Project Focus First

Purpose

Establish one explicit primary focus before an assistant begins solving, designing, planning, evaluating, or implementing a new project.

The selected focus becomes the main decision filter for the rest of that project conversation. The assistant must not silently infer, replace, or change it.

This skill is a hard gate, not a general discovery questionnaire.

Non-Negotiable Rule

When this skill is triggered and no primary focus has been explicitly established:

1. Ask the focus-category question.
2. Do not provide analysis, recommendations, features, tools, architecture, strategy, roadmap, implementation steps, or solutions.
3. Do not ask unrelated discovery questions.
4. Stop and wait for the user's answer.

The focus question must be the only substantive action in that response.

Focus Categories

Use exactly these eight categories unless the user explicitly asks to revise the taxonomy:

1. Ürün
2. Marketing / Büyüme
3. Mühendislik / Teknik
4. Araştırma / Keşif
5. Validasyon
6. Tasarım / Kullanıcı Deneyimi (UX)
7. Monetizasyon / İş Modeli
8. Operasyon / Sürdürülebilirlik

Category meanings

1. Ürün

What should be built, for whom, which problem it solves, the value proposition, scope, MVP, user scenarios, and product priorities.

2. Marketing / Büyüme

Positioning, messaging, target audience, acquisition channels, launch, conversion, retention, distribution, and growth loops.

3. Mühendislik / Teknik

Architecture, technology choices, data model, APIs, integrations, security, performance, testing, deployment, scalability, and technical risks.

4. Araştırma / Keşif

Understanding the problem space, users, market, competitors, technologies, uncertainties, opportunities, evidence, and research questions.

5. Validasyon

Testing whether the problem, demand, proposed solution, willingness to use, or willingness to pay is real before committing significant resources.

6. Tasarım / Kullanıcı Deneyimi (UX)

User journeys, information architecture, task flows, screens, interaction design, accessibility, usability, onboarding, and design systems.

7. Monetizasyon / İş Modeli

Who pays, why they pay, pricing, revenue model, packaging, costs, margins, unit economics, sales motion, and business sustainability.

8. Operasyon / Sürdürülebilirlik

How the product or process will be run, maintained, monitored, supported, documented, updated, governed, and kept reliable over time.

Trigger Conditions

Trigger this skill when the user begins or substantially reframes any of the following:

• A new project
• A product or SaaS
• A web or mobile application
• An AI product, agent, assistant, automation, or tool
• A business idea or initiative
• A workflow, service, platform, internal system, or job to be designed
• A strategy whose main purpose is unclear
• A request to build, plan, improve, redesign, validate, monetize, launch, or scale something
• A direct technology or feature request for a project whose primary focus has not yet been established

Examples of trigger phrases include:

• “Bir web app geliştirmek istiyorum.”
• “Bir SaaS fikrim var.”
• “Bu AI ürününü nasıl yaparız?”
• “Yeni bir proje başlatalım.”
• “React mı Next.js mi kullanalım?” when the project focus is not already known
• “Bu ürünü geliştirelim.”

Non-Trigger Conditions

Do not trigger this skill for a request that is clearly isolated and does not start or materially redirect a project, such as:

• Translation
• Rewriting or proofreading
• A simple factual question
• Solving a specific math problem
• Fixing a clearly scoped code error
• Explaining a single concept
• Summarizing supplied content
• Producing a narrowly specified standalone output
• Continuing the same project when its primary focus is already active

Do not ask the focus question merely because the user's request contains a technical term.

Focus Gate Procedure

Step 1: Detect project context

Determine whether the user is starting a new project or continuing an existing one.

A project is considered new when:

• It has a different purpose, target user, product, organization, or outcome.
• The user explicitly says they are starting something new.
• The current request cannot reasonably be treated as part of the active project.

Never carry the focus from one project into a different project automatically.

Step 2: Check for an explicit primary focus

A focus is explicit when the user:

• Names one of the eight categories.
• Uses an unambiguous equivalent statement.
• Clearly distinguishes a primary and secondary focus.

Examples:

• “Ana odağımız validasyon.”
• “Önce ürün tarafını netleştirelim.”
• “Birincil odak teknik, ikincil odak operasyon.”

Step 3: Apply the gate

If no explicit primary focus exists, ask the mandatory focus question and stop.

Use this default Turkish template:

Bu çalışma için öncelikli odak noktamız hangisi?

1. Ürün
2. Marketing / Büyüme
3. Mühendislik / Teknik
4. Araştırma / Keşif
5. Validasyon
6. Tasarım / Kullanıcı Deneyimi (UX)
7. Monetizasyon / İş Modeli
8. Operasyon / Sürdürülebilirlik

Bir numara veya kategori adıyla cevaplayabilirsin. Birden fazla alan önemliyse birini ana odak, diğerini ikincil odak olarak belirt.

Do not append recommendations, analysis, examples about the user's project, or a second question.

When the conversation language is not Turkish, translate the template while preserving the category meanings.

Interpreting the User's Answer

One category selected

Accept it immediately and activate it.

A brief acknowledgement is allowed:

Ana odak: Validasyon

Then continue with the user's original request through that focus.

Primary and secondary categories selected

Store both, but the primary category always controls prioritization.

Example state:

PROJECT_CONTEXT: AI destekli eğitim uygulaması
PRIMARY_FOCUS: Ürün
SECONDARY_FOCUS: Tasarım / Kullanıcı Deneyimi (UX)
FOCUS_STATUS: active

Multiple categories without priority

Ask only which one is primary:

Bunlardan hangisi birincil odak olacak? Diğerini ikincil odak olarak koruyabiliriz.

Do not continue until one is selected.

User says “Hepsi”

“Hepsi” is not a valid primary focus.

Reply:

Hepsi proje için önemli olabilir; ancak kararları yönlendirebilmek için bir tanesini birincil odak olarak seçmemiz gerekiyor. Şu anda başarılması en kritik olan alan hangisi?

Then stop.

Ambiguous answer

Do not silently map an ambiguous answer to a category.

Offer only the smallest distinction needed.

Example:

Buradaki önceliğin hangisine daha yakın?

• Ürünün doğru problemi çözmesi: Ürün
• Kullanımın kolay ve anlaşılır olması: Tasarım / UX

Then stop.

User refuses to choose

Explain the constraint once, briefly:

Bu çalışma biçiminde çözüme geçmeden önce tek bir ana odak seçmemiz gerekiyor. En kritik sonucu belirleyen kategoriyi seçelim.

Do not proceed with the project solution.

Persistent Focus State

Maintain the following conceptual state for each active project:

PROJECT_CONTEXT: concise project identifier
PRIMARY_FOCUS: one of the eight categories
SECONDARY_FOCUS: optional category
FOCUS_STATUS: active | awaiting_selection
FOCUS_HISTORY: previous focus values, if changed
DEFERRED_TOPICS: relevant topics intentionally postponed

This state does not need to be shown in every response.

Do not claim that the state persists outside the capabilities of the current assistant environment. Within the available conversation or project context, use it consistently.

Focus as a Decision Filter

Before each substantive response, silently evaluate:

1. Does this response directly advance the primary focus?
2. Is the proposed detail necessary at the current stage?
3. Is the assistant drifting into another category?
4. Should an off-focus topic be limited, deferred, or used only as supporting information?
5. What is the smallest meaningful next step under the active focus?

Prefer depth in the active focus over breadth across all categories.

Behavior by Primary Focus

Read references/focus-behaviors.md: How to behave under each primary focus (decision filters, what to prioritize, what to avoid). Load it once a primary focus is active (for behavior) or when the expected response shape is unclear (for examples).

Managing Off-Focus Requests

The request supports the primary focus

Handle it, but explicitly connect it to the primary focus when useful.

Example:

Ana odak validasyon olduğu için prototipi yalnızca talebi test edecek minimum kapsamda ele alacağım.

The request is relevant but premature

Defer it without dismissing it.

Example:

Bu konu önemli; ancak mevcut ana odağımız Ürün olduğu için ayrıntılı teknoloji seçimini ürün kapsamı netleştikten sonra ele almak daha doğru olur.

Add it conceptually to DEFERRED_TOPICS.

The request would materially change the focus

Ask for an explicit focus decision:

Bu istek çalışmanın odağını Ürün’den Mühendislik / Teknik alana taşıyor. Ana odağı değiştirelim mi, yoksa bunu mevcut ürün odağını destekleyen sınırlı bir teknik konu olarak mı ele alalım?

Do not change focus without the user's answer.

Changing Focus

The user may change focus explicitly at any time.

Examples:

• “Şimdi teknik tarafa geçelim.”
• “Validasyon tamam; artık ürün odağıyla ilerleyelim.”
• “Önceliğimiz artık monetizasyon.”

Acknowledge the change briefly:

Ana odak güncellendi: Mühendislik / Teknik

Store the previous focus in FOCUS_HISTORY and continue under the new focus.

Do not force the user to answer the full eight-category question when the new focus is already explicit.

Non-Technical User Guidance

When the user is non-technical:

• Start from goals, users, inputs, outputs, and constraints.
• Avoid unnecessary jargon.
• Do not ask the user to choose technologies they cannot reasonably evaluate.
• Translate technical decisions into business or user consequences.
• Present technical options only after the focus is active and only when relevant.
• Make recommendations instead of transferring all technical decisions to the user.

Bad question:

PostgreSQL mi MongoDB mi kullanmak istiyorsun?

Better question after the focus is active:

Uygulamadaki bilgiler çoğunlukla düzenli kayıtlar mı olacak, yoksa belge ve serbest metin ağırlıklı mı?

Forbidden Behavior Before Focus Selection

Before the primary focus is selected, do not say or do things such as:

• “React kullanalım.”
• “Önce MVP yapalım.”
• “Şu özellikler olmalı.”
• “Landing page hazırlayalım.”
• “Rakip analizi yapmalısın.”
• “Freemium model uygun olur.”
• “PostgreSQL seçelim.”
• “İşte yol haritası.”
• “Önce hedef kitleni belirle.”
• Produce code, schemas, prompts, plans, mockups, or implementation instructions

Each of these assumes a focus that the user has not chosen.

Response-Length Rule

The focus-gate response must be concise.

Before selection:

• Show the eight categories.
• Explain how to answer in one sentence.
• Do not add project-specific analysis.

After selection, response depth may match the user's request.

Priority and Conflict Handling

This skill controls project-flow behavior but does not override:

1. System instructions
2. Safety policies
3. Explicit higher-priority developer instructions
4. Tool requirements
5. Direct user constraints that do not conflict with the focus gate

When the user requests an immediately necessary safety, legal, medical, or security response, address the urgent issue first. Do not delay critical harm-prevention information merely to ask a focus category.

When a platform requires an action before questions can be asked, perform the required action and then apply this skill at the earliest valid point.

Examples

Read references/examples.md: Worked conversations: new projects, explicit focus, multiple categories, off-focus requests, focus changes. Load it once a primary focus is active (for behavior) or when the expected response shape is unclear (for examples).

Internal Pre-Response Checklist

Before each project-related answer, verify:

• Is this a new project?
• Does this project have an explicit primary focus?
• Is the selection truly unambiguous?
• Did the user select multiple categories without priority?
• Is the response aligned with the primary focus?
• Am I expanding an off-focus topic unnecessarily?
• Does the user's latest request imply a focus change?
• Am I carrying a focus from a different project?
• Am I asking a non-technical user to make an unjustified technical choice?
• What is the smallest meaningful next step?

If the focus is missing, ask only the focus question and stop.

Success Criteria

The skill is working correctly when:

1. Every new project receives an explicit primary focus.
2. No project solution is produced before focus selection.
3. The assistant does not silently infer a focus from weak signals.
4. The selected focus guides later decisions.
5. Off-focus topics are connected, limited, deferred, or escalated for a focus-change decision.
6. New projects do not inherit the previous project's focus.
7. Focus changes require explicit user intent.
8. Non-technical users are not burdened with premature technical choices.
9. Responses prioritize the active goal instead of covering every possible category.
10. The assistant advances the smallest meaningful next step under the active focus.

Coexistence with Other Gates

Clarification gates follow one precedence (see @ecosystem-reasoning): 1. @project-focus-first → 2. @ask-first-act-later → 3. @assumption-checker → 4. @plan-hardener. Run at most one gate per request — the first whose condition holds — and skip any gate whose questions were already answered in this conversation. @checkpoint-guardian is separate: it always applies before irreversible actions.

You are gate 1. Run only for a brand-new project with no stated focus. Once the focus is chosen, the later gates must not re-ask anything the focus answer already settled.

🔗 Next Steps & Handoffs

Ecosystem: @ecosystem-reasoning — Reasoning, Planning Gates & Prompting.

Workflows:

• Clarification Gate Flow (reason-clarify, step 1 of 3): next → @ask-first-act-later (optional).
• Product Launch Flow (product-launch, step 1 of 5, via @ecosystem-product): next → @b2b-founder-roadmap.

Direct handoffs:

• @b2b-founder-roadmap — The chosen focus is B2B go-to-market.

Handoff contract: pass results to the next skill through an inline Handoff block in your reply with the fields skill, workflow, created_at, inputs, summary, and next (the handoff contract of @ecosystem-reasoning). If a next skill is not installed, continue with its step from the ecosystem map, or install it with npx skills add fatih-developer/fth-skills --skill <name> after the user agrees.