Pol Probe Advisor

This is an interactive decision framework that walks you through picking the right validation method for a product hypothesis. Instead of defaulting to whatever prototype you're comfortable building, it asks about your specific risk, timeline, and resources, then recommends one of five "Proof of Life" probe types: feasibility checks for technical unknowns, task-focused tests for UI friction, narrative prototypes for stakeholder alignment, synthetic simulations for edge cases, or vibe-coded probes for workflow validation. The core insight is sound: match your validation method to your learning goal, not your tooling comfort. Use this when you know what risk you need to eliminate but aren't sure whether to write code, make a video, or run a simulation.

skills.sh installs: 2.5K
GitHub stars: 7.9K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add deanpeters/product-manager-skills --skill pol-probe-advisor --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Purpose

Guide product managers through selecting the right Proof of Life (PoL) probe type (of 5 flavors) based on their hypothesis, risk, and available resources. Use this when you need to eliminate a specific risk or test a narrow hypothesis, but aren't sure which validation method to use. This interactive skill ensures you match the cheapest prototype to the harshest truth—not the prototype you're most comfortable building.

This is not a tool for deciding if you should validate (you should). It's a decision framework for choosing how to validate most effectively.

Input

Works best with: The hypothesis you want to validate or the risk you want to eliminate. Also useful: Your resources (time, budget, engineering access), audience access, and what failure would cost.

Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The advisor opens by asking what you're trying to learn, then matches you to one of the 5 probe flavors.

SKILL.md on GitHub