SMPL - Simple Analysis

Input: $ARGUMENTS

When to Use This

Use /smpl when:

The answer is obvious and more analysis would be waste
The user needs a quick sanity check, not a deep dive
Complexity would obscure rather than illuminate
The question is well-defined and the answer is well-known
Someone is overthinking something straightforward

Do NOT use when:

The question is genuinely complex (use /cmplx instead)
Multiple stakeholders disagree on the answer
The “obvious” answer has failed before
Significant resources depend on getting this right

Step 1: State the Question

QUESTION: [the question in one sentence]

If you cannot state the question in one sentence, it is not a simple question. Stop and use a different skill.

Step 2: Give the Answer

ANSWER: [the answer in one sentence]

If you cannot state the answer in one sentence, it is not a simple answer. Stop and use a different skill.

Step 3: Add One Caveat

CAVEAT: [the single most important thing that could make this answer wrong]

One caveat. Not three. Not “several considerations.” One. The most important one. If the caveat is more interesting than the answer, this isn’t actually a simple question.

Step 4: Done

SIMPLE ANALYSIS
===============
Q: [question]
A: [answer]
CAVEAT: [caveat]

That’s it. Stop here. Do not add “further considerations.” Do not suggest “deeper analysis.” Do not hedge with additional caveats. The whole point of this skill is to stop.

The Anti-Overthinking Test

Before using another skill instead of /smpl, ask:

Would a smart person with domain knowledge answer this in under 10 seconds?
Would 10 more minutes of analysis change the answer?
Is the risk of being wrong low enough to tolerate?

If yes to all three: use /smpl. Resist the urge to add depth.

Failure Modes

Failure	Signal	Fix
Oversimplifying a complex question	The caveat is actually a dealbreaker	Escalate to `/cmplx`
Adding depth anyway	Output exceeds 5 lines	Delete everything after the caveat
Multiple caveats	More than one caveat listed	Pick the most important one, drop the rest
Using smpl to avoid hard thinking	Question is complex but you want to be done quickly	Complexity deserves complexity — use `/cmplx`
False simplicity	Answer seems simple but has a long history of failure	Check: has the “obvious” answer been tried and failed?

Integration

Opposite of: /cmplx (use cmplx when smpl is insufficient)
Use from: /analyze when the router detects a simple question
Use from: /meta when the user needs to calibrate depth
Escalate to: /cmplx if the caveat reveals genuine complexity
Pair with: /prvn to quickly validate whether a need is real before investing effort

smpl - Simple Analysis