Freelance Discovery & Scoping Pass

The problem

Freelancers and agencies often underquote because they miss hidden requirements or "unknown-unknowns" buried in a vague client brief. This leads to scope creep, unpaid rework, and projects that cost more in time than they earn in profit.

What it does

• Interrogates the user with targeted, multiple-choice discovery rounds to pull missing project facts out of their head.
• Categorizes requirements into known-knowns, known-unknowns, and hidden assumptions the client likely expects but didn't state.
• Identifies the top 3 ambush risks most likely to triple the project timeline or scope.
• Generates a ready-to-send client questionnaire in plain English to nail down pricing variables.
• Provides a rough effort tiering (Small/Medium/Large) based on technical complexity and asset availability.

Why this beats prompting it yourself

Standard prompts often accept a brief at face value or produce a generic list of questions. This skill uses a multi-round interrogation logic that changes its line of questioning based on your specific answers, ensuring you don't miss the high-stakes risks unique to your specific stack and handoff requirements.

Use cases

• Vetting a new RFP or Upwork post to see if the budget and timeline are realistic.
• Creating a professional discovery document to sell as a paid first phase of a project.
• Drafting a precision intake email for a lead who sent a vague "how much for a website" DM.
• Performing a final gut-check on a proposal draft before committing to a fixed-price quote.

Known limitations

This skill does not provide firm currency-based pricing, as rates depend on your individual market and overhead. It requires active user participation in discovery rounds to be effective.