Identify risky assumptions for a feature idea in an existing product across Value, Usability, Viability, and Feasibility. Uses multi-perspective devil's advocate thinking. Use when stress-testing a feature idea, doing risk assessment, or preparing for assumption mapping.
identify-assumptions-existing is a product management skill for stress-testing a feature idea within an existing product by surfacing its riskiest assumptions. It applies a devil's advocate analysis to expose where a feature might fail before significant investment, making it useful for risk assessment and as preparation for assumption mapping. The user describes their product, objective, market segment, and feature idea, and if they supply files such as designs, PRDs, or research, the skill reads those first.
The analysis works through structured steps. First it thinks from three perspectives about why the feature might fail: a Product Manager perspective (business viability, market fit, strategic alignment), a Designer perspective (usability, user experience, adoption barriers), and an Engineer perspective (technical feasibility, performance, integration challenges). It then identifies assumptions across four risk areas: Value (will it create value and solve a real problem), Usability (will users figure out how to use it), Viability (can marketing, sales, finance, and legal support it), and Feasibility (can it be built with existing technology). For each assumption it notes what specifically could go wrong, a confidence rating of High, Medium, or Low, and a suggested way to test it. The stated intent is to be thorough but constructive, strengthening the idea rather than killing it.
The skill targets product managers, designers, and teams evaluating feature ideas in a live product, and pairs naturally with downstream assumption prioritization and experimentation work. It is documented as a single SKILL.md that takes the feature idea via $ARGUMENTS and includes further reading on assumption prioritization, product risk management, and continuous product discovery. Because it relies on the user-provided context and multi-perspective reasoning rather than external tooling, it has no technical prerequisites.
A devil's advocate analysis that identifies risky assumptions across four areas (Value, Usability, Viability, Feasibility), and for each assumption notes what could go wrong, a confidence level (High/Medium/Low), and a suggested way to test it.
Describe your product, objective, market segment, and feature idea via $ARGUMENTS. If you have supporting files such as designs, PRDs, or research, provide them and the skill reads them first.
It reasons from a Product Manager perspective (business viability, market fit, strategic alignment), a Designer perspective (usability, experience, adoption barriers), and an Engineer perspective (technical feasibility, performance, integration challenges).
Use it when stress-testing a feature idea for an existing product, doing risk assessment, or preparing for assumption mapping. It is designed to strengthen the idea, not to kill it.
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