---
name: feature-idea-validator
description: "Pressure-tests a rough feature idea against a structured validation framework covering problem clarity, market evidence, feasibility flags, strategic fit, and a recommended cheapest experiment — ending with a Build / Test / Park / Kill verdict. Use when evaluating whether a feature idea is worth building, prioritizing a backlog of feature requests, or preparing a feature for a roadmap or stakeholder review."
argument-hint: "[feature-idea] [target-user]"
allowed-tools: ["Read"]
---

# Feature Idea Validator

## Purpose
Take a rough feature idea and run it through a disciplined validation pass — surfacing whether the user problem is real, whether evidence supports demand, what could make it hard to build, and the cheapest way to test the riskiest assumption — so PMs commit engineering time only to features that survive scrutiny.

## When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Validate or pressure-test a feature idea before building it
- Decide whether a feature request is worth adding to the roadmap
- Evaluate a stakeholder or sales-requested feature for real user value
- Triage a backlog of feature ideas and figure out which deserve discovery
- Prepare a feature for a prioritization or roadmap review meeting
- Identify the riskiest assumption behind a feature and how to test it cheaply

## Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- **The feature idea**: 1–3 sentences describing what the feature does
- **Target user**: Which segment or persona this is for
- **Problem it claims to solve**: The user pain or job-to-be-done behind it
- **Evidence so far**: Any requests, support tickets, usage data, or interviews that prompted it
- **Origin**: Where the idea came from (customer ask, sales, exec, data, internal hunch)
- **Strategic context**: Current company/product priority this would support
- **Constraints**: Known tech, timeline, or resource limits

If evidence or strategic context is missing, flag the gap explicitly as a validation weakness rather than assuming it away.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Problem Clarity Assessment
Determine whether the feature is anchored to a real, specific user problem.
- Restate the problem as a job-to-be-done: "When [situation], the user wants to [motivation], so they can [outcome]."
- Score problem clarity: **Strong** (specific user, specific pain, evidence of frequency) / **Moderate** (plausible but unverified) / **Weak** (solution looking for a problem)
- Flag the **solution-first trap**: if the idea is described entirely as functionality with no underlying pain, name it.
- Identify who experiences this problem and how often — a rare problem for a niche segment is a different bet than a frequent one for the core base.

### Step 2: Market & Demand Evidence
Grade the evidence supporting demand, not just the anecdote that sparked the idea.
- Classify each piece of evidence by strength:
  - **Strong**: quantitative usage signals, multiple unprompted customer requests, willingness-to-pay signals, churn tied to its absence
  - **Medium**: a handful of support tickets, qualitative interview mentions, competitor parity pressure
  - **Weak**: single loud customer, exec opinion, "I think users would want this"
- Note the **requester bias**: features from sales/execs skew toward winning one deal, not serving many users — call this out if present.
- Identify whether competitors offer this and whether that's table stakes, a differentiator opportunity, or a feature-parity treadmill.
- State the demand verdict: is there evidence enough customers feel this pain to justify discovery?

### Step 3: Feasibility Flags
Surface what could make this hard, risky, or expensive to build — before engineering does.
- **Technical complexity**: net-new system vs. extension of existing capability; dependencies on data, infra, or third parties
- **Scope creep risk**: does the simple description hide a much larger build? Name the hidden surface area.
- **Maintenance cost**: ongoing support, edge cases, and complexity this adds to the product permanently
- **UX/cognitive load**: does this add a setting/screen/concept users must learn? Features that complicate the core flow carry hidden cost.
- **Reversibility**: easy to remove later (low risk) vs. hard to walk back once shipped (high risk)
Rate each flag **Green / Yellow / Red** with one line of reasoning.

### Step 4: Strategic Fit
Check alignment beyond "would users like it."
- Does it advance the current top priority, or is it orthogonal?
- Does it serve the segment the company is trying to grow, or a segment being de-emphasized?
- Opportunity cost: what does building this displace? Name the most likely tradeoff.
- Fit verdict: **On-strategy / Adjacent / Off-strategy**.

### Step 5: Identify the Riskiest Assumption
Name the single assumption that, if wrong, makes the whole feature a waste.
- Categorize it: **Desirability** (do users want it?), **Viability** (does it help the business?), or **Feasibility** (can we build it sustainably?).
- This becomes the target of the experiment in Step 6.

### Step 6: Recommended Experiment
Propose the cheapest test that de-risks the riskiest assumption.
- Match the test to the assumption type:
  - **Desirability**: fake-door test, painted-door CTA, prototype + 5 user interviews, smoke-test landing page
  - **Viability**: pricing/willingness-to-pay interview, concierge MVP for a few accounts
  - **Feasibility**: technical spike, time-boxed prototype
- Specify: what's being tested, the method, the success signal (a concrete threshold, not "people like it"), and the rough effort (hours/days, not a full sprint).

### Step 7: Verdict
Deliver a clear recommendation:
- **Build** — strong problem, evidence, and strategic fit; proceed
- **Test** — promising but the riskiest assumption is unvalidated; run the experiment first
- **Park** — viable but not aligned with current priorities; revisit later
- **Kill** — weak problem or evidence; stop here and say why
Be decisive. State the verdict in one line, then one paragraph of rationale.

## Output Format
- **Structure**: Seven labeled sections in sequence, each with its scores/flags and a one-line takeaway; verdict stated upfront in a single bolded line
- **Length**: 700–1,000 words
- **Format**: Structured document — headed sections with scored sub-items and short reasoning; feasibility flags as a Green/Yellow/Red list
- **Sections**: Problem Clarity → Market & Demand Evidence → Feasibility Flags → Strategic Fit → Riskiest Assumption → Recommended Experiment → Verdict
- **Tone**: Senior PM reviewing a peer's idea — direct, evidence-demanding, constructively skeptical; not a cheerleader

## Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] The problem is restated as a job-to-be-done, not just a feature description
- [ ] Every piece of evidence is graded Strong / Medium / Weak — not lumped together
- [ ] Each feasibility flag has a Green/Yellow/Red rating with a reason
- [ ] Exactly one riskiest assumption is named and categorized (desirability/viability/feasibility)
- [ ] The experiment includes a concrete success threshold and a rough effort estimate
- [ ] A single clear verdict (Build/Test/Park/Kill) is delivered without hedging

## Notes
- The most common failure mode is a feature with a vague problem and strong internal advocacy — be hardest on problem clarity when the evidence is just "an exec wants it."
- A "Test" verdict is not a soft no; it's the correct answer for most genuinely promising ideas, since the point is to validate before committing a sprint.
- When evidence is entirely qualitative, say so plainly — one loud customer is a signal to investigate, not a mandate to build.

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## How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in [Anthropic's standard format](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills) — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

**Installing in Claude Code:**
- `~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md` — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
- `<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md` — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

**Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:**

1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

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