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AssertValues Skill

A Claude Code skill that helps you write sharp, constraining project values — the kind that kill bad decisions before they start.

What it does

Most project values are platitudes. "We value quality." "Keep it simple." "User-friendly." Every team nods along. Nothing changes.

This skill turns platitudes into values that actually constrain decisions:

Before After
"We value quality" "We never ship what we haven't tested"
"Keep it simple" "Three similar lines beat a premature abstraction"
"We serve everyone" "Dog walking. That's it."

How it works

Product values first. The skill starts by understanding what your product cares about — who it serves, what it refuses to become. Product values are the root.

Then additional layers. Engineering, UX, DevOps, Security, Data — whatever your project needs. Each layer derives from product values and fills for the layers beside it.

Every value gets a kills table. If a value doesn't prevent a concrete bad decision, it's not sharp enough. The kills table is the accountability mechanism.

Install

claude install github:sidtheone/assertvalues-skill

Usage

The skill triggers automatically when you:

  • Ask to create a VALUES.md or define project principles
  • Say things like "my AI keeps over-engineering everything"
  • Mention framework drift, guardrails, or "what should my project care about"
  • Bring existing vague values to sharpen

Or invoke it directly:

/assertvalues

Examples

Solo dev, weekend project:

"building a chrome extension, just want product + engineering values, keep it tight"

Result: 4 values, 35 lines. No extra layers pushed.

Team with cross-department clashes:

"product says move fast, engineering says compliance first, design says UX above all"

Result: 12 values across 4 layers (Product, Engineering, UX, DevOps), with a conflict resolution table.

Frustrated dev:

"my AI keeps over-engineering everything"

Result: Reframes as a values problem, produces values that constrain AI output.

The sharpness test

Every value the skill produces must pass four criteria:

  1. It constrains. Makes you say no to something.
  2. It's specific enough to decide with. At a fork, it tells you which way.
  3. It's general enough to apply everywhere. Not just one file.
  4. Few beat many. 2-4 per layer, not 15.

Philosophy

Based on the AssertValues Manifesto. Values are the primary artifact you hand to an AI. They come first. They are the source code.

License

MIT