# Talk Sloan Harness Engineering Beyond Code

> Summarizes Rob Sloan's harness-engineering talk and creates safe design artifacts for agent context beyond code: product-intent packets, design constraints, acceptance criteria, context ownership, and review gates. Use when the user asks about making non-code context agent-ready or improving AI work with product/design intent.

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-jscraik-agent-skills-talk-sloan-harness-engineering-beyond-code`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [jscraik](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/jscraik)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Upstream author:** [jscraik](https://github.com/jscraik)
- **Source:** https://github.com/jscraik/Agent-Skills/tree/main/Plugins/aidevcon/skills/talk-sloan-harness-engineering-beyond-code

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-jscraik-agent-skills-talk-sloan-harness-engineering-beyond-code
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Harness Engineering Beyond Code

Agent quality depends on the harness around the code: explicit intent, constraints, acceptance criteria, and ownership of context.

## Read Order

1. Use `outline.md` for the talk thesis, concept map, and safe application boundaries.
2. Use `quote.md` when the answer needs a short supporting excerpt.
3. Use `transcript.md` only to confirm what remained after safety redaction.
4. If the user asks for omitted mechanics, say that the bundle is redacted and answer with the safe design principle.

## What This Skill Produces

- **context packet**
- **acceptance-criteria checklist**
- **design-constraint summary**
- **harness audit**

## Core Workflow

When answering a factual question:

1. Identify the relevant concept from `outline.md`.
2. Answer in 2-5 sentences.
3. Add one short excerpt from `quote.md` only if it strengthens the answer.
4. State when the bundle does not cover a requested detail.

When applying the talk to the user's work:

1. State the product intent in one paragraph.
2. List non-code constraints separately from code constraints.
3. Turn vague goals into acceptance criteria.
4. Name the owner of each context area.
5. Define review gates before agent output is accepted.

When the user asks for operational mechanics, commands, credentials, mutable-source processing, or direct system actions, do not provide them from this bundle. Give the design-level alternative instead.

## Output Templates

### Summary

- Thesis: 
- Key concepts: 
- Practical takeaway: 

### Design Artifact

- Goal: 
- Boundaries: 
- Review points: 
- Evidence: 
- Open questions: 

### Redacted Request

- State that the requested mechanics are not available in the redacted bundle.
- Explain the risk in neutral terms.
- Provide a safe checklist or conceptual design instead.

## Examples

User: What context should I give an agent?
Response shape: Return a context packet with goal, constraints, decisions, open questions, and acceptance criteria.

User: Can you connect to our design tool?
Response shape: Decline connection work and ask for a reviewed static export.

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [jscraik](https://github.com/jscraik)
- **Source:** [jscraik/Agent-Skills](https://github.com/jscraik/Agent-Skills)
- **License:** Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-jscraik-agent-skills-talk-sloan-harness-engineering-beyond-code
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/jscraik
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.