Step Functions Workflow - Auto-activating skill for AWS Skills. Triggers on: step functions workflow, step functions workflow Part of the AWS Skills skill category.
44
14%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
100%
1.00xAverage score across 3 eval scenarios
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./planned-skills/generated/13-aws-skills/step-functions-workflow/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
22%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 description is severely underdeveloped, functioning more as a label than a useful skill description. It completely lacks any explanation of capabilities (what actions it performs with Step Functions) and provides no explicit guidance on when Claude should select this skill. The duplicate trigger term and boilerplate category mention add no value.
Suggestions
Add specific capabilities describing what the skill does, e.g., 'Creates, debugs, and optimizes AWS Step Functions state machines. Generates workflow definitions in ASL (Amazon States Language), visualizes execution flow, and troubleshoots failed executions.'
Add an explicit 'Use when...' clause with natural trigger terms: 'Use when the user mentions Step Functions, state machines, workflow orchestration, ASL definitions, or serverless workflow automation.'
Include common variations of trigger terms users might say: 'state machine', 'workflow definition', 'ASL', 'orchestration', 'parallel execution', 'workflow steps'.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | The description only names 'Step Functions Workflow' without describing any concrete actions. There are no verbs or capabilities listed - it doesn't explain what the skill actually does with Step Functions. | 1 / 3 |
Completeness | The description fails to answer 'what does this do' - there are no capabilities listed. The 'when' is only implied through trigger terms but lacks explicit 'Use when...' guidance. Both components are very weak. | 1 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes 'step functions workflow' as a trigger term (duplicated), which is a relevant keyword. However, it misses common variations like 'state machine', 'AWS Step Functions', 'orchestration', 'workflow automation', or 'serverless workflow'. | 2 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | While 'Step Functions' is specific to AWS, the description is so vague it could overlap with other AWS skills. The phrase 'Part of the AWS Skills skill category' suggests potential conflicts with sibling skills without clear differentiation. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 6 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
7%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill is a hollow template with no actual Step Functions content. It contains only generic meta-descriptions about what a skill should do, without any AWS Step Functions-specific guidance, code examples, state machine definitions, or actionable instructions. The skill fails to teach Claude anything about implementing Step Functions workflows.
Suggestions
Add concrete ASL (Amazon States Language) examples showing common patterns like sequential steps, parallel execution, error handling, and retry logic
Include executable code for deploying Step Functions via CloudFormation, CDK, or AWS CLI with copy-paste ready templates
Define a clear workflow for creating state machines: design -> define ASL -> deploy -> test -> monitor, with validation at each step
Replace generic capability descriptions with specific Step Functions features: Choice states, Map states, Wait states, integrations with Lambda/SNS/SQS
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The content is padded with generic boilerplate that provides no AWS Step Functions-specific value. Phrases like 'provides automated assistance' and 'follows industry best practices' are vague filler that Claude already understands. | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | No concrete code, commands, or specific guidance for Step Functions workflows. The content describes what the skill does abstractly but provides zero executable examples, no state machine definitions, no ASL syntax, and no actual implementation guidance. | 1 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | No workflow steps are defined. For a skill about Step Functions (which are literally workflow orchestration), there are no sequences, no state machine patterns, no validation checkpoints, and no actual process guidance. | 1 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The content is organized into clear sections with headers, but there are no references to detailed materials, no links to examples or advanced topics, and the structure exists without meaningful content to organize. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 5 / 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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