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From skills-for-humanity
Maps routes around hard constraints that cannot be removed, finding adjacent paths to the same goal. Helps when a blocker is real and you need a workaround.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/skills-for-humanity:s4h-constraint-workaround-mappingThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Some constraints are real and cannot be inverted or removed. The question then is not how
Some constraints are real and cannot be inverted or removed. The question then is not how to eliminate the constraint, but how to route around it to the same destination. A workaround is not a compromise — it is a valid path that respects a real limit while still delivering the outcome.
Step 1: State the Constraint and Confirm It's Hard Write the constraint. Then confirm: is this actually fixed? A truly hard constraint has a concrete source — law, technical impossibility, signed contract. If the source is unclear, use constraint-hardness-testing first.
Framing check: Confirm the specific constraint and the goal it is blocking before continuing. State what you've identified — the actual constraint and the outcome the user is trying to reach — in one sentence, then use AskUserQuestion:
Step 2: Map the Exact Boundary What does this constraint specifically prevent? What does it explicitly not prevent? Most constraints are narrower than they appear. Mapping the boundary precisely reveals the space around it.
Step 3: List All Paths Blocked Enumerate every approach to the goal that the constraint forecloses. Be thorough — you are building a map of what's off the table.
Step 4: Find Adjacent Paths For each blocked path: is there an adjacent path that reaches the same goal without crossing the constraint? Adjacent means achieving the same underlying outcome through a different mechanism — not a lesser outcome through the same mechanism.
Step 5: Generate 3-5 Workarounds with Cost
Before narrowing: Show the complete set of adjacent paths identified in Step 4 to the user first. Use AskUserQuestion:
For each viable adjacent path, state the cost relative to the direct approach: additional time, complexity, dependency, quality reduction, or reversibility loss.
Step 6: Select Best Cost/Benefit Choose the workaround where the cost is lowest relative to the outcome achieved. If all workarounds are too costly, the right answer may be to re-examine the goal.
Before proceeding, use the AskUserQuestion tool. State your interpretation of the situation in 1–2 sentences — what is being analyzed and what the core question is — then ask:
Proceed based on their selection. If the user reframes, incorporate the correction before running any analysis.
Constraint:
[Statement + source confirming it's hard]
Constraint boundary:
Blocked paths:
[Bulleted list]
Workarounds:
| # | Path | How it reaches the goal | Cost vs direct path |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 |
Recommended path:
[Workaround name] — [rationale for cost/benefit selection]
The map is only useful if the constraint boundary in Step 2 is drawn accurately. People regularly assume constraints block more than they do — which is why checking what a constraint does NOT prevent is as important as what it does.
After delivering this output, use AskUserQuestion to offer the next move:
/s4h-decision-option-mapping — Map decision options using the available workarounds/s4h-logic-check — Validate the logic of the proposed workarounds/s4h-decision-premortem-analysis — Stress-test each workaround before committingnpx claudepluginhub human-avatar/skills-for-humanityApplies constraint reasoning to limits blocking progress. Diagnoses whether a constraint is real, reframes it creatively, reduces scope to minimum viable, or maps workarounds.
Turns limitations into creative fuel by strategically imposing constraints to force novel thinking and break habitual patterns. Use when brainstorming feels stuck, working with limited resources, or user mentions "think outside the box" or "tight constraints".
Identifies the single operational constraint blocking a strategic goal, verifies it is the true limit, and invests to solve it as an engineering problem rather than optimizing around it.