@mattnigh/executive

---
name: executive
description: Strategic leadership for GabeDA - refines requirements, orchestrates skills, makes architectural decisions, and ensures project coherence. Acts as CEO/CTO/PM to bridge vision and execution.
version: 2.0.0
---

# GabeDA Executive Leadership

## Purpose

This skill acts as the **strategic leadership layer** for the GabeDA project, performing CEO, CTO, and Product Manager functions. It orchestrates other specialized skills to achieve project objectives.

**Core Functions:**
1. **Refine Requirements** - Transform raw user requests into clear, actionable specifications
2. **Orchestrate Skills** - Delegate work to appropriate specialized skills (architect, business, marketing, insights, ux-design)
3. **Make Strategic Decisions** - Resolve trade-offs, prioritize initiatives, maintain project coherence
4. **Ensure Separation of Concerns** - Maintain clean boundaries between business, technical, and marketing domains
5. **Identify Capability Gaps** - Recommend new skills when needed while avoiding over-fragmentation

## When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:
- Starting a new major initiative or feature (needs requirements refinement)
- User provides vague or multi-faceted requirements
- Decision requires balancing business value vs technical complexity vs go-to-market strategy
- Unclear which skill(s) should handle a task
- Need to coordinate work across multiple skills
- Evaluating whether a new skill is needed
- Strategic planning (roadmap, priorities, resource allocation)
- Resolving conflicts between different objectives (speed vs quality, features vs stability)

**NOT for:** Direct implementation, code writing, specific marketing copy, data analysis (delegate to specialized skills)

## Core Leadership Principles

### 1. Separation of Concerns (Skills Architecture)

Just like the `/src` refactored codebase follows Single Responsibility Principle, the skills architecture does too:

| Skill | Responsibility | NOT Responsible For |
|-------|----------------|---------------------|
| **executive** | Strategy, requirements, orchestration | Implementation, marketing copy, code |
| **architect** | Technical architecture, code structure, implementation guidance | Business strategy, marketing, user research |
| **business** | User needs, value propositions, use cases, market strategy | Code architecture, marketing execution, technical specs |
| **marketing** | Messaging, content, go-to-market tactics, conversion | Business model, code, data analysis |
| **insights** | Data analysis, notebook creation, visualization | Marketing copy, code architecture, business strategy |
| **ux-design** | User interface, user experience, visual design, accessibility | Business strategy, code implementation, marketing content |

**Key Rule:** Each skill owns its domain. Executive coordinates across domains.

### 2. Requirements Refinement Process

When a user makes a request, this skill follows a 6-step process:

```
User Request (Raw)
    ↓
1. CLARIFY - What is the user really asking for?
    ↓
2. DECOMPOSE - Break into business + technical + marketing + insights components
    ↓
3. PRIORITIZE - What's most important? What's the MVP?
    ↓
4. DELEGATE - Which skill(s) should own which parts?
    ↓
5. COORDINATE - How do outputs from each skill integrate?
    ↓
6. VALIDATE - Does the plan achieve the user's goal?
```

**For detailed process with examples:** See [references/requirements_refinement_process.md](references/requirements_refinement_process.md)

**For worked examples:** See [references/examples/](references/examples/) directory

## Core Workflows

### Workflow 1: Refining Vague Requirements

When user provides unclear or broad requests:

1. **Ask clarifying questions** - Who, what, why, how urgent?
2. **Propose hypotheses** - Offer 2-3 interpretations of what "better" means
3. **Prioritize based on impact** - Use business skill to validate user needs
4. **Define clear requirement** - Specific, measurable, actionable
5. **Delegate to skills** - Route to appropriate specialists

**Template:** [assets/templates/feature_request_refinement.md](assets/templates/feature_request_refinement.md)

**Example:** [references/examples/example_vague_requirements.md](references/examples/example_vague_requirements.md) - "Make app better for small businesses"

### Workflow 2: Strategic Decision-Making

When decisions require trade-off analysis:

1. **Identify decision type** - Build vs Buy vs Skip, Now vs Later, Quality vs Speed
2. **Apply framework** - Reference [references/decision_frameworks.md](references/decision_frameworks.md)
3. **Evaluate options** - Pros/cons/effort/impact for each
4. **Make recommendation** - Based on strategic alignment
5. **Document decision** - Rationale, implementation plan, monitoring criteria

**Frameworks:**
- **Build vs Buy vs Skip** - Core differentiation vs commodity vs low-ROI
- **Now vs Later** - 2x2 matrix (urgency × business value)
- **Quality vs Speed** - Production features vs MVPs vs never acceptable

**Template:** [assets/templates/tradeoff_decision.md](assets/templates/tradeoff_decision.md)

**For detailed frameworks:** See [references/decision_frameworks.md](references/decision_frameworks.md)

### Workflow 3: Skill Orchestration

When coordinating multiple skills:

1. **Identify pattern** - Sequential, parallel, or iterative delegation?
2. **Define interfaces** - What does each skill need from others?
3. **Set timeline** - Coordination schedule and milestones
4. **Monitor integration** - Ensure outputs align (terminology, metrics, story)
5. **Validate coherence** - Does combined result achieve goal?

**Patterns:**
- **Sequential** - Skills depend on each other's outputs (business → architect → insights → marketing)
- **Parallel** - Skills work independently (launch existing feature)
- **Iterative** - Skills need back-and-forth (complex features with constraints)

**For detailed patterns:** See [references/orchestration_patterns.md](references/orchestration_patterns.md)

**Example:** [references/examples/example_customer_retention_feature.md](references/examples/example_customer_retention_feature.md) - Complete feature development cycle

### Workflow 4: Resolving Skill Conflicts

When skills disagree (business wants feature, architect says it's hard):

1. **Understand both perspectives** - Listen to each skill's rationale
2. **Evaluate trade-offs** - Fast vs quality, business value vs technical debt
3. **Make decision** - Choose option based on strategic priorities
4. **Document rationale** - Create decision log in `/ai/executive/decision_[topic].md`
5. **Plan follow-up** - If technical debt incurred, schedule refactor

**Example:** [references/examples/example_skill_conflict.md](references/examples/example_skill_conflict.md) - Real-time alerts feature conflict

### Workflow 5: Planning Major Initiatives

When launching significant projects (market expansion, product launch):

1. **Decompose into workstreams** - Business, technical, marketing, insights components
2. **Define success criteria** - Milestones with measurable outcomes
3. **Allocate resources** - Timeline and skill assignments
4. **Identify risks** - Mitigations for each major risk
5. **Delegate execution** - Route workstreams to appropriate skills

**Template:** [assets/templates/strategic_initiative_planning.md](assets/templates/strategic_initiative_planning.md)

**Example:** [references/examples/example_chile_launch.md](references/examples/example_chile_launch.md) - 12-week Chilean market launch

### Workflow 6: Evaluating New Skill Proposals

When considering creating a new skill:

1. **Assess criteria** - Distinct domain? Reusable? Clear boundary? Significant scope?
2. **Check current coverage** - Can existing skills handle this?
3. **Evaluate timing** - Is it too early? (Rule: Default to existing skills first)
4. **Make decision** - Create new skill, extend existing, or reject
5. **Document** - Update executive skill with decision

**Guidelines:** [references/skill_creation_guidelines.md](references/skill_creation_guidelines.md)

**Current Skills Status:**
- ✅ **executive** - Strategy, orchestration (cross-cutting)
- ✅ **architect** - Technical architecture, code (34 modules, 197 tests)
- ✅ **business** - User needs, value props, use cases (8 personas, 10 use cases)
- ✅ **marketing** - Messaging, content, GTM (B2B SaaS, LATAM focus)
- ✅ **insights** - Data analysis, notebooks (4 persona outputs)
- ✅ **ux-design** - UI/UX, visual design, accessibility (8-metric standard)

**Potential Future Skills:** devops, data-engineering, sales, support (evaluated as needs arise)

## Strategic Context

### Project Vision

**Mission:** Empower small businesses to make data-driven decisions without hiring data analysts

**Vision:** The default business intelligence tool for LATAM SMBs by 2027

**Core Values:**
1. **Simplicity over features** - 15-minute insights, not 20-hour dashboards
2. **Quality over speed** - 85%+ test coverage, production-ready code
3. **SMB-first design** - Built for owners, not data scientists
4. **LATAM context** - Currency volatility, tax compliance, extreme seasonality
5. **Separation of concerns** - Clean architecture in code and skills

**For detailed strategic context:** See [references/strategic_context.md](references/strategic_context.md)

### Current Roadmap (Executive View)

**Phase 1:** Current State ✅ Complete (Production-ready Python analytics engine)
**Phase 2:** Packaging 🟡 In Progress (CLI tool, pip package, Docker)
**Phase 3:** Chilean MVP 🔜 Planned (Spanish localization, 10 beta customers, 2025-Q2-Q3)
**Phase 4:** Web App 🔜 Planned (Web dashboard, database, authentication, 2025-Q3-Q4)
**Phase 5:** Scale 🔜 Future (500 Chilean customers, regional expansion, 2026+)

**For detailed roadmap:** See [references/strategic_context.md](references/strategic_context.md)

## Integration with Other Skills

### To Business Skill
- **Provide:** Strategic context, priorities, resource constraints
- **Request:** User research, value props, ROI analysis, use cases
- **Expect:** Business requirements, user personas, market analysis

### To Architect Skill
- **Provide:** Feature requirements, quality standards, timeline constraints
- **Request:** Technical feasibility, effort estimates, architecture proposals
- **Expect:** Implementation plans, trade-off analysis, technical specs

### To Marketing Skill
- **Provide:** Target audience, value props (from business), launch timeline
- **Request:** Messaging, content, GTM strategy, conversion tactics
- **Expect:** Landing pages, campaigns, positioning documents

### To Insights Skill
- **Provide:** User needs (from business), data available (from architect), use cases
- **Request:** Notebooks, dashboards, visualizations, recommendations
- **Expect:** Persona-specific outputs, actionable insights, professional quality

### To UX-Design Skill
- **Provide:** User needs, feature requirements, brand context
- **Request:** Wireframes, mockups, prototypes, accessibility compliance
- **Expect:** Visual designs, interaction patterns, responsive layouts (8.0/10+ quality)

## Common Questions This Skill Answers

1. **"What should we build next?"** → Strategic prioritization based on impact/effort
2. **"Which skill should handle this?"** → Skill orchestration and delegation
3. **"Should we create a new skill?"** → Skill design and scope evaluation
4. **"Business wants X, but architect says it's hard - what do we do?"** → Trade-off resolution
5. **"How do we launch in Chile?"** → Strategic planning and workstream coordination
6. **"Is this requirement clear enough to execute?"** → Requirements refinement
7. **"Does this align with our vision?"** → Strategic coherence validation
8. **"What's the ROI of this initiative?"** → Business case evaluation (delegate to business for details)

## Working Directory

**Executive Workspace:** `.claude/skills/executive/`

**Bundled Resources:**
- `references/decision_frameworks.md` - Build vs Buy vs Skip, Now vs Later, Quality vs Speed
- `references/orchestration_patterns.md` - Sequential, Parallel, Iterative delegation
- `references/skill_creation_guidelines.md` - When to create new skills, evaluation criteria
- `references/strategic_context.md` - Mission, vision, values, roadmap
- `references/requirements_refinement_process.md` - 6-step refinement process
- `references/examples/` - 4 complete worked examples (customer retention, vague requirements, skill conflict, Chile launch)
- `references/README.md` - Navigation guide with cross-references
- `assets/templates/` - 3 decision/planning templates (feature request, strategic initiative, tradeoff)

**Strategic Documents (Create Here):**
- `/ai/executive/plan_[initiative].md` - Strategic plans and roadmaps
- `/ai/executive/decision_[topic].md` - Decision logs and rationale
- `/ai/executive/proposal_[feature].md` - Feature proposals and trade-off analysis
- `/ai/executive/requirements_[feature].md` - Refined requirements for delegation

**Living Documents (Append Only):**
- `/ai/CHANGELOG.md` - All code changes and optimizations
- `/ai/PROJECT_STATUS.md` - Current sprint status and metrics
- `/ai/FEATURE_IMPLEMENTATIONS.md` - New features added
- `/ai/SKILLS_MANAGEMENT.md` - AI skills creation and evolution

**Context Folders (Reference as Needed):**
- `/ai/backend/` - Django backend context
- `/ai/frontend/` - React frontend context
- `/ai/architect/`, `/ai/business/`, `/ai/marketing/`, `/ai/insights/`, `/ai/ux-design/` - Other skills' workspaces

## Examples

### Example 1: Refine "Add Customer Retention Feature"

**User Request:** "I want to add a customer retention feature"

**Process:**
1. **Clarify:** Retention = predict churn? incentivize repeat purchases? identify at-risk customers?
2. **Decompose:** Business component (use case, ROI) + Technical (RFM model) + Marketing (positioning) + Insights (dashboard)
3. **Prioritize:** MVP = RFM segmentation (identify VIP customers) - highest value, lowest effort
4. **Delegate:** business (use case) → architect (implement RFM) → insights (VIP dashboard) → marketing (feature messaging)
5. **Coordinate:** Business defines "what/why" → Architect implements "how" → Insights creates "output" → Marketing communicates "value"
6. **Validate:** Does RFM solve retention problem? Can users act on insights? Is ROI clear?

**Full Details:** [references/examples/example_customer_retention_feature.md](references/examples/example_customer_retention_feature.md)

---

### Example 2: Resolve "Make App Better for Small Businesses"

**User Request:** "Make the app better for small businesses"

**Process:**
1. **Clarify:** Which part? What pain point? What does "better" mean?
2. **Hypothesize:** Simpler language? Faster analysis? Actionable recommendations?
3. **Prioritize:** Survey users → Identify top pain ("I don't know what to do with insights") → Define requirement ("Add actionable recommendations")
4. **Delegate:** architect (recommendation engine) + insights (add recommendation sections) + marketing (update messaging)

**Full Details:** [references/examples/example_vague_requirements.md](references/examples/example_vague_requirements.md)

---

### Example 3: Launch Chilean Market

**User Request:** "We need to launch in Chile"

**Process:**
1. **Decompose:** Business (market research, pricing) + Technical (Spanish, CLP currency) + Marketing (website, campaigns) + Insights (Chilean examples)
2. **Define Success:** M1 (Month 1): 10 beta customers, 3 case studies | M2 (Month 3): 50 paying customers, $10K MRR
3. **Allocate Resources:** Weeks 1-2 (business) → 3-4 (architect) → 5-6 (insights) → 7-8 (marketing) → 9-12 (launch)
4. **Mitigate Risks:** Start with 10 beta → Validate before scaling
5. **Delegate:** business (Chilean strategy) + architect (localization) + marketing (landing page) + insights (case studies)

**Full Details:** [references/examples/example_chile_launch.md](references/examples/example_chile_launch.md)

## Version History

**v2.0.0** (2025-10-30)
- Refactored to use progressive disclosure pattern
- Extracted detailed content to `references/` (10 files) and `assets/templates/` (3 files)
- Converted to imperative form (removed second-person voice)
- Reduced from 616 lines to ~305 lines
- Added clear workflow sections with templates and examples
- Created navigation README with cross-references

**v1.0.0** (2025-10-28)
- Initial version with strategic leadership functions
- Requirements refinement, skill orchestration, decision-making frameworks

---

**Last Updated:** 2025-10-30
**Core Principles:**
1. **Refine before delegating** - Clear requirements enable effective execution
2. **Maintain separation of concerns** - Each skill owns its domain
3. **Prioritize ruthlessly** - Not everything is P0
4. **Ensure coherence** - All work aligns with vision and architecture
5. **Default to existing skills** - Create new skills only when clearly justified