[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ask user whether to skip.
Quick Summary
Goal: Create structured UI/UX design specification documents from requirements or PBIs for developer handoff.
Workflow:
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Read Source — Extract UI requirements from PBI, story, or Figma URL
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Determine Complexity — Quick Spec (sections 1-4) vs Full Spec (all 7 sections)
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Build Component Inventory — List new vs existing components
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Define States & Tokens — Interactions, design tokens, responsive breakpoints
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Save Artifact — Output to team-artifacts/design-specs/
Key Rules:
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If Figma URL provided, run /figma-design first to extract specs
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Reference existing design system tokens from docs/project-reference/design-system/
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Include accessibility requirements (keyboard nav, ARIA labels, contrast)
Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).
Design Specification
Create structured UI/UX design specification documents from requirements or PBIs for developer handoff.
When to Use
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A PBI or user story needs a design spec before implementation
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Translating requirements into concrete UI layout, states, and tokens
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Documenting component inventory and interaction patterns
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Creating responsive breakpoint specifications
When NOT to Use
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Extracting specs from Figma -- use figma-design first, then this skill
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Building the actual UI -- use frontend-design
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Full UX research and design process -- use ux-designer
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Reviewing existing UI code -- use web-design-guidelines
Prerequisites
Read before executing:
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The source PBI, user story, or requirements document
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docs/project-reference/design-system/ -- project design tokens (if applicable)
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Existing design specs in team-artifacts/design-specs/ for format consistency
Workflow
Read source input
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IF Figma URL provided → run /figma-design first to extract specs, then continue
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IF PBI/story → extract acceptance criteria and UI requirements
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IF verbal requirements → clarify with user before proceeding
Determine spec complexity
IF single form or simple component → Quick Spec (sections 1-4 only) IF full page or multi-component view → Full Spec (all 7 sections) IF multi-page flow → Full Spec + Flow Diagram
Build component inventory
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List all UI components needed
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Identify reusable vs feature-specific components
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Note existing components from shared component library or design system
Define states and interactions
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Default, hover, active, disabled, error, loading, empty states
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User interactions (click, drag, keyboard shortcuts)
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Transitions and animations
Extract design tokens
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Colors, typography, spacing, shadows, border-radius
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Reference existing design system tokens where possible
Document responsive behavior
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Mobile (320-767px), Tablet (768-1023px), Desktop (1024px+)
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What changes at each breakpoint (layout, visibility, sizing)
Save artifact
- Path: team-artifacts/design-specs/{YYMMDD}-designspec-{feature-slug}.md
Output Format
Design Spec: {Feature Name}
Source: {PBI/story reference} Date: {YYMMDD} Status: Draft | Review | Approved
1. Overview
{1-2 sentence summary of what this UI does}
2. Component Inventory
| Component | Type | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UserCard | New | Feature-specific | Displays user avatar + name |
| DataTable | Existing | shared library | Reuse with custom columns |
3. Layout
{Description or ASCII wireframe of layout structure}
- Desktop: {layout description}
- Tablet: {layout changes}
- Mobile: {layout changes}
4. Design Tokens
| Token | Value | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| $primary | #1976D2 | Action buttons, links |
| $text-body | 14px/1.5 Inter | Body text |
| $gap-md | 16px | Section spacing |
5. States & Interactions
| Element | Default | Hover | Active | Disabled | Error |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Save btn | Blue/white | Darken 10% | Scale 0.98 | Gray/50% opacity | -- |
6. Accessibility
- Keyboard navigation order
- ARIA labels for interactive elements
- Color contrast compliance notes
7. Open Questions
- {Any unresolved design decisions}
Examples
Example 1: Simple form spec
Input: "Design spec for employee onboarding form"
Output: Quick Spec with sections 1-4 covering form fields (name, email, department dropdown, start date picker), validation rules, submit/cancel actions, and mobile stacking behavior.
Example 2: Complex dashboard spec
Input: "Design spec for recruitment pipeline dashboard with drag-and-drop columns"
Output: Full Spec covering Kanban board layout, candidate cards (component inventory), drag-and-drop interactions, column states (empty, populated, over-limit), filter bar, responsive collapse to list view on mobile, and accessibility for keyboard drag operations.
Related Skills
Skill When to use instead
ux-designer
Full UX design process with research
figma-design
Extract specs from Figma designs
frontend-design
Build the actual UI implementation
interface-design
Product UI design (dashboards, apps)
web-design-guidelines
Review existing UI for compliance
IMPORTANT Task Planning Notes (MUST FOLLOW)
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Always plan and break work into many small todo tasks
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Always add a final review todo task to verify work quality and identify fixes/enhancements
Workflow Recommendation
IMPORTANT MUST: If you are NOT already in a workflow, use AskUserQuestion to ask the user:
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Activate design-workflow workflow (Recommended) — design-spec → code-review
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Execute /design-spec directly — run this skill standalone