About write-first-design
Write-First Design is a design skill for clarifying product decisions through concise prose before substantial work begins. It helps teams state intended outcomes, rationale, and non-goals, and update that reasoning as implementation proceeds.
Key features
- 01Clarify intended user outcomes
- 02Record proposed changes and rationale
- 03State useful non-goals
- 04Ask only material unresolved questions
- 05Update reasoning during implementation
Use cases
- 01Resolving unclear product intent before implementation
- 02Explaining design choices for team review
- 03Documenting assumptions when scope is clear
- 04Revising rationale as implementation changes
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/After installing, type/write-first-designin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMEWrite-First Design
Use prose to resolve uncertain product decisions while changes are cheap. A clear user brief, existing decision document, or narrowly specified UI edit already provides direction; do not require another brief or approval step.
For substantial work with unclear intent, record the intended user outcome, proposed change, rationale, and useful non-goals. Keep this in the response or the project’s existing decision format unless a durable document helps the team.
A useful hypothesis is: “We believe [change] will produce [outcome] because [reason].” Adapt the wording to the decision; the outcome matters more than the template.
Explain meaningful design choices so a collaborator can evaluate them before investing in expensive implementation. Ask only about unresolved choices that would materially change the work. Otherwise state a reasonable assumption and continue within the authorized scope.
Keep the writer close to the builder. Update the rationale when implementation reveals a different tradeoff. Completion is the requested brief, or the implemented and verified change when implementation was requested.
Source essays
- Write-first design
- Falling in love with the build
- Design for handshakes, not handovers