Doc Coauthoring

Overview

Use this skill to turn rough context into a document that readers can understand and act on. It borrows the useful staged workflow pattern from Anthropic's public doc-coauthoring example and adapts it for concise Codex collaboration.

Workflow

1. Context Gathering

Collect only the context needed to draft well:

• Document type and audience.
• Desired reader action or decision.
• Required format, template, length, and tone.
• Background facts, constraints, open questions, and non-goals.
• Source files or links that must be reflected.

If context is already sufficient, do not ask more questions; draft.

2. Structure And Draft

• Propose the outline before writing long docs.
• Make the main point obvious near the top.
• Separate facts, decisions, options, risks, and next steps.
• Use headings that help scanning.
• Avoid filler, vague promises, and unsupported claims.

3. Reader Test

Before finalizing, inspect the doc as a fresh reader:

• Can the audience understand the problem and decision?
• Are assumptions and ownership clear?
• Are risks and tradeoffs named?
• Are next steps specific enough to execute?
• Is anything missing that would cause back-and-forth?

Common Outputs

• PRD: problem, user, scope, non-goals, requirements, UX notes, metrics, risks.
• RFC/design doc: context, options, decision, architecture, migration, test plan.
• Proposal: opportunity, recommendation, cost, risk, timeline, ask.
• Handoff: current state, changed files, verification, blockers, next owner.
• Postmortem: impact, timeline, root cause, contributing factors, actions.

Final Handoff

Provide the finished doc or a clean outline, plus assumptions and unresolved questions.