analyze-project

SPARK Analysis

Conduct SPARK methodology analysis for new project inception.

When to Use

• At the very beginning of a new project
• When evaluating a significant new feature or system
• Before running bootstrap-project to validate project viability
• When pivoting or reassessing an existing project

What is SPARK?

SPARK is a structured inception methodology for validating project viability:

• Stakeholders: Who is affected and who has influence?
• Problem: What problem are we solving? What's the scope?
• Analysis: What exists? What are the options? What are the constraints?
• Risks: What could go wrong? How do we mitigate?
• Knowledge: What do we know? What gaps exist?

Alternative Interpretation: Some practitioners use SPARK as: Situation, Proposal, Agreement, Resources, Kickers. This variant focuses more on proposal-driven inception where the situation is assessed, a proposal is made, agreement is sought, resources are identified, and potential "kickers" (deal-breakers or critical success factors) are surfaced early. Choose the interpretation that best fits your project context.

Required Inputs

1. Project idea/concept (initial description)
2. Context (why now? what triggered this?)
3. Initial stakeholder list (who asked for this?)
4. Time constraints (deadline pressures?)
5. Budget/resource constraints (if known)

Workflow

Phase 1: Stakeholder Analysis

Identify and analyze all stakeholders:

## Stakeholders

### Primary Stakeholders (Direct Users)

| Stakeholder | Role | Needs | Influence | Engagement |
|-------------|------|-------|-----------|------------|
| [Name/Role] | [What they do] | [What they need] | High/Med/Low | [How to engage] |

### Secondary Stakeholders (Indirect Impact)

| Stakeholder | Interest | Impact | Communication |
|-------------|----------|--------|---------------|
| [Name/Role] | [Their interest] | [How affected] | [How to inform] |

### Key Questions to Answer
- Who will use this system daily?
- Who will maintain/operate it?
- Who funds/sponsors it?
- Who could block or derail the project?
- Who has domain expertise we need?

AI Assistance: Use Explore agent to research similar projects and identify commonly overlooked stakeholders.

Phase 1b: Create Audience Registry

Transform stakeholders into an Audience Registry - a standalone reference document that becomes the anchor for all downstream artifacts.

Create docs/reference/audience-registry.md:

# Audience Registry

Single source of truth for project audiences and their artifact needs.

## Audiences

| ID | Audience | Category | Needs | Derived Artifacts |
|----|----------|----------|-------|-------------------|
| A1 | [Role] | Primary | [Use the system for...] | BDD:user-*, Tutorial:*, C4:Person |
| A2 | [Role] | Integration | [Connect via...] | BDD:api-*, Reference:*, C4:ExternalSystem |
| A3 | [Role] | Operational | [Deploy/maintain...] | BDD:ops-*, Howto:*, C4:Operator |
| A4 | [Role] | Contribution | [Extend/maintain code...] | Explanation:*, C4:Component view |

## Category Definitions

| Category | Focus | Typical Roles | Primary Artifacts |
|----------|-------|---------------|-------------------|
| **Primary** | Using the system | End-users, consumers | Tutorials, User BDD, SystemContext |
| **Integration** | Connecting to the system | Developers, API consumers | Reference docs, API BDD, Container view |
| **Operational** | Running the system | Sysadmins, operators, SREs | How-tos, Ops BDD, Deployment view |
| **Contribution** | Extending the system | Contributors, maintainers | Explanation, ADRs, Component view |

## Traceability

Every artifact should reference an audience ID:
- BDD features: `@audience:A1`
- Documentation frontmatter: `audience: A1`
- C4 persons/actors map to Primary/Integration audiences

## Artifact Coverage Matrix

| Audience | BDD | Tutorial | How-to | Reference | Explanation | C4 Element |
|----------|-----|----------|--------|-----------|-------------|------------|
| A1 | [ ] | [ ] | - | - | - | [ ] |
| A2 | [ ] | - | - | [ ] | - | [ ] |
| A3 | [ ] | - | [ ] | - | - | [ ] |
| A4 | - | - | - | - | [ ] | [ ] |

---
*Created from SPARK analysis on [date]*
*Last updated: [date]*

AI Assistance: AI can suggest audience consolidation and identify gaps in artifact coverage.

Pattern Reference: See AUDIENCE-DRIVEN ARTIFACTS

Phase 2: Problem Definition

Define the problem clearly and scope boundaries:

## Problem Definition

### Problem Statement
[1-2 sentence clear statement of the problem]

### Current State
- How is this problem handled today?
- What pain points exist?
- What workarounds are people using?

### Desired Future State
- What does success look like?
- How will we measure success?
- What capabilities will exist that don't exist now?

### Scope Boundaries

**In Scope**:
- [Capability 1]
- [Capability 2]
- [Capability 3]

**Out of Scope** (explicitly excluded):
- [Excluded item 1 and why]
- [Excluded item 2 and why]

**Deferred** (future consideration):
- [Deferred item 1]
- [Deferred item 2]

### Success Criteria
1. [Measurable criterion 1]
2. [Measurable criterion 2]
3. [Measurable criterion 3]

AI Assistance: Use AI to challenge assumptions, identify edge cases, and ensure problem is well-defined.

Phase 3: Analysis

Analyze the landscape, options, and constraints:

## Analysis

### Existing Solutions

| Solution | Pros | Cons | Why Not Sufficient |
|----------|------|------|-------------------|
| [Existing 1] | [pros] | [cons] | [gap] |
| [Existing 2] | [pros] | [cons] | [gap] |

### Technology Options

| Option | Fit | Maturity | Team Experience | Decision |
|--------|-----|----------|-----------------|----------|
| [Tech 1] | High/Med/Low | [status] | [experience] | Consider/Reject |
| [Tech 2] | High/Med/Low | [status] | [experience] | Consider/Reject |

### Constraints

**Technical Constraints**:
- [Constraint 1: e.g., must integrate with existing system X]
- [Constraint 2: e.g., must run on infrastructure Y]

**Business Constraints**:
- [Constraint 1: e.g., budget limit]
- [Constraint 2: e.g., timeline requirement]

**Organizational Constraints**:
- [Constraint 1: e.g., team skills]
- [Constraint 2: e.g., approval processes]

### Dependencies

| Dependency | Type | Status | Risk if Unavailable |
|------------|------|--------|---------------------|
| [Dep 1] | Technical/Organizational | Available/Pending | [impact] |
| [Dep 2] | Technical/Organizational | Available/Pending | [impact] |

### Competitive Analysis (if applicable)

| Competitor | Strengths | Weaknesses | Differentiation |
|------------|-----------|------------|-----------------|
| [Comp 1] | [strengths] | [weaknesses] | [how we differ] |

AI Assistance: Use web search and Explore agents to research existing solutions, competitors, and technology options.

Phase 4: Risk Assessment

Identify and plan for risks:

## Risk Assessment

### Risk Register

| ID | Risk | Category | Likelihood | Impact | Score | Mitigation |
|----|------|----------|------------|--------|-------|------------|
| R1 | [Risk description] | Technical | H/M/L | H/M/L | [L×I] | [Strategy] |
| R2 | [Risk description] | Schedule | H/M/L | H/M/L | [L×I] | [Strategy] |
| R3 | [Risk description] | Resource | H/M/L | H/M/L | [L×I] | [Strategy] |
| R4 | [Risk description] | External | H/M/L | H/M/L | [L×I] | [Strategy] |

### Risk Categories
- **Technical**: Technology unknowns, integration challenges, performance
- **Schedule**: Timeline pressures, dependencies, estimation uncertainty
- **Resource**: Skills gaps, availability, budget
- **External**: Vendor dependencies, regulatory, market changes
- **Organizational**: Stakeholder alignment, change management

### Top 3 Risks (Prioritized)

1. **[Highest Risk]**
   - Why critical: [explanation]
   - Mitigation plan: [specific actions]
   - Contingency: [if mitigation fails]

2. **[Second Risk]**
   - Why critical: [explanation]
   - Mitigation plan: [specific actions]
   - Contingency: [if mitigation fails]

3. **[Third Risk]**
   - Why critical: [explanation]
   - Mitigation plan: [specific actions]
   - Contingency: [if mitigation fails]

### Risk Monitoring
- How will risks be tracked?
- When will risks be reviewed?
- Who owns risk management?

AI Assistance: Use AI to brainstorm risks, especially technical risks based on technology choices.

Phase 5: Knowledge Assessment

Identify what's known and what gaps exist:

## Knowledge Assessment

### What We Know (Validated)
- [Known fact 1 with source/evidence]
- [Known fact 2 with source/evidence]
- [Known fact 3 with source/evidence]

### What We Assume (Needs Validation)
| Assumption | Basis | How to Validate | Priority |
|------------|-------|-----------------|----------|
| [Assumption 1] | [why we believe this] | [validation method] | High/Med/Low |
| [Assumption 2] | [why we believe this] | [validation method] | High/Med/Low |

### Knowledge Gaps (Research Needed)
| Gap | Impact if Not Filled | Research Approach | Owner |
|-----|---------------------|-------------------|-------|
| [Gap 1] | [impact] | [how to research] | [who] |
| [Gap 2] | [impact] | [how to research] | [who] |

### Domain Expertise Needed
- [Domain 1]: [current capability] → [needed capability]
- [Domain 2]: [current capability] → [needed capability]

### Proof of Concept Needs
| POC | Purpose | Success Criteria | Effort |
|-----|---------|------------------|--------|
| [POC 1] | [what we're validating] | [how we know it works] | [estimate] |

AI Assistance: AI can help identify knowledge gaps and suggest research approaches.

Phase 6: Synthesis and Recommendation

Bring it all together:

## SPARK Synthesis

### Project Viability Assessment

| Dimension | Score (1-5) | Notes |
|-----------|-------------|-------|
| Stakeholder Alignment | X | [brief note] |
| Problem Clarity | X | [brief note] |
| Solution Feasibility | X | [brief note] |
| Risk Manageability | X | [brief note] |
| Knowledge Readiness | X | [brief note] |
| **Overall** | **X.X** | |

### Recommendation

**Proceed / Proceed with Conditions / Do Not Proceed**

[2-3 sentence recommendation with rationale]

### Conditions for Success (if proceeding)
1. [Condition 1]
2. [Condition 2]
3. [Condition 3]

### Immediate Next Steps
1. [Action 1] - [Owner] - [Deadline]
2. [Action 2] - [Owner] - [Deadline]
3. [Action 3] - [Owner] - [Deadline]

### Open Questions for Stakeholder Review
1. [Question requiring stakeholder input]
2. [Question requiring stakeholder input]

Output Document

Create docs/inception/spark-analysis.md with all sections above.

Outputs

This skill creates:

• docs/inception/ directory
• docs/inception/spark-analysis.md (complete SPARK analysis)
• docs/reference/audience-registry.md (standalone, used by downstream skills)

Validation

SPARK analysis is valid when:

• All 5 dimensions (S-P-A-R-K) are addressed
• Stakeholders are identified and prioritized
• Audience Registry covers all four categories (or documents why not)
• Problem is clearly scoped with boundaries
• At least 3 technology options evaluated
• Top risks identified with mitigations
• Knowledge gaps have research plans
• Clear recommendation with rationale

AI Collaboration Strategy

SPARK Phase	AI Role	Human Role
Stakeholders	Suggest overlooked stakeholders	Validate relevance, prioritize
Problem	Challenge assumptions, find edge cases	Define scope, set success criteria
Analysis	Research solutions, compare technologies	Make strategic decisions
Risks	Brainstorm risks, suggest mitigations	Prioritize, assign ownership
Knowledge	Identify gaps, suggest research	Validate assumptions, fill gaps
Synthesis	Draft summary	Make go/no-go recommendation

Related Skills

• bootstrap-project - Run after SPARK if proceeding
• setup-adrs - Document key decisions from SPARK
• setup-architecture-as-code - Architecture emerges from SPARK analysis