What inputs does it need?

A user task, product rules and relevant system behavior. Existing screens, component documentation or research help ground the spec. It can draft from text when those materials are unavailable.

How is it different from UI design?

It specifies interaction behavior: states, transitions, navigation, feedback, recovery and component responsibility. A UI designer defines visual hierarchy and expression. You can use the behavior spec as the foundation for visual design.

Does it cover failure and asynchronous states?

Yes, where relevant. It considers loading, validation, denial, stale responses, uncertain outcomes, repeated actions, cancellation and resumption. A missing backend policy is identified rather than replaced with an invented safe retry.

Can it address keyboard and responsive behavior?

Yes. It specifies focus, semantics, status communication and adaptation across relevant widths. Verification of an implemented interface needs a real candidate; the specification alone is not an accessibility certification.

What is included, and do I need the squad?

The complete specialist method and references, buyer and installation guidance, and two illustrative request/result pairs. No other skill is required. Its underlying method is also in Product Squad Agent Skills. Commercial project deliverables are permitted; purchased source materials remain personal and non-transferable under Agensi terms.

What do the displayed examples show?

They illustrate the intended specification and handoff detail. These pairs are editorial examples, not recordings of an AI session. They do not represent a tested implementation.

Interface Architect Specialist

Use interface-architect to specify CSV import for an inventory tool.
Confirmed behavior: choosing a file starts validation; only valid rows can be submitted. Closing the dialog does not cancel submitted work. After submission, the service may time out. An operation-status endpoint reports pending, completed or rejected when an operation identifier is available; how to recover that identifier after a lost acknowledgement is not confirmed. Reusing the same submission safely is also unconfirmed.
Deliver the journey, state/transition matrix, exact recovery messages, component responsibilities, keyboard/focus behavior and acceptance checks. Propose narrow and wide adaptation. This is a specification request; no repository, browser or working candidate is available. Do not invent a safe retry policy.

Illustrative preview: this representative editorial result is not a recorded runtime session.

The interface must distinguish an unknown outcome from a confirmed rejection. A timeout cannot justify inviting another submission while the original import may still be running.

InterfaceSpec IS-IMPORT-01, revision 1
Status: NEEDS_DECISION for submission reconciliation and safe retry; the state/content specification below is a usable draft.
Producer: Interface Architect. Recipient: the inventory product and implementation owners.
Scope: choose, validate, submit and reconcile one CSV import. Styling, backend implementation and observed runtime checks are outside this assignment.
Confirmed inputs: validation precedes submission; closing does not cancel server work; known operation IDs can be queried. Proposals are marked below.

Journey
Open Import -> choose file -> inspect validation results -> submit valid rows -> show confirmed completion or retain an explicitly unknown/pending outcome -> return to inventory. Choosing another file before submission invalidates the prior validation display; this is a proposed interaction invariant for the owner to confirm.

State and transition contract

State/event	Immediate feedback	Effect/next state	Recovery and focus
No file / choose file	Show filename and "Checking rows..."	Validation runs; submission unavailable	Keep focus on the file control; announce validation status without stealing focus
Validation rejects rows	"Review the highlighted rows before importing."	Show row issues and the valid-row summary; confirmed policy permits submission of valid rows only	Move focus to the error summary only when an attempted action needs correction; link issues to their rows
Valid rows / submit	"Import submitted. Waiting for a result..."	Start the operation; suppress another submission of this intent	Keep the submitted summary visible; announce status
Acknowledgement times out	"We have not received a result. Your import may still be running."	Outcome unknown; never label it completed or rejected	Offer status lookup only if a valid operation ID is available
Lookup says pending	"Your import is still processing."	Remain pending	Keep the result area available; proposed refresh control repeats the lookup, not the import
Lookup says completed	"Import completed." plus supplied confirmed counts	Show success based on server result	Offer "View imported items"; never invent row counts
Lookup says rejected	Display the supplied rejection reason with a usable explanation	Confirmed rejection	Re-enable correction/retry only according to the confirmed service contract
Close after submit	"Closing this window will not cancel your import."	Dismiss the view; server work continues	Return focus to Import, or its next logical surviving control

Component contracts

File selector owns the selected file and validation request association. Ignore an obsolete validation response after selection changes.
Validation summary owns row counts/issues returned for the current file and links to affected rows; it cannot announce an import result.
Submission/status panel owns operation identity, the observed server status and the current intent. A disabled button is UI feedback, not proof of backend duplicate prevention.
Dialog owns entry/dismissal/focus restoration. It cannot cancel a submitted operation.

Content and access proposals
Use a native file input, clearly named buttons and a persistent status region. On opening, focus the dialog heading or first relevant control according to the content length. Keep keyboard navigation contained while modal, make dismissal operable and restore focus on close. Associate validation errors with their row/control context; status and errors must not rely on color alone.
Proposed widths: 360px and 1280px. At 360px, stack the summary and actions, allow the row table to scroll without hiding recovery controls and wrap long filenames. At 1280px, place the validation summary beside the detail area while preserving reading order. Inspect zoom and expanded error text on a real candidate later.

Acceptance checks - NOT_RUN
AC-I1: only a validation result tied to the currently selected file controls submission.
AC-I2: a timed-out submission never produces a false failure or success message.
AC-I3: status refresh does not submit another import.
AC-I4: closing after submission leaves server work unchanged and returns keyboard focus logically.
AC-I5: known pending/completed/rejected server states map to distinct messages.
AC-I6: keyboard users can select, inspect errors, submit, check status where supported and close at both proposed widths.

Blocking owner decisions
The backend owner must define lost-acknowledgement identity recovery and repeat-submission semantics. Until then, an unknown operation with no usable ID has no invented safe retry action. The product owner must decide the support/escalation path for that case.
Next action: confirm those two contracts, update the affected transitions, then implement and collect functional, keyboard and persisted-result evidence. No screen, backend behavior or accessibility conformance was tested here.

About this skill

A polished screen still leaves the hardest question unanswered: what happens next?

Interface Architect Specialist turns a product flow into a concrete behavior contract. Equip your AI to define what people can do, how the interface responds, what changes when an operation fails and where users recover. Give your engineer the decisions behind the screen before those decisions become accidental implementation choices.

Use it for imports, onboarding, approval flows, settings, checkout steps or any interaction with more than a happy path. Bring the task, business rules, current screens or components and known service behavior. The specialist connects navigation, information, component responsibilities and system state in one implementable specification.

You receive

A journey from entry to completion, dismissal and resumption.
A state-and-transition matrix with feedback, errors and recovery.
Component contracts and exact copy where meaning matters.
Responsive, keyboard and focus requirements with acceptance checks.

For a CSV import, it can distinguish a rejected submission from one whose outcome is still unknown, specify how status lookup works and expose the backend decision needed before offering a retry. That is the kind of detail a static mockup cannot settle by itself.

The method uses existing product patterns where available and makes unresolved policies visible before handoff. This standalone purchase includes the complete method, references and buyer guidance. Your own AI host supplies access; actual interaction checks require a working candidate and suitable tools.

Interface Architect Specialist