home / skills / bacoco / bmad-skills / bmad-discovery-research
This skill helps transform vague ideas into structured briefs by researching, outlining goals, constraints, risks, and unknowns for product planning.
npx playbooks add skill bacoco/bmad-skills --skill bmad-discovery-researchReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: bmad-discovery-research
description: Brainstorms ideas and researches projects.
allowed-tools: ["Read", "Write", "Grep"]
metadata:
auto-invoke: true
triggers:
patterns:
- "I have an idea"
- "What if we"
- "Help me think"
- "explore possibilities"
- "I'm thinking about"
- "brainstorm"
- "research"
keywords:
- idea
- brainstorm
- explore
- research
- thinking
- discovery
- analyze
capabilities:
- brainstorming
- research
- competitive-analysis
- discovery
- problem-exploration
prerequisites: []
outputs:
- discovery-brief
- research-notes
- problem-statement
---
# Discovery Analysis Skill
## When to Invoke
**Automatically activate this skill when the user:**
- Says "I have an idea...", "What if we...", "I'm thinking about..."
- Asks "Help me think through...", "Can you help me brainstorm...", "Let's explore..."
- Mentions "new project", "new feature", "explore possibilities"
- Talks about research, competitive analysis, or market exploration
- Has vague requirements that need clarification
- Mentions understanding or documenting an existing project
- Is starting a Level 3-4 project (complex/novel problems)
- Uses words like: idea, brainstorm, explore, research, discovery, analyze
**Specific trigger phrases:**
- "I have an idea for [something]"
- "What if we built [something]"
- "Help me think through [problem]"
- "Can we explore [opportunity]"
- "I need to research [topic]"
- "Document this project"
- "Understand this codebase"
**Do NOT invoke when:**
- User already has a detailed PRD (use bmad-product-planning instead)
- User is asking for implementation help (use bmad-development-execution instead)
- User has clear, well-defined requirements (skip to bmad-product-planning)
- User is asking about workflow status (use main-workflow-router)
- Project is Level 0-2 and requirements are clear (skip to bmad-product-planning)
## Mission
Turn vague ideas or problem statements into structured briefs that downstream skills can trust. Identify goals, constraints, risks, and unknowns to inform product planning.
## Inputs Required
- problem_statement: initial idea, pain, or opportunity description
- stakeholders: who cares about the outcome and why
- context_assets: repos, documents, or market references available for analysis
If essential context is missing, gather it before deeper synthesis.
## Outputs
- Discovery brief following patterns in `REFERENCE.md`
- **Brainstorm notes** (from `assets/brainstorm-template.md.template`)
- **Product brief** (from `assets/product-brief-template.md.template`)
- **Research dossier** (from `assets/research-dossier-template.md.template`)
- Prioritized questions and risk register captured for product-requirements skill
- Recommendation on readiness to progress or need for further discovery
**Template locations:** `.claude/skills/bmad-discovery-research/assets/*.template`
## Process
1. Validate entry criteria in `CHECKLIST.md` and classify project complexity.
2. Conduct desk research across provided assets; cite sources.
3. Frame insights into concise problem summary, goals, personas, and constraints (use templates in `assets/`).
4. Document open questions, assumptions, and risks with recommended owners.
5. Deliver summary plus links to created artifacts for the orchestrator and stakeholders.
**Note on automation:** This skill currently operates through collaborative conversation using templates. No automation scripts are required—artifacts are generated manually using Jinja2 templates from `assets/`. See `scripts/README.md` for future automation roadmap.
## Quality Gates
Confirm `CHECKLIST.md` is satisfied before signaling readiness for planning. Missing data or low confidence requires escalation.
## Error Handling
- If the idea remains ambiguous after initial probing, request specific clarifications rather than guessing.
- Flag conflicting stakeholder goals and recommend alignment conversations.
- When scope is too small (Level 0-1), suggest redirecting to lighter-weight workflows documented in `REFERENCE.md`.
This skill helps turn vague ideas and early problem statements into structured discovery artifacts that product and engineering teams can act on. It identifies goals, constraints, risks, and open questions, then produces a discovery brief, brainstorm notes, a product brief, and a research dossier. The skill is aimed at Level 3-4 projects or any situation where requirements are unclear and research is needed. It recommends readiness for planning or signals the need for further discovery.
The skill validates entry criteria and classifies project complexity, then runs desk research across provided context assets and cites sources. It frames findings into concise problem summaries, goals, personas, constraints, and a prioritized risks/questions register. Deliverables are produced from templates and include recommendations on whether the project is ready to progress to product planning.
What inputs do I need to provide to start discovery?
At minimum, give a concise problem statement, list of stakeholders, and links to any repos or market docs. If essential context is missing the skill will request it.
When will this skill not be used?
Don’t use it when requirements are already detailed, the project is small and well-defined, or you need implementation-level help; those scenarios are handled by product-planning or development execution workflows.