identify-assumptions-new
by phurynidentify-assumptions-new helps Product Management teams stress-test a new product idea by surfacing risky assumptions across 8 categories, including Value, Usability, Viability, Feasibility, Ethics, Go-to-Market, Strategy & Objectives, and Team. Use it to map startup risks, clarify what must be true, and turn discovery gaps into tests.
This skill scores 78/100, which means it is a solid listing candidate for directory users. It provides a clear trigger, a concrete new-product assumption workflow, and enough risk-category structure to reduce guesswork versus a generic prompt, though it still lacks supporting files and deeper execution aids.
- Clear when-to-use guidance: the description says to use it for evaluating startup risks, assessing a new product concept, or mapping assumptions for a new venture.
- Operationally useful workflow: it directs the agent to examine the concept from Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer perspectives and then assess 8 risk categories.
- Good scope for discovery work: it extends the 4 core product risks into Ethics, Go-to-Market, Strategy & Objectives, and Team, which increases agent leverage for new products.
- No support files or references are included, so users only get the SKILL.md guidance rather than examples, scripts, or external frameworks.
- The file does not include an install command or worked example, which may make first-time adoption slower for users seeking turnkey execution.
Overview of identify-assumptions-new skill
The identify-assumptions-new skill helps you stress-test a new product idea by surfacing risky assumptions before you commit time, design effort, or engineering capacity. It is best for Product Management, early startup discovery, and team alignment when you need to answer: “What must be true for this idea to work?”
Unlike a generic brainstorming prompt, identify-assumptions-new is organized around 8 risk categories, extending the common Value/Usability/Viability/Feasibility frame with Ethics, Go-to-Market, Strategy & Objectives, and Team risks. That makes it useful when you want a fuller pre-build risk map, not just a feature critique.
Best fit for new product evaluation
Use identify-assumptions-new when the concept is still fuzzy, when stakeholders disagree on the opportunity, or when you need a cleaner discovery brief before interviews, experiments, or roadmap planning. The identify-assumptions-new skill is especially useful for Product Management work where the hardest part is not generating ideas, but exposing the hidden bets behind them.
What it identifies
The skill focuses on assumptions that can break a product concept: demand, adoption, willingness to pay, feasibility, first-use clarity, competitive pressure, ethical concerns, and team readiness. That helps you separate “interesting idea” from “credible path to value.”
When it may not be the right tool
If you already have validated user behavior, strong market data, or a well-scoped delivery plan, this skill may be less useful than a prioritization or implementation workflow. The identify-assumptions-new guide is about discovery risk, so it works best before solution lock-in.
How to Use identify-assumptions-new skill
Install and load the skill
Use the project’s install flow for this repository: npx skills add phuryn/pm-skills --skill identify-assumptions-new. After install, inspect SKILL.md first, then read any linked context files if your environment includes them. In this repo, SKILL.md is the primary source of behavior because there are no companion scripts or support folders.
Give it a complete product brief
The skill works best when you provide three things: the product concept, the target user segment, and the feature or outcome you want to evaluate. A weak prompt like “analyze my idea” leaves too many assumptions implicit. A stronger prompt looks like this:
“Use identify-assumptions-new to map assumptions for a B2B AI inbox triage tool for customer support teams at 50–200 seat SaaS companies. Focus on adoption risk, pricing risk, and whether teams will trust automation on day one.”
That gives the model enough context to identify meaningful failure modes instead of generic objections.
Read the workflow in the right order
Start with SKILL.md and follow its structure: context, domain framing, then the instruction steps. For this skill, the critical move is to preserve the three-perspective check from Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer, because it broadens the assumption set before the 8-category pass. If you skip that framing, the output is more likely to over-focus on only one type of risk.
Use the output as a discovery checklist
Treat the result as a decision-support artifact, not a final verdict. The most useful next step is to convert the highest-risk assumptions into interview questions, prototype tests, or pre-mortem prompts. For example, a viability assumption can become a pricing interview question, while a usability assumption can become a first-run prototype test.
identify-assumptions-new skill FAQ
Is identify-assumptions-new only for Product Management?
No. The identify-assumptions-new skill is strongest for Product Management, but founders, designers, and engineers can all use it to clarify what must be true for a new product to succeed. The main value is shared language around risk.
How is it different from a normal prompt?
A normal prompt often returns a loose list of concerns. This skill gives you a more disciplined discovery frame: three perspectives, then 8 risk categories, with explicit attention to new-product uncertainty. That structure reduces missed assumptions and makes the result easier to turn into action.
Is it beginner-friendly?
Yes, if you can describe your idea in plain language. You do not need a detailed research package to start, but you do need enough context to define the user, problem, and intended outcome. The identify-assumptions-new install flow is simple; the quality comes from the brief you provide.
When should I not use it?
Do not use it as a substitute for evidence when you already have user research, pricing data, or usage analytics. It is also not the best fit for mature products where the main question is prioritization, not assumption discovery.
How to Improve identify-assumptions-new skill
Provide sharper inputs
The biggest quality gain comes from naming the audience, job-to-be-done, and expected behavior change. “A new AI app for teams” is too vague. “A workflow tool that helps freelance designers turn client briefs into launch checklists” is much better because it reveals adoption, value, and usability assumptions.
Ask for risks by category
If you want better output from identify-assumptions-new, explicitly ask for assumptions under Value, Usability, Viability, Feasibility, Ethics, Go-to-Market, Strategy & Objectives, and Team. That prevents the response from drifting into generic feature commentary and keeps the analysis aligned with the skill’s real purpose.
Turn assumptions into tests
The skill improves most when you use it iteratively. After the first pass, pick the top 3 assumptions and ask for ways to test each one cheaply. For example, convert “users will trust AI recommendations” into an interview script, a concierge test, or a prototype task.
Watch for common failure modes
The most common mistake is giving a solution before defining the problem. Another is asking for “all risks” without a target segment, which produces broad but low-value output. For identify-assumptions-new for Product Management, the best inputs are specific enough to expose tradeoffs but still early enough that assumptions matter more than implementation detail.