrete Excel formulas (e.g., =B2-C2 for absolute variance, =IF(C2=0,"N/A",(B2-C2)/C2) for percentage variance) or Python/openpyxl code that Claude can directly use to build the analysis.
Replace the abstract 5-step instructions with a detailed workflow including specific cell references, formula patterns, and validation checkpoints (e.g., 'Verify total variances sum to the overall variance before proceeding').
Include a complete worked example with sample data, showing exact formulas and expected outputs rather than just describing the desired result narratively.
Create the referenced variance-formulas.md bundle file with actual calculation templates, or inline the essential formulas directly in the skill body.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The content is reasonably structured but includes some unnecessary sections like Prerequisites (Claude knows what's needed for variance analysis) and the Overview restates what the skill description already covers. The error handling table and examples add value but could be tighter. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | The instructions are entirely abstract and vague — 'Import budget and actual data into comparison template' and 'Calculate absolute and percentage variances' provide no concrete formulas, Excel functions, code, or specific steps. There are no executable examples, no actual Excel formulas, no VBA/Python code, and no copy-paste ready content. | 1 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The five numbered steps are high-level descriptions rather than a clear workflow. There are no validation checkpoints, no feedback loops for error recovery during the process, and no specifics about what 'materiality thresholds' to apply or how to verify results before proceeding to reporting. | 1 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The content references a bundle file (variance-formulas.md) for calculation templates and has a reasonable section structure, but the bundle file doesn't actually exist. The main content that should contain formulas and concrete guidance is missing, making the reference feel like a placeholder rather than genuine progressive disclosure. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 6 / 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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