writing-skills

Testing process documentation involves applying the RED-GREEN-REFACTOR workflow to turn guidelines into testable Skill Units. You draft a failing baseline scenario, write a minimal skill that passes it, and iterate until no new rationalizations emerge.

The RED-GREEN-REFACTOR workflow for skill creation is a testing-first discipline that transforms documentation into validated Skill Units. RED captures failure patterns, GREEN writes minimal passing guidance, and REFACTOR refines progressive disclosure content to keep references accurate and reusable.

Structure a SKILL.md file with minimal frontmatter, clear problem statements, and progressive disclosure patterns to reduce token usage. This frontmatter-driven approach loads heavy references only when needed, keeping inline guidance concise and reliable for deployment.

Process documentation drifts over time because guidelines are often under-tested references lacking failure pattern capture. Without a testing-first mindset capturing rationalizations and counters, documentation fails to prevent repeating mistakes and loses accuracy across projects.

Yes, you can use this approach to document team checklists and reference material across projects. The workflow formalizes TDD-like discipline for process documentation, making it suitable for teams documenting patterns by capturing failure patterns and rationalizations to keep guidance accurate.

Required metadata fields for skill discoverability include standardized frontmatter fields, category alignment, keywords, and safety checks. Enforcing these metadata fields ensures cross-skill references work properly and allows users to find relevant guidance reliably.