concept-refactor

Refactor concept designs using six transformational moves—split/merge, unify/specialise, and tighten/loosen—to resolve rigidity and complexity. Map your concepts, select the appropriate move based on your design problem, then apply state and action updates while managing trade-offs like flexibility versus simplicity.

Split concepts when they're monolithic or doing too much, reducing coordination errors and increasing specialization. Merge when concept proliferation creates overhead. The workflow helps you inventory relationships, identify which move addresses your specific problem, then evaluate the trade-off between generality and control.

Unifying consolidates related concepts to increase automation and reduce independent control surfaces; specialising divides concepts to increase independent control and reduce shared coupling. Choose based on whether your current design needs tighter coordination or looser autonomy.

Tighten concepts when you need to reduce flexibility and increase simplicity through stronger synchronization. Loosen when you need more flexibility and generality with independent control. The skill's workflow guides you to inventory concepts, map relationships, and evaluate trade-offs before refactoring.

Yes. Concept refactoring applies after initial design phases to systematically review and improve concepts. It ensures your design is well-suited for its intended purpose and user base by identifying rigidity, complexity, or coordination problems and applying targeted transformational moves.

It solves monolithic concepts, concept proliferation, error-prone coordination, and inflexible architectures. The six moves address scenarios where you need to increase flexibility, generality, automation, specificity, or independent control, reducing future rework and enhancing system maintainability.