A skill from the Loadout
A second pair of eyes from blank page to final review.
What it does
The Spotter is a skill for product epic work. It uses nine product-leadership lenses — customer empathy, competitive landscape, strategic differentiation, solution approach, holistic impact, packaging, launch readiness, post-launch ownership, and trust and governance — and meets you wherever your epic is right now.
Every flag is constructive. Never "you missed this." Always "you could strengthen this by…" You stay in charge. The Spotter just keeps you honest.
Three phases
Pick the mode that matches where you are. The lenses stay the same. What the Spotter gives back changes with the phase.
Starting from blank
You have a new initiative and a blank page. The Spotter asks targeted questions for each lens and helps you draft an epic that's already lens-aware from the first version.
You get back
A working first draft, structured against all nine lenses.
Working a draft
You have a draft in progress and want to strengthen one part of it. Pick a lens, or let the Spotter pick the weakest one, and work on that section without rewriting the whole epic.
You get back
A focused round of suggestions on the lens you are working on.
Before stakeholders see it
You have a complete epic and need a final pass before sending it for review. The Spotter walks all nine lenses, calls verdicts with the powerlifting lights, and flags what to tighten.
You get back
A structured read with a verdict per lens and specific suggestions.
Tightening an epic before sending it for review. Catching gaps before someone senior catches them.
Calibrating the team's writing without sitting in every working doc. A consistent bar across the org.
Building product instincts without a coach. Learning the questions a seasoned PM would ask.
Reading an epic critically before standup. Spotting what is missing before kickoff.
How the verdict works
Borrowed from powerlifting. After each lift, three judges flash white for a good lift, red for no-lift. In Review mode, the Spotter does the same for each lens — three signals, fast to read, easy to act on. Build and Iterate use the same framework but produce a draft or a focused round of suggestions instead of a verdict.
Three whites. The lens is well-served. Move on.
Mixed signals. Strong in places, thin in others. Worth a second pass.
Three reds. The lens isn't addressed yet. Add it before review.
Sample output · Review mode
This is the Review-mode summary on a synthetic epic. A verdict on each lens, a one-line headline, and specific suggestions for where to tighten. The full sample — including Build and Iterate walkthroughs — lives on the preview page.
Epic · Customer Tier Migration
5 pass · 3 needs work · 1 missing
How to use it
Download the packaged skill, drop it into Claude Code or your agent of choice, and run any of the three modes on a draft. Works offline. Your epic stays on your machine.
spotter-0.2.0.pluginDownload the skill →
Point your MCP-compatible agent at the hosted server. Sign in with Google. Latest version, no install. Best for trying it out.
claude mcp add spotter https://spotter-mcp.missionbuilt.io/sseConnection details →
The Spotter ships under MIT. Use it commercially, adapt it for your team,
embed it in your product. Source for both the skill and the MCP server lives in
github.com/missionbuilt/loadout.
Attribution to the writers and skills whose thinking informed it is in
spotter/ATTRIBUTION.md.
Customize for your team by adding a CLAUDE.md at your project
root with your tier names, competitor set, and product taxonomy. The skill
stays generic. Your context stays local.
A spotter lifts the lifter. Not the bar.