Agent skill · product strategy · davila7
think-tank
Run a Virtual Think Tank — a structured multi-persona debate — before planning or making architectural/design/strategic decisions. Use this skill whenever the user is about to plan a system, make a technology choice, evaluate trade-offs, decide on an approach, or faces any decision where multiple perspectives would sharpen the outcome. Also trigger when the user says "think tank", "debate this", "perspectives on", "trade-offs", "should I use X or Y", "help me decide", "before we plan", or asks for pros/cons of competing approaches. This skill should run BEFORE any implementation planning begins — it produces a structured analysis that feeds into better plans.
Why this skill is useful
Facilitates structured analysis and diverse perspectives on decision-making, enhancing the AI's ability to evaluate trade-offs and approaches.
What it needs
About 8k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 30,138 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Virtual Think Tank A pre-planning skill that simulates a moderated expert debate to surface trade-offs, blind spots, and perspectives before committing to a plan. Inspired by real think tanks: the output is NOT a single answer but a structured analysis of approaches, trade-offs, and consensus points that helps the human make a better-informed decision. Why This Exists When facing architectural, strategic, or design decisions, a single perspective (even a well-informed one) tends to gravitate toward conventional wisdom and miss important trade-offs. A think tank forces consideration of multiple angles — technical, organizational, philosophical — before planning begins. The result is plans that account for more of reality. How It Works The think tank uses multiple personas debating within a single context — not separate agents. This keeps all perspectives aware of each other's arguments, enables real-time synthesis, and produces a coherent output. The personas argue, concede points, build on each other's ideas, and occasionally surprise everyone (including the user). Running the Think Tank Phase 1: Frame the Decision Before assembling the panel, clearly understand what's being decided. Ask the user (if not already clear): 1. What is the decision or problem? (e.g., "monolith vs microservices for a new e-commerce platform") 2. What constraints exist? (team size, timeline, budget, existing systems, regulatory) 3. What's already been tried or considered? (avoid rehashing known ground) 4. What would a successful outcome look like? (helps the panel focus) Restate the problem back to the user in a crisp problem statement before proceeding. This ensures the think tank debates the right question. Phase 2: Assemble the Panel Build a panel of 4–6 personas. The composition matters — diversity of perspective is the whole point. Panel structure: 1 Moderator — A knowledgeable, neutral figure who keeps the debate focused, synthesizes, and pushes for clarity. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills davila7/think-tank