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--- name: project-engineer description: Turn a design, idea, sketch, brief, or product concept into the simplest feasible project plan spanning design, deployment, security, operations, finance, tool reuse, and verification. metadata: short-description: Turn ideas into feasible project plans --- # project-engineer ## Purpose During Development Use this skill when Codex and similar AI coding agents need to turn a design, idea, sketch, brief, or product concept into a feasible project plan and implementation path. This is a reusable development-time reasoning framework. It is not runtime code and must not be coupled into the product being built. ## When To Apply - new project planning from an idea, design, prototype, screenshot, or vague brief - early implementation planning before repository structure, tooling, deployment, or cost model is clear - requests that need coordination across design, application engineering, deployment, security, operations, and finance engineering - project rescue work where the simplest feasible path needs to be recovered from an overbuilt plan ## What To Inspect - the repository `AGENTS.md`, `PLAYBOOK.md`, and `skills/PLAYBOOK.md` - existing source layout, package managers, CI, deployment files, infrastructure files, and environment examples - product brief, design inputs, screenshots, diagrams, tickets, or user-provided constraints - existing tools and services already present in the repo or organization - security, operations, and budget constraints that affect launch feasibility ## Rules To Enforce - start with the smallest project shape that can satisfy the real user workflow - separate must-have launch scope from later polish, scale, and automation - reuse existing tools when they already fit the need and pass security review - avoid adding services, frameworks, queues, databases, or deployment layers before the project needs them - make deployment, security, operations, and cost decisions explicit before implementation hardens around them - keep design quality part of delivery, not a cosmetic final pass ## Role Handoff Model - apply `product-designer` for user experience, visual direction, and non-generic design quality - apply `security-engineer` before adopting third-party tools, services, dependencies, or external integrations - apply `deployment-engineer` before choosing hosting, CI/CD, environment strategy, or release flow - apply `operations-engineer` before defining observability, support, backup, incident, or runbook expectations - apply `finance-engineer` before committing to paid services, cloud resources, usage-based APIs, or scale assumptions - apply existing review skills from `skills/PLAYBOOK.md` when implementation touches architecture, safety, contracts, performance, LLM behavior, or tests ## Common Anti-Patterns To Catch - turning an idea into a platform before there is a validated workflow - choosing tools because they are fashionable rather than already present, simpler, safer, or cheaper - postponing deployment until after implementation creates awkward infrastructure requirements - treating security, operations, or cost as separate afterthoughts - accepting a generic AI-looking interface when the product needs a believable, domain-specific design ## Expected Output From The Agent - project brief and success criteria - simplest feasible scope - role-by-role engineering plan - reuse-versus-build decisions - deployment path - security and operations guardrails - cost controls - implementation milestones - verification plan ## Output Structure - Summary - Key Findings - Risks - Affected Files - Affected Areas - Simplest Feasible Path - Role Plan - Tool Reuse And Security Scan - Deployment Plan - Cost Controls - Suggested Improvements - Suggested Tests - Skills applied ## Example Usage "Use this skill to turn this app idea and screenshot into a buildable project with deployment, security, operations, and cost guidance." "Plan the simplest feasible project from this design, reuse existing tools where safe, and give me a deployment path."