Analyse Problem
Document any nagging issue on one A3 page with background, root cause, countermeasures, and follow-up before you commit engineering time.
Overview
Analyse Problem is a journey-wide agent skill that produces a one-page A3 analysis with root causes, countermeasures, and follow-up—usable whenever a solo builder needs to clarify an issue before committing fixes.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/neolabhq/context-engineering-kit --skill analyse-problemWhat is this skill?
- Seven-section A3 template: Background through Follow-up on one page
- Root cause via 5 Whys or Fishbone within the structured flow
- Countermeasures tied to causes plus who-what-when implementation plan
- Slash command /analyse-problem with optional problem description input
- 7-step A3 sections from Background through Follow-up
Adoption & trust: 542 installs on skills.sh; 1.1k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are reacting to symptoms in chat or tickets without a single page that ties context, data, root cause, and an owned action plan together.
Who is it for?
Indie operators who want Toyota-style A3 rigor without a facilitator—especially recurring bugs, process gaps, or metric regressions.
Skip if: Cases where the problem is already fully specified with an approved implementation plan and you only need coding—skip straight to execution skills.
When should I use this skill?
You need comprehensive single-page problem documentation with root cause and an implementation plan via /analyse-problem.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You leave with a complete A3 markdown (or text) artifact listing countermeasures, implementation owners and dates, and follow-up checks to confirm the fix stuck.
- A3 problem analysis document (markdown or text)
- Implementation plan with owners and dates
- Follow-up verification plan
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Useful at every journey phase - explore requirements and options before committing to a direction.
Where it fits
Frame whether a reported pain is worth a prototype by writing Current Condition with real user quotes and metrics.
Post-release regression gets an A3 before you approve a hotfix PR.
Monthly error budget burn triggers an A3 with countermeasures and dated owners.
Repeat support theme becomes an A3 linking churn risk to a concrete product countermeasure.
Early market complaint is captured as Background before you validate building a solution.
How it compares
Use a full A3 narrative instead of a one-line bug report or unstructured brainstorming that never names root cause.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is analyse-problem for?
Solo and indie builders who need fast, serious problem documentation before agents or humans implement fixes across product, ops, or growth issues.
When should I use analyse-problem?
In Validate when scoping whether to build a fix; in Ship after incidents; in Operate for iteration; in Grow when support or churn data signals a systemic issue; and in Idea when early research surfaces a problem worth framing with data.
Is analyse-problem safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page; the skill is documentation and template driven with no required shell or network access.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Analyse Problem
# A3 Problem Analysis Apply A3 problem-solving format for comprehensive, single-page problem documentation and resolution planning. ## Description Structured one-page analysis format covering: Background, Current Condition, Goal, Root Cause Analysis, Countermeasures, Implementation Plan, and Follow-up. Named after A3 paper size; emphasizes concise, complete documentation. ## Usage `/analyse-problem [problem_description]` ## Variables - PROBLEM: Issue to analyze (default: prompt for input) - OUTPUT_FORMAT: markdown or text (default: markdown) ## Steps 1. **Background**: Why this problem matters (context, business impact) 2. **Current Condition**: What's happening now (data, metrics, examples) 3. **Goal/Target**: What success looks like (specific, measurable) 4. **Root Cause Analysis**: Why problem exists (use 5 Whys or Fishbone) 5. **Countermeasures**: Proposed solutions addressing root causes 6. **Implementation Plan**: Who, what, when, how 7. **Follow-up**: How to verify success and prevent recurrence ## A3 Template ``` ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ TITLE: [Concise problem statement] OWNER: [Person responsible] DATE: [YYYY-MM-DD] ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1. BACKGROUND (Why this matters) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Context, impact, urgency, who's affected] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2. CURRENT CONDITION (What's happening) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Facts, data, metrics, examples - no opinions] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3. GOAL/TARGET (What success looks like) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Specific, measurable, time-bound targets] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 4. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS (Why problem exists) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [5 Whys, Fishbone, data analysis] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 5. COUNTERMEASURES (Solutions addressing root causes) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Specific actions, not vague intentions] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 6. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (Who, What, When) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Timeline, responsibilities, dependencies, milestones] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7. FOLLOW-UP (Verification & Prevention) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Success metrics, monitoring plan, review dates] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ``` ## Examples ### Example 1: Database Connection Pool Exhaustion ``` ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS ════════════════════════════════════════