How to Use the /discover Command in PM Skills: A Complete Product Discovery Guide

The /discover command in PM Skills orchestrates a structured 7-phase workflow that transforms vague product ideas into validated discovery plans by guiding users through context gathering, multi-perspective brainstorming, assumption identification, risk prioritization, and experiment design.

The /discover command is the core workflow engine in the phuryn/pm-skills repository designed for product managers and product trios. According to pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md, this command implements a continuous discovery methodology that moves from initial concept to executable validation plan in a 15-30 minute structured conversation.

Understanding the /discover Command Structure

The command definition in pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md specifies a complete discovery cycle that adapts to both existing products (continuous discovery) and new products (initial discovery). The workflow automatically invokes specialized skills located in the pm-product-discovery/skills/ directory, selecting context-appropriate variants based on whether you are enhancing an existing feature or exploring a new opportunity.

Each phase includes checkpoints that let you steer, skip, or dive deeper, ensuring the conversation remains flexible while maintaining methodological rigor.

The 7-Phase Discovery Workflow

The /discover command guides you through seven clearly defined phases, from high-level ideation to concrete execution planning.

1. Understand the Discovery Context

The workflow begins by establishing your starting point. As implemented in lines 20-30 of the command specification, the assistant asks whether you are working on an existing product or a new idea, then gathers prior research, artifacts, or user-provided links to establish the discovery context.

This phase ensures the model understands what you already know and what decisions the discovery will inform.

2. Brainstorm Multi-Perspective Ideas

The command invokes either brainstorm-ideas-existing or brainstorm-ideas-new (lines 33-41), which generates ten ideas from three perspectives: Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer.

You then select the most promising 3-5 ideas to carry forward into validation. This multi-perspective approach ensures technical feasibility and user experience considerations are surfaced early.

3. Identify Critical Assumptions

For each selected idea, the workflow calls identify-assumptions-existing or identify-assumptions-new (lines 45-52). These skills surface risky assumptions across four dimensions:

• Value: Will users actually want this?
• Usability: Can users figure out how to use it?
• Feasibility: Can we build it with our technology?
• Viability: Can we sustain this business model?

For new products, an additional Go-to-Market dimension is evaluated.

4. Prioritize by Impact and Risk

Using the prioritize-assumptions skill (lines 56-63), the command maps each assumption on an Impact × Risk matrix. This highlights "leap-of-faith" assumptions—those with high impact and high uncertainty that could kill the idea if wrong.

The output ranks assumptions by testing priority, ensuring you validate the riskiest elements first.

5. Design Validation Experiments

The workflow then executes brainstorm-experiments-existing or brainstorm-experiments-new (lines 68-74), proposing 1-2 experiments per high-priority assumption. Each experiment specifies:

• Method: A/B test, fake door, pretotype, concierge test, or other validation technique
• Success criteria: Measurable thresholds for validation
• Effort required: Time and resource estimates
• Sequencing: Order of execution

6. Generate a Discovery Plan

All outputs are assembled into a comprehensive markdown Discovery Plan (lines 77-112). According to the source specification, this document includes:

• Discovery context and constraints
• Brainstormed ideas with selection rationale
• Critical assumptions categorized by risk type
• Validation experiments with detailed specifications
• Timeline and decision framework

7. Suggest Next Steps

Finally, the command offers follow-up actions (lines 117-123) such as generating a PRD, drafting user interview scripts, setting up success metrics, or creating effort estimates for the engineering team.

How to Invoke the /discover Command

You can initiate the workflow in two ways:

Direct invocation with context:

/discover Smart notification system for our project management tool

Interactive mode (lets the assistant gather context):

/discover

The assistant will then ask: "Is this an existing product or a new idea?"

Typical Interaction Flow

Assistant: "What are you exploring? What do you already know? 
What decisions will this discovery inform?"

User: "We need a notification feature for task updates – we already 
have user feedback showing they miss alerts."

Assistant (Brainstorm phase):
1️⃣ PM: "Configurable push notifications"
2️⃣ Designer: "In-app toast with actionable button"  
3️⃣ Engineer: "Webhooks to external services"
...

User: "Let's keep ideas 1, 2, 5."

Assistant (Identify Assumptions):
• Value: Users will actually enable notifications
• Usability: The toast won't be intrusive  
• Feasibility: Backend can handle real-time pushes
...

Key Source Files

The /discover command orchestrates these specialized skills:

• pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md – Full command definition and workflow orchestration
• pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-ideas-existing/SKILL.md – Multi-perspective ideation for existing products
• pm-product-discovery/skills/identify-assumptions-existing/SKILL.md – Risk surfacing for current products
• pm-product-discovery/skills/prioritize-assumptions/SKILL.md – Impact × Risk matrix ranking
• pm-product-discovery/skills/brainstorm-experiments-existing/SKILL.md – Validation experiment design

Summary

• The /discover command provides a structured 7-phase workflow for product discovery in the PM Skills framework
• Automatic skill selection adapts the workflow for existing products versus new ideas
• Seven phases move from context gathering through brainstorming, assumption identification, prioritization, experiment design, plan creation, and next steps
• 15-30 minute sessions produce a complete markdown Discovery Plan ready for execution
• Checkpoint-based interaction allows you to steer, skip, or deep-dive at any stage

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between existing and new product discovery in /discover?

When using the /discover command, the workflow automatically selects between "existing" and "new" skill variants based on your initial input. For existing products, the command focuses on continuous discovery and feature enhancement, evaluating assumptions across Value, Usability, Feasibility, and Viability. For new products, the workflow adds a Go-to-Market dimension to assumption identification and places greater emphasis on initial market validation and pretotype experiments.

How long does a typical /discover session take?

According to the implementation in pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md, a complete /discover session is designed to take 15-30 minutes. This timeframe accommodates the seven-phase workflow while maintaining momentum through checkpoint-based interactions that let you quickly select ideas, prioritize assumptions, and approve experiment designs without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail.

Can I skip phases in the /discover workflow?

Yes, the command structure includes checkpoints at each phase that allow you to steer the conversation, skip steps, or dive deeper where needed. While the workflow is designed to follow the seven-phase sequence for completeness, you can indicate when you already have completed research (skipping context gathering) or when you have predefined assumptions ready for prioritization.

What output format does the /discover command generate?

The command generates a markdown Discovery Plan that includes the discovery context, brainstormed ideas with your selections, critical assumptions categorized by risk type (Value, Usability, Feasibility, Viability), validation experiments with methods and success criteria, a timeline, and a decision framework. This document is assembled during phase 6 (lines 77-112) and serves as the primary deliverable for sharing with stakeholders or guiding development.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}