layers-interaction-flow

This skill is a library of techniques for the interaction structure and flow layer of a layered product design framework. It defines how a person interacts with a product, the places they navigate, the affordances available, the content presented, and the flow between states, without committing to visual form. It solves the problem of settling interaction logic before visual design makes changes expensive, sitting above the conceptual model (what exists) and below the surface (how it looks).

The central artefact is a text breadboard, notation that names places, lists affordances with their destinations, and the content each place shows. Its disciplines keep flows honest: every affordance has a named destination, edges (failure paths, validation, server errors, disconnection, timeouts, concurrent edits, empty and loading states, post-action and cancel paths) are treated as required steps rather than afterthoughts, objects from the conceptual model are kept whole and navigable, vocabulary matches the model's ubiquitous language, place naming is treated as a design decision, and flows are kept minimal (more than five or six places for one job story is a signal to collapse). The techniques table offers breadboarding as the default plus walking the flow as the user, user story mapping, task analysis, service blueprinting, critical user journeys, and flow diagrams, each with guidance on when to use it.

It targets product designers, UX designers, and product teams using this methodology (it assumes layers-intro is loaded and a stable conceptual model beneath). Typical use cases include breadboarding a new flow for a specific job story, redesigning an existing flow via task analysis, and mapping edge cases and failure paths before investing in visual design. It is pure design methodology with no code or tooling.