design-review-adr

Review design documents, RFCs, and ADRs for completeness and readiness.

1|Updated Jul 17, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/Arafly/sre-playbooks --skill design-review-adr
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: design-review-adr
Source: https://github.com/Arafly/sre-playbooks/tree/main/design-review-adr
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/Arafly/sre-playbooks --skill design-review-adr

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

This Skill helps you review, write, and improve design documents, RFCs, architecture decision records, and technical proposals so they are clear, testable, and implementation-ready. It is designed to expose missing context, weak assumptions, and risky decisions before they become costly mistakes.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Design review: Evaluate a draft design for clarity, completeness, reversibility, risk, and operational readiness.
  • ADR and RFC writing: Improve or author decision documents so future readers can understand the problem, constraints, trade-offs, and outcome without hidden context.
  • Readiness validation: Check whether a proposal includes implementation details, rollback plans, observability, ownership, and unresolved questions.
  • Use case: A product engineer shares an architecture proposal for a high-risk migration and uses this Skill to identify blocking gaps, challenge assumptions, and produce a review-ready artifact.

Quick Start

Ask me to review your design document, RFC, or ADR and identify blocking gaps, missing alternatives, and implementation-readiness issues.

Frequently Asked Questions about design-review-adr

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I review an architecture decision record for implementation readiness?

Reviewing an architecture decision record requires checking it for completeness in risk analysis, trade-off evaluation, reversibility, observability, and ownership to ensure the technical proposal is clear and implementation-ready.

What should an RFC or technical proposal include before a design review?

An RFC or technical proposal must include clear context, trade-off analysis, rollback plans, unresolved questions, and alternatives. A design review validates these elements to expose missing context and weak assumptions before implementation.

When do I need to write an ADR for a system change?

You need to write an architecture decision record for a system change when technical decisions require clear context, constraints, and trade-off analysis for future readers to understand the outcome without hidden context.

How do I identify blocking gaps in a high-risk migration design document?

Identifying blocking gaps in a migration design document involves critiquing the draft for weak assumptions, missing alternatives, and risky decisions, validating that operational readiness, rollback plans, and observability are fully addressed.

Does this design review process work for both authoring and critiquing RFCs?

Yes, the design review process applies to both authoring and critique workflows for RFCs and technical proposals, strengthening documents by exposing missing context and validating implementation details for system changes.

What is the best way to validate operational readiness in a technical proposal?

Validating operational readiness in a technical proposal requires checking that the document explicitly includes implementation details, rollback plans, observability metrics, ownership assignment, and documented unresolved questions.