Skill: Client Onboarding

Use when onboarding a new client. Creates a structured onboarding process that captures requirements, sets expectations, and establishes communication norms.

Trigger

Invoke this skill when a new client engagement begins, after the contract is signed but before development starts.

Process

1. Requirements Gathering

Walk through a structured questionnaire:

Business Context:

• What problem does this project solve for your business?
• Who are the end users? How many?
• What does success look like? How will you measure it?
• Are there hard deadlines (e.g., event launch, regulatory compliance)?

Technical Requirements:

• Existing systems this must integrate with?
• Preferred tech stack or platform constraints?
• Expected traffic/load (users, requests per second)?
• Data sensitivity level (public, internal, PII, financial)?

Design Requirements:

• Brand guidelines or design system?
• Reference sites or apps you admire?
• Accessibility requirements (WCAG level)?

Process Preferences:

• Preferred communication channel (email, Slack, Teams)?
• Feedback turnaround time expectation?
• Approval process (single stakeholder or committee)?
• How often do you want status updates?

2. Scope Agreement

Based on requirements, draft a scope document covering:

• Included features (explicit list)
• Excluded features (explicit list — prevents future disputes)
• Assumptions (what must be true for estimates to hold)
• Change request process

3. Project Setup

Run /new-client to scaffold the project structure with gathered information.

4. Kickoff Checklist

Generate a kickoff checklist:

• [ ] Requirements document reviewed and signed off
• [ ] Scope document reviewed and signed off
• [ ] Communication channel set up
• [ ] Access to client systems granted (staging, APIs, brand assets)
• [ ] First milestone and deadline agreed
• [ ] Status update schedule confirmed

Output

Save onboarding artefacts to clients/[client-slug]/docs/onboarding/:

• requirements.md — Captured requirements
• kickoff-checklist.md — Checklist with status

Rules

• Never start development before requirements and scope are signed off.
• If the client cannot answer a requirements question, log it as an assumption and flag the risk.
• Keep the onboarding process to a single session if possible. Long onboarding delays project start.