survey - Cross-Platform Problem-Space Scan

Keyword: survey | Platforms: OMC / OMX / OHMG / Claude Code / Codex CLI / Gemini CLI / OpenCode

Survey the landscape before planning, coding, or committing to a direction.

When to use this skill

• Before building a new feature, tool, workflow, or agent capability

• When the user asks "what exists?", "scan the landscape", "research this space", or "survey solutions"

• When you need problem context, current workarounds, and solution gaps before /plan, jeo, ralph, or implementation

• When the topic spans multiple agent platforms and you need a single vendor-neutral picture

Do not use this skill when

• The user already knows the solution and wants implementation now

• The task is a small bug fix or narrow code change

• The user needs a feasibility study, architecture plan, or execution roadmap rather than discovery

Output Package

Save research in a platform-neutral directory so Claude / Codex / Gemini can all reuse it:

.survey/{slug}/

├── triage.md

├── context.md

├── solutions.md

└── platform-map.md    # optional; required for agent/tooling/platform topics

• triage.md: problem / audience / why now

• context.md: workflows, affected users, workarounds, adjacent problems, user voices

• solutions.md: solution inventory, categories, frequency, gaps, contradictions, key insight

• platform-map.md: normalize platform-specific findings into settings, rules, hooks

Core Abstraction Layer

When the topic involves agent tooling, model orchestration, hooks, permissions, or vendor APIs, normalize findings into three layers:

• settings: model, safety, temperature, max tokens, system prompt, provider parameters

• rules: allow/deny/modify policy, guardrails, action constraints, approval logic

• hooks: pre/post/error callbacks, notify handlers, lifecycle automation, event triggers

Use this abstraction when comparing Claude, Codex, Gemini, OMC, OMX, or OHMG. Do not describe vendor features as unrelated one-off concepts if they map cleanly into one of these three layers.

Recommended internal profile:

survey_profile:

  settings:

    search_language: English

    output_language: user-language

    max_searches_per_lane: 8-10

    save_root: .survey

  rules:

    - facts_only

    - no_code_generation

    - ask_max_2_triage_questions

    - dedupe_solution_names

    - include_source_links

  hooks:

    pre_research:

      - normalize_topic

      - choose_platform_adapter

    post_lane:

      - merge_notes

      - record_sources

    post_run:

      - write_summary

      - suggest_next_skill

Platform Adapter

Select the closest available orchestration surface, but keep the output format identical.

Platform

Preferred execution shape

Notes

OMC / Claude Code

4 parallel research agents. Prefer research-oriented specialist agents when available; otherwise use general-purpose agents with web search.

Keep artifacts in .survey/, not .omc/, so other platforms can reuse them.

OMX / Codex CLI

Use $research, explorer/planner-style agents, or parallel workers with web access.

Translate vendor config into settings/rules/hooks in platform-map.md when relevant.

OHMG / Gemini / Antigravity

Use Workflow Guide + PM/research-capable agents or equivalent parallel lanes.

Preserve the same 4-lane structure and shared artifact names.

OpenCode / fallback

Use generic web-capable agents in parallel.

Do not block on missing specialized agent names.

If a platform-specific specialist does not exist, fall back to a general-purpose web-enabled agent and keep going.

Execution Policy

• Never write product code in this skill. This is a research-only skill.

• Search broadly in English for coverage, unless the user explicitly requires another search language.

• Save files in the user's language unless the repository has a stronger convention.

• Ask at most 2 triage questions, one at a time, only if what, who, or why is unclear.

• Run all 4 research lanes in parallel whenever possible.

• Keep claims source-backed. Include links for quotes, rankings, and non-obvious claims.

• Deduplicate tools that appear under multiple names or product tiers.

• Do not recommend build/kill/adopt by default. Present the landscape and gaps.

Workflow

Step 0: Triage

Parse the request into:

• what: the pain point, idea, or capability to survey

• who: who feels the pain or uses the workflow

• why: why it matters now

Before proceeding, check whether .survey/{slug}/triage.md already exists.

• If it exists, ask whether to reuse or overwrite.

• If the user keeps the existing survey, skip to Step 3 and summarize the saved files.

Save:

# Triage

- Problem: {what}

- Audience: {who}

- Why now: {why}

Step 1: Run 4 Parallel Lanes

Launch all lanes together.

#### Lane A: Context

Research:

• where the problem appears in real workflows

• who is affected

• how people currently work around it

• adjacent problems and downstream consequences

• direct user voices from communities

Return sections:

• ## Workflow Context

• ## Affected Users

• ## Current Workarounds

• ## Adjacent Problems

• ## User Voices

#### Lane B: Solutions

Research:

• products, plugins, libraries, SaaS, GitHub projects, services

• curated lists and comparison pages

• common pricing and packaging

• limitations and repeated complaints

Return sections:

• ## Solutions

• ## Frequency Ranking

• ## Categories

• ## Curated Sources

#### Lane C: Actual Behavior

Research:

• what people actually use in practice

• which manual workflows persist despite vendor claims

• common frustration patterns

• where users drop back to spreadsheets, scripts, copy-paste, or multi-tool workflows

Return sections:

• ## What People Actually Use

• ## Common Workarounds

• ## Pain Points With Current Solutions

• ## Sources

#### Lane D: Alternatives / Platform Map

Default mode:

• JTBD alternatives

• cross-industry substitutes

• indirect competitors

For agent / model / orchestration topics, this lane must instead normalize the space into:

• ## Settings

• ## Rules

• ## Hooks

• ## Platform Gaps

Use a comparison table for Claude / Codex / Gemini when applicable.

Step 2: Synthesize and Save

Write context.md:

# Context: {project name}

## Workflow Context

{when and where the problem shows up}

## Affected Users

| Role | Responsibility | Skill Level |

|------|----------------|-------------|

{rows}

## Current Workarounds

{numbered list with limitations}

## Adjacent Problems

{lettered or bulleted list}

## User Voices

{quotes with source links}

Write solutions.md:

# Solution Landscape: {project name}

## Solution List

| Name | Approach | Strengths | Weaknesses | Notes |

|------|----------|-----------|------------|-------|

{deduplicated list}

## Categories

{grouped by category}

## What People Actually Use

{behavior summary}

## Frequency Ranking

{most mentioned solutions}

## Key Gaps

{structural gaps not covered today}

## Contradictions

{marketed claims vs user reality}

## Key Insight

{1 paragraph}

When the topic is platform or agent related, write platform-map.md:

# Platform Map: {project name}

## Settings

| Concern | Claude | Codex | Gemini | Common Layer |

|---------|--------|-------|--------|--------------|

{rows}

## Rules

| Concern | Claude / OMC | Codex / OMX | Gemini / OHMG | Common Layer |

|---------|---------------|-------------|---------------|--------------|

{rows}

## Hooks

| Lifecycle | Claude | Codex | Gemini | Common Layer |

|-----------|--------|-------|--------|--------------|

{rows}

## Platform Gaps

{where abstractions do not align cleanly}

Step 3: Summarize for the User

Return a short summary:

## Survey complete: {slug}

### Context

- {1-2 sentence summary}

- Main workaround: {most common workaround}

### Solution Landscape

- {N} solutions across {M} categories

- Key insight: {one sentence}

- Key gap: {one sentence}

### Files

- `.survey/{slug}/triage.md`

- `.survey/{slug}/context.md`

- `.survey/{slug}/solutions.md`

- `.survey/{slug}/platform-map.md`   # if created

Do not move into planning or implementation unless the user asks.

Quick Reference

Action

Instruction

Start a survey

survey <topic>

Reuse existing results

Check .survey/{slug}/ first

Search strategy

Search in English, write in the user's language

Parallel lanes

Context + Solutions + Behavior + Alternatives/Platform Map

Next step after survey

/plan, jeo, ralph, or implementation if the user asks

Final Checklist

• what / who / why are clear

• Existing survey checked before overwrite

• 4 lanes executed in parallel

• Source links included for quotes and non-obvious claims

• context.md saved

• solutions.md saved

• platform-map.md saved for agent/platform topics

• Final user summary is factual, short, and recommendation-free