---
name: scorpio-project-intake
description: Conduct a structured PM-style requirements interview to extract roles, user stories, process flows, and technical decisions. Use when the user wants to plan a new feature, start a project, gather requirements, or asks "what should we build?"
---

# Project Intake Interview (alias: PM Requirements Interview)

A structured methodology for extracting complete requirements through guided questioning. This skill helps you systematically discover what needs to be built before any code is written.

## The Four Categories

Every software project needs clarity in these four areas:

| Category | Question | Examples |
|----------|----------|----------|
| **ROLE** | Who uses this? | admin, guest, player, subscriber |
| **STORY** | What can users do? | create account, view dashboard, submit order |
| **FLOW** | How do processes work? | checkout flow, onboarding sequence, game turn |
| **DECISION** | What tech/constraints? | use React, no backend, must support offline |

## Coverage Requirements

Track progress toward minimum coverage:

- **ROLE**: At least 1 defined user type
- **STORY**: At least 3 user stories
- **FLOW**: At least 1 process flow
- **DECISION**: At least 1 technical decision

## Interview Rules

1. **NO recaps or summaries** - Jump straight into your response
2. **Under 100 words per turn** - Be direct and conversational
3. **Exactly 1 focused question per turn** - Rarely 2 if closely related
4. **Reference specifics** - Use what the user said without restating it
5. **Acknowledge briefly** - "Got it—so players take turns. What happens during a turn?"

## Question Progression

Follow this order, skipping categories that are already filled:

```
1. If no ROLES defined:
   → "Who will use this? Are there different user types?"

2. If no STORIES defined:
   → "What's the most important thing a [role] should be able to do?"

3. If no FLOWS defined:
   → "Walk me through how [action] works step by step."

4. If no DECISIONS defined:
   → "Any tech preferences or constraints I should know about?"

5. If all categories have sufficient items:
   → "I think we've covered the essentials. Ready to document this?"
```

## Gap Detection

After each user response, mentally update your coverage tracker:

```
Coverage Status:
- ROLES: [count] / 1 minimum
- STORIES: [count] / 3 minimum
- FLOWS: [count] / 1 minimum
- DECISIONS: [count] / 1 minimum
```

Prioritize questions toward gaps. If stories are missing but roles are covered, ask about what users can do, not who they are.

## Extracting Items from Responses

When the user provides information, identify and categorize items:

**From:** "It's a game where two players take turns placing pieces on a board. I want to use React and WebSockets for real-time updates."

**Extract:**
- ROLE: Player (×2 players implied)
- FLOW: Turn-based piece placement
- DECISION: React frontend
- DECISION: WebSockets for real-time

## Output Format

When the interview is complete (all categories have minimum coverage), produce a structured summary and **write it to a file**.

### File Output — REQUIRED

Write the requirements summary to: `{docs.planning}/REQUIREMENTS-SUMMARY.md`

Create the `{docs.planning}/` directory if it doesn't exist. This file is the handoff to **scorpio-project-artifacts** (`scorpio-project-artifacts`) — without it, downstream skills have no access to what the user said.

### Summary Structure

```markdown
## Requirements Summary

### Roles
- **[Role Name]**: [Brief description]

### User Stories
- As a [role], I want to [action] so that [benefit]
- As a [role], I want to [action] so that [benefit]
- As a [role], I want to [action] so that [benefit]

### Flows
- **[Flow Name]**: [Step 1] → [Step 2] → [Step 3] → ...

### Technical Decisions
- [Decision]: [Rationale if provided]
```

## Example Interview

```
User: I want to build a todo app

You: Got it—a todo app. Who's going to use this? Just you, or are there
different user types like teams or admins?

User: Just me, personal use

You: Personal todo app. What's the most important thing you need to do
with your tasks—create them, organize them, set deadlines?

User: Create tasks, mark them done, and set due dates

You: Three core actions: create, complete, due dates. Walk me through
what happens when a task is overdue—any notifications or special handling?

User: Just highlight it red, nothing fancy

You: Red highlight for overdue. Any tech preferences—web app, mobile,
specific framework?

User: Web app, React if possible, no backend—just local storage

You: Got it. I think we've covered the essentials:
- 1 role (personal user)
- 3 stories (create, complete, due dates)
- 1 flow (overdue → red highlight)
- 2 decisions (React, local storage)

Ready to document this?
```

## What NOT To Do

- ❌ Summarize the entire conversation
- ❌ Ask multiple unrelated questions at once
- ❌ Use filler phrases ("Great question!", "That's interesting!")
- ❌ Over-explain or teach during the interview
- ❌ Skip gap detection and ask random questions
- ❌ Generate formal documents like PRD or implementation plans (that's for scorpio-project-artifacts (`scorpio-project-artifacts`))

## Next Steps

After completing the interview, use the **scorpio-project-artifacts** (`scorpio-project-artifacts`) skill to convert the requirements summary into formal documents (PRD, MVP scope, implementation plan).