gabe-roast

Gabe Roast — Adversarial Gap Review Skill

Purpose

Stress-test a target (file, folder, plan, architecture, or concept) from a specific perspective to surface gaps, risks, and missing pieces — classified by software maturity level and importance, with actionable output that drives decisions.

This skill does not produce generic checklists. It adopts a perspective, reads deeply, and attacks like someone whose job depends on finding what's wrong.

Rendering note. Output templates in this spec wrapped in bare triple-backtick fences are spec-meta delimiters — render their contents as plain markdown at runtime so gap tables and severity classifications display as tables. See gabe-docs/SKILL.md § "Runtime output rendering convention".

---

Required Inputs

Every roast requires two inputs. If either is missing, ask before proceeding.

1. Target — What to review

Input Type	Example
File	/docs/architecture/PROP-001.md
Folder	/src/services/ (roasts the system implied by the files)
Inline	A plan, concept, or design described in conversation
Context	"this conversation" or "what we just discussed"

When the target is a file or folder, read it fully before starting. For folders, read enough files to understand the system (entry points, core logic, configuration).

2. Perspective — Who is attacking

The perspective is never optional. Always require it. Examples:

Perspective	What they look for
Architect	Structural flaws, coupling, scalability bottlenecks, missing abstractions
UX/UI Designer	Flow gaps, inconsistency, accessibility, information architecture
Security Auditor	Attack surfaces, auth gaps, data exposure, injection vectors
QA/Testing Lead	Untestable code, missing edge cases, flaky assumptions
DevOps Engineer	Deployment gaps, monitoring blind spots, recovery failures
Domain Expert	Business logic errors, domain model gaps, real-world mismatches
End User	Confusing flows, dead ends, broken expectations

The reviewer adopts the perspective fully — think like that person, worry about what they worry about, catch what they would catch.

---

Classification Dimensions

Maturity Level — When does this gap matter?

These levels apply to ANY artifact — code, designs, plans, workflows, processes. They are not limited to software.

Level	Prefix	Meaning
MVP	M	Must fix before first use — first users, first presentation, first deployment
Enterprise	E	Must fix before real conditions — organizations, real load, paying customers
Scale	S	Must fix before 10x growth — multi-region, compliance, large teams

Importance — How bad is it if we ignore this?

Level	Indicator	Meaning
Critical	CRITICAL	System breaks, data loss, security hole, or blocked launch
High	HIGH	Major degradation, user trust erosion, expensive rework later
Medium	MEDIUM	Friction, tech debt accumulation, missed opportunity
Low	LOW	Polish, best practice, future-proofing

Ordering

Within the same maturity + importance bucket, order gaps by impact — the most damaging gap comes first.

---

Per-Gap Fields

Field	Required	Description
Gap ID	Yes	Prefixed by maturity level: M1, M2... E1, E2... S1, S2...
Gap	Yes	What's missing or broken. 2-3 sentences. Concrete, not vague.
One-liner	Yes	A Gabe Lens handle — a memorable phrase (5-12 words) that captures the essence of THIS gap. Must survive fatigue and re-anchor the issue without re-reading the description. Concrete, not abstract.
Effort	Yes	T-shirt size (S / M / L / XL) with confidence: M (confident) or L (uncertain — depends on existing auth layer). Never false-precision story points without codebase knowledge.
What we lose	Yes	The specific consequence of inaction. Not generic ("tech debt") — concrete ("first user with two accounts overwrites their own data").
Suggested fix	Optional	A concrete recommendation. 1-3 sentences. Include file/component references when the target is code. Skip only when the fix is obvious from the gap description.

One-Liner Rules

The one-liner follows Gabe Lens format:

• 5-12 words
• Concrete, not abstract
• Captures the KEY tension or failure mode of this specific gap
• Must be useful standalone — if the reader sees only the one-liner in a summary table, they should recall the gap
• Preferred: physical-system analogy. But if the gap is already concrete, a sharp summary beats a forced metaphor.
• Test: "Would this phrase mean something at 11pm after a long session?"

---

Output Format — Full Mode

GABE ROAST: [Target Name]
Perspective: [Perspective]

═══ MVP ════════════════════════════════════════════════

CRITICAL

  M1
  **Gap:** [What's missing or broken — 2-3 sentences]
  **One-liner:** "[memorable handle]"
  **Effort:** [size] ([confidence])
  **Lose:** [specific consequence of inaction]
  **Fix:** [concrete recommendation — optional]

  M2
  **Gap:** [description]
  **One-liner:** "[handle]"
  **Effort:** [size] ([confidence])
  **Lose:** [consequence]

HIGH

  M3
  **Gap:** [description]
  **One-liner:** "[handle]"
  **Effort:** [size] ([confidence])
  **Lose:** [consequence]
  **Fix:** [suggestion]

MEDIUM

  M4
  ...

LOW

  M5
  ...

═══ ENTERPRISE ═════════════════════════════════════════

CRITICAL

  E1
  ...

═══ SCALE ══════════════════════════════════════════════

HIGH

  S1
  ...

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL: [X] gaps — [Y] critical, [Z] high, [W] medium, [V] low
Effort estimate: [range] ([overall confidence note])

Rules for Full Mode

• Every field label is in bold followed by a colon, then the content
• Gap ID (M1, E1, S1) is on its own line as a header for the gap
• Suppress empty maturity levels entirely (no empty headers)
• Suppress empty importance levels within a maturity level
• Each gap is separated by a blank line for readability
• Gap descriptions reference specific files, lines, or components when the target is code
• The summary line at the bottom gives totals and aggregate effort

---

Output Format — Brief Mode

Brief mode produces a scannable table. All fields compressed to one line each.

GABE ROAST (brief): [Target Name] — [Perspective]

| ID | Maturity | Importance | Gap | One-liner | Effort |
|----|----------|------------|-----|-----------|--------|
| M1 | MVP | Critical | [short description] | "[handle]" | S |
| M2 | MVP | High | [short description] | "[handle]" | M |
| E1 | Enterprise | Critical | [short description] | "[handle]" | L |
| E2 | Enterprise | Medium | [short description] | "[handle]" | S |
| S1 | Scale | High | [short description] | "[handle]" | XL |

TOTAL: [X] gaps — [Y] critical, [Z] high

Rules for Brief Mode

• Table sorted by: Maturity (MVP first) then Importance (Critical first) then Impact
• Gap description truncated to ~15 words max
• "What we lose" and "Suggested fix" omitted
• Use when scanning or comparing, not when deciding

---

Behavior Rules

Before Roasting

1. Confirm both inputs are present (target + perspective). If either is missing, ask.
2. Pre-roast gate: Run /gabe-align shallow on the target (core values A1-A3 + project values). If all PASS: proceed. If CONCERN: print warning, proceed. If FAIL: print warning + "Foundational alignment issue. Consider /gabe-align standard. Proceed? [y/n]". Skip this gate if no .kdbp/VALUES.md or ~/.kdbp/VALUES.md exists.
3. Read the target fully. For files, read every line. For folders, read entry points and core logic.
4. If the target references other files (imports, links, config), read those too — gaps often hide at boundaries.

During the Roast

5. Stay in character as the perspective. An architect doesn't flag typos. A UX designer doesn't flag missing database indexes.
6. Be specific. "Error handling is weak" is not a gap. "The /api/checkout endpoint catches all exceptions with a generic 500, hiding payment failures from the user and from monitoring" is a gap.
7. Don't pad. If there are only 3 gaps, report 3 gaps. Don't invent LOW items to fill a quota.
8. Don't repeat. If the same issue manifests in multiple places, it's ONE gap with multiple locations listed, not separate gaps.
9. Classify honestly. Not everything is CRITICAL. Inflation of importance defeats the purpose.

After the Roast

10. The summary line is mandatory. It gives the reader a pulse check without re-reading.
11. If zero gaps are found (rare), say so explicitly: "No gaps found from [perspective] perspective at any maturity level." Don't manufacture findings.

Sequential Roasting

The most effective pattern is roasting the same target from multiple perspectives in sequence (e.g., architect → UX designer → domain expert). When performing a follow-up roast on the same target:

• Acknowledge prior roast findings — don't re-discover gaps already reported
• If a gap from a previous perspective also applies to the current one, reference it: "Covered by M1 in architect roast" rather than re-reporting
• Each perspective produces its own numbered gaps (M1/E1/S1 restart per roast)
• After multiple passes, the combined gap list gives a 360-degree view of the target

---

When to Use

Use Gabe Roast for:

• Self-review of your own designs before building — the most effective use. You already know what you intended; the roast finds what you missed.
• Pre-implementation review of architecture proposals or plans
• Post-implementation review before shipping or merging
• Validating designs from a stakeholder perspective you don't naturally think from
• Stress-testing workflows, processes, or playbooks
• Finding blind spots by deliberately adopting an adversarial viewpoint

Don't use Gabe Roast for:

• Code style reviews (use a linter)
• Line-by-line code review (use a code reviewer)
• Requirements gathering (roast finds what's MISSING, not what should be BUILT)
• Trivial targets where a roast would be overkill (a 5-line utility function)

---

Example

GABE ROAST: MOCKUP-PLAN.md
Perspective: UX Designer

═══ MVP ════════════════════════════════════════════════

CRITICAL

  M1
  **Gap:** The plan starts with 12 isolated screen mockups but
  defines no user flow diagrams. Without flows, each screen is
  designed in a vacuum — transitions, data handoffs, and
  navigation paths are undefined.
  **One-liner:** "Building rooms before drawing the hallways"
  **Effort:** M (confident)
  **Lose:** Every screen gets reworked once flows reveal they
  don't connect.
  **Fix:** Add a Phase 0 that maps the 5 primary user journeys
  before any screen work begins.

HIGH

  M2
  **Gap:** Component library is extracted BEFORE screens exist.
  Designers can't extract reusable components from screens they
  haven't made yet — the components will be hypothetical, not
  battle-tested.
  **One-liner:** "Packing a suitcase before knowing the destination"
  **Effort:** S (confident)
  **Lose:** Component library gets rebuilt from scratch once real
  screens reveal actual patterns.
  **Fix:** Reverse order — screens first (Phase 2), component
  extraction at a checkpoint after.

═══ ENTERPRISE ═════════════════════════════════════════

MEDIUM

  E1
  **Gap:** No interaction specification template. Mockups show
  static layouts but gesture behaviors (swipe, long-press,
  pull-to-refresh), transition animations, and loading states
  are unspecified.
  **One-liner:** "A blueprint with no doors marked"
  **Effort:** S (confident)
  **Lose:** Developers implement inconsistent interactions across
  screens; QA has no spec to test against.
  **Fix:** Add an Interaction Notes section to each mockup template.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL: 3 gaps — 1 critical, 1 high, 1 medium
Effort estimate: S-M range (confident — scope is documentation, not code)