Conciseness

The body is lean and assumes competence — no explanation of concepts Claude already knows, with the two-tier storage model compressed into a table. Two spots could be trimmed: the Purpose paragraph's resource list duplicates what the tier table and references already convey, and the sentence "Example feature-tier entry uses the table format defined in references/template.md..." restates the template reference awkwardly.

Actionability

Guidance is concrete and executable for an instruction-only skill: exact paths ("docs/project-context/external-resources.md"), fixed heading text ("External Resources Used"), and an explicit three-step reference protocol. It stops short of anchor 5 because no example project-tier or feature-tier entry appears inline — the reader must open references/template.md to see the actual format.

Workflow Clarity

The Reference Protocol is a clearly sequenced three-step process with an explicit fallback checkpoint ("When the file is absent or the resource is unreachable, continue from governing and repository evidence"). The capture/update workflow is delegated to references/hearing.md rather than summarized, which is appropriate but leaves the main workflow's checkpoints implicit in the parent body.

Progressive Disclosure

The ~50-line body is a clear overview with well-signaled, one-level-deep references: all six referenced files exist in references/ and each is listed with a one-line description of what it holds. Domain detail (hearing conditions, domain axes, templates) is appropriately split out with easy navigation.

Specificity

"Records where resources outside the repository live (design source, design system, API schema, IaC source, secret store) and how design, implementation, and verification reach them" names the domain with two concrete, specific actions and a comprehensive enumeration of resource types. It falls short of anchor 5, which expects multiple listed concrete actions rather than one recording action with a rich object list.

Completeness

The description explicitly answers both questions: what ("Records where resources outside the repository live ... and how design, implementation, and verification reach them") and when ("Use when work depends on an external resource, or when the user mentions ..."), with concrete trigger phrases. This matches anchor 5 directly.

Trigger Term Quality

"Use when work depends on an external resource, or when the user mentions design source, design system, API schema, IaC source, secret store, or canonical source" gives good keyword coverage with natural domain phrasing. Common synonyms and concrete tool terms (e.g., OpenAPI, Terraform, design tokens, Figma) are missing, keeping it below anchor 5's comprehensive synonym coverage.

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

The enumerated triggers (secret store, IaC source, design source) establish a clear niche with minimal overlap. The general trigger "work depends on an external resource" is broad enough to overlap with API- or database-focused skills, so it does not fully meet anchor 5's minimal conflict risk.