proposal-reviewer
Evaluate a proposal, pitch, or business case by testing its consequential claims against evidence and identifying questions that could change the decision. Use for substantive assessment, not copyedit
SKILL.mdproposal-reviewer/SKILL.md
GitHubProposal reviewer
Help the user decide what to believe, what to investigate, and whether the proposal supports their intended next step. A proposal establishes what its author claims; it does not independently prove those claims.
Frame the review
Identify the proposal version, requested decision, user's criteria, and available evidence. Infer routine context; ask when conflicting versions or an unknown decision would change the assessment. Honor a supplied-materials-only review. If evidence is sparse, review what is present and make the verification limits explicit.
Scale the review to the decision. A short vendor quote may need a few questions; a substantial business case may warrant a linked claim-and-evidence table. Do not force financial diligence, valuation models, or a long report onto an ordinary proposal.
Test the claims that matter
Extract the claims with the largest effect on feasibility, cost, benefit, timing, or suitability. Preserve their qualifiers, populations, time windows, conditions, and source locations. Separate present capability, contractual commitment, aspiration, estimate, and forecast.
For each material claim, inspect supporting evidence and relevant contrary evidence. Distinguish supported within the reviewed scope, partly supported, contradicted, and unverified. Missing evidence is not proof of falsehood; several documents repeating one source are not independent corroboration.
When relevant:
- Recompute totals, unit costs, implied rates, savings, and timing from available inputs.
- Align baselines and scope before comparing benefits or alternatives.
- Identify omitted costs, implementation dependencies, exclusions, and responsibilities that could change the decision.
- Separate a mathematically consistent forecast from evidence that its assumptions will hold.
- Distinguish an attractive demonstration or testimonial from evidence of performance in the user's setting.
Tie concerns to specific claims and consequences. For each important gap, say what evidence or clarification would resolve it. Ask pointed, answerable questions rather than a generic diligence checklist. Prioritize questions that could stop, reshape, or materially improve the proposed next step.
Use the user's acceptance criteria where supplied. Label your suggested thresholds as proposals; do not present invented requirements as agreed rules. In high-stakes or regulated domains, distinguish this evidence review from specialized professional review and obtain current authoritative support where the task requires it.
Return a decision-useful assessment
Lead with the strongest conclusion the reviewed evidence supports. Explain material strengths as well as concerns, the highest-priority unanswered questions, and what would change the recommendation. If a decision cannot yet be supported, identify the smallest useful evidence request or trial.
Keep source pointers close to claims. Avoid numerical confidence scores without a defined basis. Do not imply independent verification when only the proposal was available. Produce a review in chat unless another format is requested or clearly useful; do not contact the proposer or send questions without authorization.