# /discover Command Workflow: How It Chains Product Discovery Skills > Explore the /discover command workflow chaining four AI skills: brainstorming, assumption identification, risk prioritization, and experiment design for product idea validation. - Repository: [Pawel Huryn/pm-skills](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-06-13 --- **The `/discover` command in the phuryn/pm-skills repository orchestrates a seven-step product discovery workflow that chains four core AI skills—brainstorming, assumption identification, risk prioritization, and experiment design—to transform raw product ideas into actionable validation plans.** The `pm-product-discovery` plugin within the open-source **phuryn/pm-skills** repository provides a structured approach to product validation through its `/discover` command. Defined in [`pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md), this command automates a complete discovery cycle by sequentially invoking specialized skills that guide product managers from ideation to testable hypotheses. Understanding this workflow reveals how modular AI prompts can systematically de-risk product decisions. ## The Seven-Step /discover Workflow Explained The `/discover` command implements a structured pipeline that processes user input through seven distinct phases, with steps 2 through 5 invoking specific skill modules located in the `pm-product-discovery/skills/` directory. ### Step 1 – Context Capture The workflow initiates by determining the discovery context. The system queries whether the idea targets an **existing product** (triggering continuous discovery mode) or a **new product** (initial discovery mode), while simultaneously ingesting any user-supplied research files to establish baseline context. ### Step 2 – Brainstorm Ideas The command invokes perspective-based brainstorming skills to generate solution candidates. Depending on the context from Step 1, it executes either `brainstorm-ideas-existing` or `brainstorm-ideas-new`, defined in [`pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-ideas-existing/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-ideas-existing/SKILL.md) and its new-product counterpart. These skills generate ideas from three distinct viewpoints—Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer—then present the results for user selection. ### Step 3 – Identify Assumptions For each selected idea, the workflow surfaces risky assumptions across four risk domains: **Value**, **Usability**, **Viability**, and **Feasibility**. New product discovery includes additional **GTM** and **strategy** categories. This step leverages the `identify-assumptions-existing` or `identify-assumptions-new` skills located in [`pm-product-discovery/skills/identify-assumptions-existing/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/identify-assumptions-existing/SKILL.md). ### Step 4 – Prioritize Assumptions Assumptions are mapped onto an **Impact × Risk** matrix to identify "leap-of-faith" assumptions—those combining high potential impact with high uncertainty. The `prioritize-assumptions` skill ( residing in [`pm-product-discovery/skills/prioritize-assumptions/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/prioritize-assumptions/SKILL.md)) ranks these to determine validation priority. ### Step 5 – Design Experiments For top-ranked assumptions, the command chains either `brainstorm-experiments-existing` or `brainstorm-experiments-new` to propose validation methods. These skills, defined in [`pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-experiments-existing/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-experiments-existing/SKILL.md) and its new-product variant, suggest 1-2 experiments (such as A/B tests, fake doors, or pretotypes) complete with success criteria, effort estimates, and sequencing. ### Step 6 – Assemble Discovery Plan All generated artifacts—including selected ideas, mapped assumptions, and designed experiments—are compiled into a Markdown discovery plan. This document is formatted for immediate persistence to the user's workspace, creating a record of the complete discovery process. ### Step 7 – Offer Next Steps The command concludes by proposing concrete follow-up actions such as creating a PRD, drafting interview scripts, setting up success metrics, or estimating engineering effort, bridging the gap between discovery and execution. ## The Four Core Skills Chained by /discover The `/discover` command achieves its modularity by chaining four distinct skill categories that branch based on product maturity: 1. **Brainstorming Skills**: `brainstorm-ideas-existing` and `brainstorm-ideas-new` generate multi-perspective solution ideas from [`pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-ideas-existing/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-ideas-existing/SKILL.md) and its counterpart. 2. **Assumption Identification**: `identify-assumptions-existing` and `identify-assumptions-new` surface risky hypotheses across value, usability, viability, and feasibility domains. 3. **Risk Prioritization**: `prioritize-assumptions` maps risks onto an Impact × Risk matrix to identify validation priorities. 4. **Experiment Design**: `brainstorm-experiments-existing` and `brainstorm-experiments-new` design concrete validation tests with defined success metrics. Each skill operates as a standalone module accessible via individual commands, but the `/discover` workflow ensures they execute in the optimal sequence for comprehensive validation. ## Usage Examples Run a discovery session on an existing feature: ```markdown /discover "Smart notification system for our project-management tool" ``` Initiate discovery for a new AI product: ```markdown /discover "AI writing assistant for non-native speakers" ``` Interactive workflow after user selects specific ideas: ```markdown User: "Here are the top 3 ideas I want to validate." /discover (continues with assumption identification, prioritization, and experiment design) ``` ## Summary - The `/discover` command in `phuryn/pm-skills` implements a seven-step product discovery workflow defined in [`pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md). - It chains four core skill categories: brainstorming, assumption identification, prioritization, and experiment design. - Skills automatically branch into "existing" and "new" product variants based on initial context capture. - The workflow generates a Markdown discovery plan ready for immediate workspace integration. - Each underlying skill can be invoked independently, but `/discover` guarantees complete end-to-end process execution. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the difference between the "existing" and "new" product skills? The "existing" variants (such as `brainstorm-ideas-existing` and `identify-assumptions-existing`) focus on continuous discovery for current products with established user bases. The "new" variants include additional GTM and strategy assumption categories critical for zero-to-one product launches, as implemented in their respective [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/SKILL.md) files under `pm-product-discovery/skills/`. ### Can I run individual skills without executing the full /discover workflow? Yes. Each skill functions as a standalone command that can be invoked independently (for example, via `/brainstorm` or `/prioritize-assumptions`). The `/discover` command simply orchestrates these skills in sequence according to the workflow defined in [`pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md). ### How does the prioritize-assumptions skill determine which assumptions to test first? The skill plots assumptions on an **Impact × Risk** matrix, prioritizing "leap-of-faith" assumptions that combine high potential impact with high uncertainty. These represent the riskiest hypotheses that, if invalidated, would most significantly alter the product direction, as detailed in [`pm-product-discovery/skills/prioritize-assumptions/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/prioritize-assumptions/SKILL.md). ### Where are the experiment design skills located in the repository? The experiment design logic resides in [`pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-experiments-existing/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-experiments-existing/SKILL.md) for continuous discovery and [`pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-experiments-new/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills/blob/main/pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-experiments-new/SKILL.md) for new product validation. These files define the prompt logic for generating A/B tests, fake doors, pretotypes, and other validation methods.