Project Search Skill

When to use this Skill

Activate when the user:

• Asks to find or locate project content

• Uses keywords: "find", "search", "where is", "locate", "show me"

• Asks questions about project history or decisions

• Needs to find meetings, sprints, or documentation

• Wants to search by person, date, topic, or milestone

• References specific content they can't locate

Workflow

Phase 1: Query Analysis

Objective: Understand what the user is searching for and determine search strategy.

Steps:

Parse search query from user message:

• Extract search terms

• Identify search type (content, person, date, milestone, etc.)

• Detect filters (date range, file type, status)

Categorize search intent:

• Content search: "Find decisions about database"

• Person search: "What has @alice worked on"

• Date search: "Meetings from last week"

• Milestone search: "What's in beta release milestone"

• Sprint search: "Show sprint 5 stories"

• Topic search: "Anything about authentication"

• Status search: "Show blocked items"

Extract search parameters:

• Keywords: Main search terms

• Person: @mentions or names

• Date range: "last week", "Q1", "after Jan 1", specific dates

• Content type: meetings, sprints, docs, decisions, all

• Status: completed, in-progress, blocked, planned

• Milestone/Sprint: Specific milestone or sprint number

Determine search scope:

• Project root only

• Specific subdirectory (meetings/, sprints/, etc.)

• Across entire workspace

Example Analysis:

User: "Find all meetings where we discussed the API design"

Parsed:

• Intent: Content search
• Keywords: ["API design"]
• Content type: meetings
• Date range: all time
• Search scope: meetings/

Strategy: README index → Content search in meetings/

Phase 2: Strategy Selection

Objective: Choose optimal search strategy based on query type.

Search strategies (in order of preference):

Strategy 1: README.md Index Search (Fastest)

Use when:

• Searching by file name, title, or general topic

• Need list of files in category

• Recent content (README indexes are up-to-date)

Process:

• Read appropriate README.md file:

• meetings/README.md for meeting search

• sprints/README.md for sprint search

• Project README.md for overview

• Parse index entries

• Filter by search criteria

• Return matching entries with descriptions

Example:

Search: "Find sprint 5" → Read sprints/README.md → Find entry: "Sprint 5: Authentication Features" → Return: sprints/sprint-05/sprint-plan.md

Strategy 2: YAML/Structured Data Search (Fast)

Use when:

• Searching milestones (milestones.yaml)

• Searching by metadata (dates, owners, status)

• Need exact matches on structured fields

Process:

• Read relevant YAML file (milestones.yaml)

• Parse structure

• Filter by criteria

• Return matching entries

Example:

Search: "Show milestones owned by @alice" → Read milestones.yaml → Filter: owner == "@alice" → Return: List of alice's milestones

Strategy 3: Pattern Matching (Fast)

Use when:

• Searching by filename patterns

• Date-based filename search

• Type-based search (all *.md in sprints/)

Process:

• Use Glob tool with pattern:

• meetings/**/2025-11.md for November meetings

• sprints/*/sprint-plan.md for all sprint plans

• docs/**/*.md for all documentation

• Filter results by additional criteria

• Return matching files

Example:

Search: "Meetings from November" → Glob: meetings/**/2025-11.md → Return: List of November meeting files

Strategy 4: Full-Text Content Search (Slower)

Use when:

• Searching for specific terms in content

• Need to find mentions of topics, names, or concepts

• Other strategies insufficient

Process:

• Use Grep tool with search terms

• Specify scope (meetings/, sprints/, all project)

• Extract context around matches

• Rank results by relevance

• Return matches with snippets

Example:

Search: "Find discussions about OAuth implementation" → Grep: pattern="OAuth" path=meetings/ → Find matches in 3 meeting files → Return: Files with context snippets

Strategy 5: Cross-Reference Search (Comprehensive)

Use when:

• Need to find all related content

• Following links and references

• Building complete picture

Process:

• Start with initial search (using above strategies)

• Read found documents

• Extract cross-references (links, mentions, related items)

• Follow links recursively (limited depth)

• Build relationship map

• Return full result set with connections

Example:

Search: "Everything about beta release milestone" → Find milestone in milestones.yaml → Follow related_sprints links → Find meetings mentioning beta release → Find docs created for beta → Return: Complete set with relationships

Phase 3: Execute Search

Objective: Run selected search strategy and gather results.

Steps:

Execute primary search strategy

Collect results:

• File paths

• Titles/descriptions

• Relevant metadata (dates, owners, status)

• Content snippets (for full-text search)

Apply filters:

• Date range filter

• Person filter (@mentions)

• Status filter

• Content type filter

Check governance (if applicable):

• Read RULE.md for access restrictions

• Filter out restricted content

Rank results by:

• Relevance: Match quality to query

• Recency: Newer content ranked higher

• Location: Closer to project root ranked higher

• Completeness: Fully completed items vs drafts

If no results from primary strategy:

• Fall back to next strategy

• Broaden search criteria

• Suggest related searches

Phase 4: Format and Present Results

Objective: Present search results in clear, actionable format.

Steps:

Group results by category:

• Meetings

• Sprints/Iterations

• Milestones

• Documentation

• Decisions

Format result entries:

📄 [Category] Title Path: path/to/file.md Date: YYYY-MM-DD [Relevant metadata: Owner, Status, etc.] [If content search: Context snippet with highlights]

Include result count and search details:

🔍 Search Results for "{query}"

Found {count} results in {categories} Search scope: {scope} Filters applied: {filters if any}

Present results:

Format:

🔍 Search Results: "{query}"

Found {total} results across {categories}

📋 Meetings ({count})

• 2025-11-13: Sprint 5 Planning "Discussed API design for authentication endpoints..."

• 2025-11-06: Architecture Review "@alice presented OAuth 2.0 implementation options..."

🏃 Sprints ({count})

• Sprint 5: Authentication Features Status: Active | Stories: 8 | Owner: @bob

🎯 Milestones ({count})

• Beta Release Target: 2025-03-31 | Status: In Progress | Progress: 75%

📚 Documentation ({count})

• API Design Document Owner: @alice | Updated: 2025-11-10

🔗 Cross-References ({count}) [If cross-reference search performed]

• Sprint 5 → Beta Release Milestone

• API Design Doc → Sprint 5 Stories

• Sprint Planning → Architecture Review Meeting

Offer refinement options:

💡 Refine your search:

• "Show only completed"

• "Find from last month"

• "Search only in sprints"

• "Show details for [specific result]"

If too many results:

ℹ️ Showing top {limit} results. {remaining} more found.

Narrow your search:

• Add date range: "from last week"

• Specify type: "only meetings"

• Add filters: "owned by @name"

If no results:

🔍 No results found for "{query}"

Suggestions:

• Check spelling
• Try broader terms
• Search related terms: "{suggestions}"
• Search in different location

Recent content: [Show recently added/updated files as alternatives]

Phase 5: Detailed View (Optional)

Objective: If user wants details on specific result, provide full context.

Steps:

If user selects specific result:

User: "Show me the sprint 5 details"

Read full document:

Read sprints/sprint-05/sprint-plan.md

Present complete information:

📄 Sprint 5: Authentication Features

Status: Active (Day 8 of 14) Goal: Complete user authentication and profile management Dates: 2025-11-01 to 2025-11-14

Progress:

• Completed: 3/8 stories (18/45 points) - 40%
• In Progress: 2 stories
• Blocked: 1 story (OAuth config)

Team:

• @alice: 2 stories
• @bob: 3 stories
• @carol: 2 stories
• @david: 1 story

Related:

• Milestone: Beta Release (contributes to)
• Meetings: Sprint 5 Planning, Daily Standups
• Docs: Auth Design

📄 Full document: sprints/sprint-05/sprint-plan.md

💡 Actions:

• "Update sprint 5 progress"
• "Show sprint 5 meetings"
• "Mark story complete in sprint 5"

Special Cases

Case 1: Person-specific search

User: "What has @alice been working on?"

Process:

1. Search all content for @alice mentions
2. Filter by recency (last sprint/month)
3. Categorize:
   • Assigned stories/tasks
   • Meeting attendances
   • Owned milestones
   • Created documents

Result: 📊 @alice's Recent Activity

Current Work (Sprint 5):

• Story: OAuth Integration (8sp) - In Progress
• Story: Profile Edit Page (3sp) - Completed ✅

Meetings (Last 2 weeks):

• Sprint 5 Planning (2025-11-01)
• Architecture Review (2025-11-06)
• Daily Standups (10 attendances)

Milestones:

• Owner: Security Audit (Target: 2025-03-20)

Documents:

• Created: API Design Doc (2025-11-10)
• Updated: Auth Spec (2025-11-08)

Case 2: Timeline/Date-based search

User: "What happened in the project last week?"

Process:

1. Calculate date range (last week)
2. Search all content within range
3. Sort chronologically
4. Group by day

Result: 📅 Project Activity: Nov 6 - Nov 13, 2025

Monday, Nov 6

• Meeting: Sprint 4 Retrospective
• Sprint 4 completed (38/40 points)
• Milestone updated: Beta Release (60% → 75%)

Tuesday, Nov 7

• Sprint 5 started
• Stories assigned to team

Wednesday, Nov 8

• Daily standup recorded
• Decision: Use PostgreSQL for auth

[Continue for each day]

📊 Week Summary:

• Meetings: 8
• Stories completed: 5
• Documents updated: 3
• Milestones progressed: 1

Case 3: Topic/Theme search

User: "Find everything about database decisions"

Process:

1. Full-text search for "database"
2. Focus on decisions/ directory
3. Also search meetings and docs
4. Cross-reference related content

Result: 🔍 Search: "database"

📋 Decisions (3):

• 001: Database Selection PostgreSQL chosen for auth system (2025-10-15)

• 005: Caching Strategy Redis for session caching (2025-10-20)

• 012: Migration Approach Flyway for schema versioning (2025-11-01)

📋 Meetings discussing database (4):

• Architecture Review (2025-10-15)
• Sprint 3 Planning (2025-10-16)
• Tech Spike Results (2025-10-19)
• Database Design Session (2025-10-22)

📚 Related Documentation (2):

• Database Schema (docs/database-schema.md)
• Migration Guide (docs/migration-guide.md)

🏃 Related Sprints:

• Sprint 3: Database setup and migration

🔗 Cross-references: All database decisions link to Sprint 3 and Beta Release milestone

Case 4: Status-based search

User: "Show me all blocked items"

Process:

1. Search sprints for status: blocked
2. Search milestones for status: delayed
3. Search meetings for blocker discussions

Result: ⚠️ Blocked Items

🏃 Sprints:

• Sprint 5, Story: OAuth Integration Blocked: Waiting for third-party API credentials Owner: @alice Blocked since: 2025-11-10

📋 Meetings mentioning blockers:

• Daily Standup (2025-11-10)
• Daily Standup (2025-11-11)
• Daily Standup (2025-11-13)

💡 Action needed:

• @alice: Follow up on API credentials
• Consider workaround or mock implementation

Error Handling

Error: No RULE.md found

⚠️ No RULE.md found.

Search will proceed with default project structure.

Note: For best results, initialize project governance: "Initialize project"

Proceed with search using standard directories.

Error: No results found

🔍 No results found for "{query}"

Checked:

• ✓ Meetings
• ✓ Sprints
• ✓ Milestones
• ✓ Documentation
• ✓ Decisions

Suggestions:

• Check spelling: "{query}"
• Try broader terms
• Try related searches:
  • "{suggestion 1}"
  • "{suggestion 2}"

📋 Recent project activity: [Show last 5 updates as alternatives]

Error: Search too broad

ℹ️ Your search "{query}" returned {count} results.

This may be too many to review effectively.

Suggestions to narrow:

1. Add date range: "from last month"
2. Specify type: "only in meetings"
3. Add person filter: "by @name"
4. Add status: "completed only"

Or continue with: "Show top 10 results"

Error: Invalid date range

⚠️ Could not parse date: "{date_input}"

Supported formats:

• Specific: "2025-11-13" or "November 13, 2025"
• Relative: "last week", "last month", "yesterday"
• Range: "from Nov 1 to Nov 15"
• Quarter: "Q1", "Q2 2025"

Please rephrase your date filter.

Integration with Other Skills

With AkashicRecords search-content

Both Skills can search same project:

• AkashicRecords: Knowledge base, articles, general content

• ProjectMaster: Project-specific content (meetings, sprints, milestones)

If both exist, search both and merge results.

With track-meeting Skill

Found meetings can be:

• Viewed in detail

• Updated

• Linked to other content

With manage-sprint Skill

Found sprints can be:

• Updated with progress

• Viewed in detail

• Cross-referenced with milestones

With track-milestone Skill

Found milestones can be:

• Updated with status

• Viewed with full dependencies

• Linked to contributing sprints

Best Practices

1. Start with README indexes

Fastest search method. Always try first.

2. Use specific search terms

Specific terms yield better results than generic ones.

3. Add filters to narrow results

Date ranges, content types, and person filters improve relevance.

4. Follow cross-references

Related content often provides fuller picture.

5. Search by person for team insights

Find what specific team members are working on or have created.

6. Use date-based search for retrospectives

"What did we do last sprint?" captures recent history.

7. Search by milestone for big picture

See all content contributing to major goals.

8. Combine search strategies

If one strategy fails, automatically try next.

Notes

• Multi-strategy search ensures comprehensive results.

• README index search is fast and accurate for well-maintained projects.

• Full-text search is powerful but slower - use as fallback.

• Cross-reference search builds complete context around topics.

• Search results link to Skills that can act on found content.

• Person-based and date-based searches provide valuable team insights.

Effective search transforms project content into accessible knowledge. This Skill makes finding information fast and intuitive.