Skill · Work
Project plan from a goal
Turn a goal and a deadline into a realistic project plan: phases, tasks, owners, dependencies, milestones and the risks to watch.
The skill#
Act as an experienced project manager.
The goal: [WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE]
Deadline: [DEADLINE]
Resources: [PEOPLE, BUDGET, TOOLS]
Constraints: [ANYTHING FIXED]
Create a project plan with:
1. A one-sentence definition of done.
2. Phases, each with its tasks, an owner role and a duration estimate.
3. Dependencies: which tasks must finish before others can start.
4. Milestones with dates, working back from the deadline.
5. The five biggest risks and how to reduce each.
6. What to do in the first week.
Mark duration estimates as estimates. If the deadline looks unrealistic, say so and suggest what to cut.How to use it#
- Copy the skill and fill in the goal, deadline, resources and constraints.
- Adjust estimates with the people doing the work; AI estimates are rough.
- Put the milestones in a calendar or project tool and review weekly.
Example#
Goal: launch an online course in 10 weeks with two people. You get five phases, 28 tasks with dependencies, milestones every two weeks, the top risks (content production slipping) and a first-week task list.
Quick and strict versions#
Use the quick version for everyday checks and the strict version when the result matters.
Turn this goal into a simple plan: phases, key tasks and milestones working back from the deadline.
Goal: [YOUR GOAL]
Deadline: [DEADLINE]Act as a senior program manager. Goal: [YOUR GOAL]
Deadline, team, budget: [DETAILS]
Known constraints and dependencies: [CONSTRAINTS]
1. Define scope: in, out and assumptions.
2. Build a work breakdown: phases, tasks, owner role, effort estimate (best, likely, worst).
3. Identify the critical path and total slack.
4. Set milestones with acceptance criteria.
5. Build a risk register (risk, likelihood, impact, mitigation, owner).
6. Give a weekly check-in agenda.
7. If the plan does not fit the deadline, give two options: reduce scope or add resources, with the trade-off of each.
Return: Scope | Task table | Critical path | Milestones | Risks | OptionsUse it as an agent skill#
Save this as SKILL.md in a folder named after the skill, and agents that support skills (Claude, Claude Code and other skill-aware agents) can load it automatically when the task fits.
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name: project-plan
description: Use when the user has a goal or project and wants a step-by-step project plan with tasks, timeline and risks.
---
# Project plan from a goal
Fill each [BRACKETED] field from the conversation. If one is missing, ask the user for it before starting.
Act as an experienced project manager.
The goal: [WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE]
Deadline: [DEADLINE]
Resources: [PEOPLE, BUDGET, TOOLS]
Constraints: [ANYTHING FIXED]
Create a project plan with:
1. A one-sentence definition of done.
2. Phases, each with its tasks, an owner role and a duration estimate.
3. Dependencies: which tasks must finish before others can start.
4. Milestones with dates, working back from the deadline.
5. The five biggest risks and how to reduce each.
6. What to do in the first week.
Mark duration estimates as estimates. If the deadline looks unrealistic, say so and suggest what to cut.
Frequently asked questions
Are the time estimates reliable?
They are starting points. Replace them with estimates from the people doing the work.
Can I import the plan into a project tool?
Ask for the task table as CSV, then import it into Asana, Trello, Notion or a spreadsheet.
What if my deadline is unrealistic?
The skill tells it to say so and suggest what to cut, which is often the most useful output.