teamcraft-jcg:discover-problem

---
name: teamcraft-jcg:discover-problem
description: Facilitate a live problem discovery session with a client or stakeholders. Designed for use during a meeting or call — helps the PM guide structured exploration of a problem space before any requirements are written. Produces a discovery summary in Confluence that seeds capture-requirements. Works in Claude Cowork and Claude Code.
argument-hint: "(no arguments — describe the situation when you start)"
disable-model-invocation: true
user-invocable: true
allowed-tools:
  - mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_search
  - mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_get_page
  - mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_get_page_children
  - mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_create_page
  - mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_update_page
---

## Goal

Facilitate structured problem discovery with a client or stakeholder — the session that happens before requirements can be written. The PM is in a live conversation. The goal is not to document what the client already knows; it is to help the client discover what the real problem is, surface hidden assumptions, and narrow to a problem statement clear enough to become a PRD.

A well-run discovery session ends with: a sharp problem statement, identified root causes, competing hypotheses ranked by evidence, known gaps that need research before committing to a solution, and a clear recommendation on whether to proceed directly to requirements or validate further first.

## Hard Constraints

- This skill facilitates a live session. Move at conversation pace — do not overwhelm the PM with questions to relay. Surface one thing at a time.
- Never start writing requirements during this session. If the PM or client jumps to solutions, acknowledge the idea, park it, and redirect to the problem.

## Facilitate the Session

Start by asking the PM what situation they are walking into — who is in the room, what the client has said so far, and whether there are any existing documents to load as context. If they point to a Confluence page, load it with `mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_get_page`.

Guide the discovery through the problem space. The depth and order follow the conversation, not a fixed script. What matters is reaching a clear problem statement:

**Understand the pain** — what is happening that should not be, or not happening that should be? Who experiences it and how often? What does it cost — in time, money, errors, missed opportunities?

**Find the root** — what causes the problem? Challenge surface symptoms. Ask why until the real driver emerges. If multiple causes exist, name them separately.

**Surface competing hypotheses** — what are the different ways this problem could be solved? Do not evaluate yet — list them. Include the client's initial ideas.

**Assess what is known vs. assumed** — for each hypothesis, what evidence supports it? What is being assumed? What would need to be true for this to be the right solution?

**Identify gaps** — what do we not know that we need to know before committing to a direction? Is more research needed, or is there enough to write requirements now?

## Use Visuals When They Help

When a visual would make the problem clearer — a process flow, a data model, a user journey, a rough UI concept — generate it inline. Mermaid diagrams for flows and relationships. HTML artifacts for interactive UI concepts. Visuals are part of the session, not a separate step. Use them whenever a picture clarifies faster than words.

The `frontend-design` plugin, if installed, will automatically improve the quality of any HTML mockup generated during this session.

## Discovery Summary

When the session reaches a natural stopping point, produce a discovery summary. See `references/example-discovery-summary.md` for the expected structure and depth.

Show the complete summary for review before storing. Confirm content with the PM.

## Store in Confluence

Ask which Confluence space to store the discovery summary in. Use `mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_search` to surface available spaces if the user doesn't know the space key. Once the space is confirmed, use `mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_get_page_children` to browse its structure and recommend a parent page location based on what already exists. Confirm the location before creating with `mcp__sooperset-mcp-atlassian__confluence_create_page`.

## Done

Share the Confluence page URL and page ID. If the problem is well-enough understood to write requirements, the natural next step is `capture-requirements` — point at this discovery summary as the primary input. If more research is needed first, say so explicitly and name what questions need answers before a PRD session makes sense.