deep-interview

Deep Interview Workflow

Socratic deep interview — ask the right questions before writing any code.

Trigger Keywords

"deep interview", "interview me", "understand before coding"

Process

Phase 1: DISCOVERY (3-5 questions)
  Ask targeted questions to understand:
  - What problem are we solving? (not what solution to build)
  - Who is affected?
  - What does success look like?
  - What constraints exist?
  - What has been tried before?

Phase 2: SYNTHESIS
  Summarize understanding → .omc-cursor/interview.md
  Present summary → "Is this accurate?"

Phase 3: CLARIFICATION (if needed)
  Ask 1-2 follow-up questions on ambiguous areas

Phase 4: HANDOFF
  Create clear spec → .omc-cursor/spec.md
  Recommend workflow: Plan-Execute, Autopilot, or TDD

Question Design Principles

• Open-ended first — "What are you trying to achieve?" not "Do you want X or Y?"
• Problem before solution — Understand the problem before discussing implementation
• One question at a time — Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
• Listen for unstated needs — What they didn't say is often important

Output

# Interview Summary

## Problem Statement
{1-2 sentences describing the core problem}

## Requirements (Confirmed)
- {requirement from user's answers}

## Constraints
- {technical, time, resource constraints}

## Success Criteria
- {measurable outcomes}

## Recommended Approach
{workflow recommendation with reasoning}

## Open Questions
- {anything still unclear}

Rules

• Never start coding during interview — this is discovery only
• Maximum 5 questions in Phase 1 (respect user's time)
• Summarize understanding before proceeding
• If user says "just do it", skip remaining questions and proceed with best understanding
• Announce: "Starting Deep Interview — I'll ask a few questions before we begin."