{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/turn-a-recurring-ai-workflow-into-a-skill-only-when-the-trigger-is-clear",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0708",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Turn a recurring AI workflow into a skill only when the trigger is clear",
  "summary": "A reusable skill should remove repeated thinking, not create a new library you now have to search.",
  "kind": "heuristic",
  "body": "Promote a repeated workflow into a skill when you can name the trigger, required inputs, steps or decision points, output and acceptance check. Keep project-specific facts in references rather than hard-coding them into the procedure. If you cannot say when the skill should fire, keep the workflow as an ordinary note until the pattern becomes clearer.",
  "limits": [
    "Do not encode unstable or one-off behavior as permanent skill instructions; maintenance cost can exceed the saved prompting."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-ai-context-memory-skills"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-604BFF7E5264381C"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "AI Engineer skill guidance separates invocation, procedural steps and supporting references so a reusable skill need not inject all detail into every turn.",
      "source_id": "RS-604BFF7E5264381C",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Skill formats vary by harness; the transferable idea is selective invocation and separation of procedure from reference.",
      "locator": "Trigger; structure; steps versus references"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "You repeatedly explain the same procedure to an AI tool or coding agent."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Do not encode unstable or one-off behavior as permanent skill instructions; maintenance cost can exceed the saved prompting."
  ],
  "example": "A repeated 'review SAP mass-update file' workflow can become a skill with file checks, key-field rules and an output report, while customer-specific values stay in project references.",
  "check": "A person who did not write the skill can tell when to invoke it and what acceptable output looks like.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-604BFF7E5264381C",
      "title": "Building Great Agent Skills: The Missing Manual",
      "url": "https://ai.engineer/talks/UNzCG3lw6O0-building-great-agent-skills"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0708",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0709",
      "type": "use_before",
      "url": "/knowledge/ablate-a-skill-before-you-trust-it"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-74B3DD1F3F9BDCB4",
      "title": "Give AI the right context, memory and reusable skills",
      "url": "/collections/give-ai-the-right-context-memory-and-reusable-skills"
    }
  ]
}