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kaizen:analyse-problem▌

neolabhq/context-engineering-kit · updated Apr 8, 2026

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$npx skills add https://github.com/neolabhq/context-engineering-kit --skill kaizen:analyse-problem
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summary

Apply A3 problem-solving format for comprehensive, single-page problem documentation and resolution planning.

skill.md

A3 Problem Analysis

Apply A3 problem-solving format for comprehensive, single-page problem documentation and resolution planning.

Description

Structured one-page analysis format covering: Background, Current Condition, Goal, Root Cause Analysis, Countermeasures, Implementation Plan, and Follow-up. Named after A3 paper size; emphasizes concise, complete documentation.

Usage

/analyse-problem [problem_description]

Variables

  • PROBLEM: Issue to analyze (default: prompt for input)
  • OUTPUT_FORMAT: markdown or text (default: markdown)

Steps

  1. Background: Why this problem matters (context, business impact)
  2. Current Condition: What's happening now (data, metrics, examples)
  3. Goal/Target: What success looks like (specific, measurable)
  4. Root Cause Analysis: Why problem exists (use 5 Whys or Fishbone)
  5. Countermeasures: Proposed solutions addressing root causes
  6. Implementation Plan: Who, what, when, how
  7. Follow-up: How to verify success and prevent recurrence

A3 Template

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                    A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

TITLE: [Concise problem statement]
OWNER: [Person responsible]
DATE: [YYYY-MM-DD]

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. BACKGROUND (Why this matters)                            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Context, impact, urgency, who's affected]                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. CURRENT CONDITION (What's happening)                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Facts, data, metrics, examples - no opinions]              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. GOAL/TARGET (What success looks like)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Specific, measurable, time-bound targets]                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS (Why problem exists)                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [5 Whys, Fishbone, data analysis]                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 5. COUNTERMEASURES (Solutions addressing root causes)       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Specific actions, not vague intentions]                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 6. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (Who, What, When)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Timeline, responsibilities, dependencies, milestones]      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 7. FOLLOW-UP (Verification & Prevention)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Success metrics, monitoring plan, review dates]            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Examples

Example 1: Database Connection Pool Exhaustion

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                    A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

TITLE: API Downtime Due to Connection Pool Exhaustion
OWNER: Backend Team Lead
DATE: 2024-11-14

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. BACKGROUND                                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • API goes down 2-3x per week during peak hours             │
│ • Affects 10,000+ users, average 15min downtime             │
│ • Revenue impact: ~$5K per incident                         │
│ • Customer satisfaction score dropped from 4.5 to 3.8       │
│ • Started 3 weeks ago after traffic increased 40%           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. CURRENT CONDITION                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Observations:                                                │
│ • Connection pool size: 10 (unchanged since launch)         │
│ • Peak concurrent users: 500 (was 300 three weeks ago)      │
│ • Average request time: 200ms (was 150ms)                   │
│ • Connections leaked: ~2 per hour (never released)          │
│ • Error: "Connection pool exhausted" in logs                │
│                                                              │
│ Pattern:                                                     │
│ • Occurs at 2pm-4pm daily (peak traffic)                    │
│ • Gradual degradation over 30 minutes                       │
│ • Recovery requires app restart                             │
│ • Long-running queries block pool (some 30+ seconds)        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. GOAL/TARGET                                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Zero downtime due to connection exhaustion                │
│ • Support 1000 concurrent users (2x current peak)           │
│ • All connections released within 5 seconds                 │
│ • Achieve within 1 week                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS                                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 5 Whys:                                                      │
│ Problem: Connection pool exhausted                          │
│ Why 1: All 10 connections in use, none available            │
│ Why 2: Connections not released after requests              │
│ Why 3: Error handling doesn't close connections             │
│ Why 4: Try-catch blocks missing .finally()                  │
│ Why 5: No code review checklist for resource cleanup        │
│                                                              │
│ Contributing factors:                                        │
│ • Pool size too small for current load                      │
│ • No connection timeout configured (hangs forever)          │
│ • Slow queries hold connections longer                      │
│ • No monitoring/alerting on pool metrics                    │
│                                                              │
│ ROOT CAUSE: Systematic issue with resource cleanup +        │
│             insufficient pool sizing                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 5. COUNTERMEASURES                                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Immediate (This Week):                                       │
│ 1. Audit all DB code, add .finally() for connection release │
│ 2. Increase pool size: 10 → 30                              │
│ 3. Add connection timeout: 10 seconds                       │
│ 4. Add pool monitoring & alerts (>80% used)                 │
│                                                              │
│ Short-term (2 Weeks):                                        │
│ 5. Optimize slow queries (add indexes)                      │
│ 6. Implement connection pooling best practices doc          │
│ 7. Add automated test for connection leaks                  │
│                                                              │
│ Long-term (1 Month):                                         │
│ 8. Migrate to connection pool library with auto-release     │
│ 9. Add linter rule detecting missing .finally()             │
│ 10. Create PR checklist for resource management             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 6. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN                                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Week 1 (Nov 14-18):                                          │
│ • Day 1-2: Audit & fix connection leaks [Dev Team]          │
│ • Day 2: Increase pool size, add timeout [DevOps]           │
│ • Day 3: Set up monitoring [SRE]                            │
│ • Day 4: Test under load [QA]                               │
│ • Day 5: Deploy to production [DevOps]                      │
│                                                              │
│ Week 2 (Nov 21-25):                                          │
│ • Optimize identified slow queries [DB Team]                │
│ • Write best practices doc [Tech Writer + Dev Lead]         │
│ • Create connection leak test [QA Team]                     │
│                                                              │
│ Week 3-4 (Nov 28 - Dec 9):                                   │
│ • Evaluate connection pool libraries [Dev Team]             │
│ • Add linter rules [Dev Lead]                               │
│ • Update PR template [Dev Lead]                             │
│                                                              │
│ Dependencies: None blocking Week 1 fixes                     │
│ Resources: 2 developers, 1 DevOps, 1 SRE                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 7. FOLLOW-UP                                                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Success Metrics:                                             │
│ • Zero downtime incidents (monitor 4 weeks)                 │
│ • Pool usage stays <80% during peak                         │
│ • No connection leaks detected                              │
│ • Response time <200ms p95                                  │
│                                                              │
│ Monitoring:                                                  │
│ • Daily: Check pool usage dashboard                         │
│ • Weekly: Review connection leak alerts                     │
│ • Bi-weekly: Team retrospective on progress                 │
│                                                              │
│ Review Dates:                                                │
│ • Week 1 (Nov 18): Verify immediate fixes effective         │
│ • Week 2 (Nov 25): Assess optimization impact               │
│ • Week 4 (Dec 9): Final review, close A3                    │
│                                                              │
│ Prevention:                                                  │
│ • Add connection handling to onboarding                     │
│ • Monthly audit of resource management code                 │
│ • Include pool metrics in SRE runbook                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Example 2: Security Vulnerability in Production

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                    A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

TITLE: Critical SQL Injection Vulnerability
OWNER: Security Team Lead
DATE: 2024-11-14

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. BACKGROUND                                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Critical security vulnerability reported by researcher    │
│ • SQL injection in user search endpoint                     │
│ • Potential data breach affecting 100K+ user records        │
│ • CVSS score: 9.8 (Critical)                                │
│ • Vulnerability exists in production for 6 months           │
│ • Similar issue found in 2 other endpoints (scanning)       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. CURRENT CONDITION                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Vulnerable Code:                                             │
│ • /api/users/search endpoint uses string concatenation      │
│ • Input: search query (user-provided, not sanitized)        │
│ • Pattern: `SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = '${input}'`    │
│                                                              │
│ Scope:                                                       │
│ • 3 endpoints vulnerable (search, filter, export)           │
│ • All use same unsafe pattern                               │
│ • No parameterized queries                                  │
│ • No input validation layer                                 │
│                                                              │
│ Risk Assessment:                                             │
│ • Exploitable from public internet                          │
│ • No evidence of exploitation (logs checked)                │
│ • Similar code in admin panel (higher privilege)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. GOAL/TARGET                                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Patch all SQL injection vulnerabilities within 24 hours   │
│ • Zero SQL injection vulnerabilities in codebase            │
│ • Prevent similar issues in future code                     │
│ • Verify no unauthorized access occurred                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS                                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 5 Whys:                                                      │
│ Problem: SQL injection vulnerability in production          │
│ Why 1: User input concatenated directly into SQL            │
│ Why 2: Developer wasn't aware of SQL injection risks        │
│ Why 3: No security training for new developers              │
│ Why 4: Security not part of onboarding checklist            │
│ Why 5: Security team not involved in development process    │
│                                                              │
│ Contributing Factors (Fishbone):                             │
│ • Process: No security code review                          │
│ • Technology: ORM not used consistently                     │
│ • People: Knowledge gap in secure coding                    │
│ • Methods: No SAST tools in CI/CD                           │
│                                                              │
│ ROOT CAUSE: Security not integrated into development        │
│             process, training gap                            │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
how to use kaizen:analyse-problem

How to use kaizen:analyse-problem on Cursor

AI-first code editor with Composer

1

Prerequisites

Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:

  • ›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
  • ›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
  • ›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add kaizen:analyse-problem
2

Execute installation command

Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:

$npx skills add https://github.com/neolabhq/context-engineering-kit --skill kaizen:analyse-problem

The skills CLI fetches kaizen:analyse-problem from GitHub repository neolabhq/context-engineering-kit and configures it for Cursor.

3

Select Cursor when prompted

The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:

◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│ • Amp
│ • Antigravity
│ • Cline
│ • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│ • Cursor
│ • Windsurf
4

Verify installation

Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:

.cursor/skills/kaizen:analyse-problem

Reload or restart Cursor to activate kaizen:analyse-problem. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /kaizen:analyse-problem) or your agent's skill management interface.

⚠

Security & Verification Notice

We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.

Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.

Additional Resources

›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?

List & Monetize Your Skill

Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning

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Use Cases▌

Task Automation & Efficiency

Automate repetitive workflows and reduce manual effort

Example

Generate reports, summarize documents, draft communications

✓

Save 3-5 hours per week on routine tasks

Knowledge Enhancement

Learn new skills, understand complex topics, get expert guidance

Example

Explain concepts, provide examples, suggest learning resources

✓

Accelerate learning and skill development by 2x

Quality Improvement

Enhance output quality through reviews, suggestions, and refinements

Example

Review drafts, suggest improvements, catch errors

✓

Improve work quality by 30-40% with less effort

Implementation Guide▌

Prerequisites

  • ›Claude Desktop or compatible AI client with skill support
  • ›Clear understanding of task or problem to solve
  • ›Willingness to iterate and refine outputs

Time Estimate

15-45 minutes depending on use case complexity

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install skill using provided installation command
  2. 2.Test with simple use case relevant to your work
  3. 3.Evaluate output quality and relevance
  4. 4.Iterate on prompts to improve results
  5. 5.Integrate into regular workflow if valuable

Common Pitfalls

  • ⚠Expecting perfect results without iteration
  • ⚠Not providing enough context in prompts
  • ⚠Using skill for tasks outside its intended scope
  • ⚠Accepting outputs without review and validation

Best Practices▌

✓ Do

  • +Start with clear, specific prompts
  • +Provide relevant context and constraints
  • +Review and refine all outputs before using
  • +Iterate to improve output quality
  • +Document successful prompt patterns

✗ Don't

  • −Don't use without understanding skill limitations
  • −Don't skip validation of outputs
  • −Don't share sensitive information in prompts
  • −Don't expect skill to replace human judgment

💡 Pro Tips

  • ★Be specific about desired format and style
  • ★Ask for multiple options to choose from
  • ★Request explanations to understand reasoning
  • ★Combine AI efficiency with human expertise

When to Use This▌

✓ Use When

Use when skill capabilities match your task, clear ROI on time saved, and you can validate outputs. Best for repetitive tasks, learning, and quality improvement.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid when task requires deep expertise you can't validate, involves sensitive decisions, or when learning process is more valuable than speed of completion.

Learning Path▌

  1. 1Familiarize yourself with skill capabilities and limitations
  2. 2Start with low-risk, non-critical tasks
  3. 3Progress to more complex and valuable use cases
  4. 4Build expertise through regular use and experimentation

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
  • No comments yet — start the thread.
general reviews

Ratings

4.7★★★★★59 reviews
  • ★★★★★Liam Bhatia· Dec 24, 2024

    kaizen:analyse-problem is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • ★★★★★James Dixit· Dec 16, 2024

    kaizen:analyse-problem reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.

  • ★★★★★Dev Rao· Dec 16, 2024

    Registry listing for kaizen:analyse-problem matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • ★★★★★Charlotte Taylor· Dec 16, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: kaizen:analyse-problem is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • ★★★★★Chaitanya Patil· Dec 12, 2024

    We added kaizen:analyse-problem from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.

  • ★★★★★Li Kapoor· Nov 15, 2024

    Keeps context tight: kaizen:analyse-problem is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.

  • ★★★★★Mei Mehta· Nov 7, 2024

    We added kaizen:analyse-problem from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.

  • ★★★★★Dev Reddy· Nov 7, 2024

    I recommend kaizen:analyse-problem for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.

  • ★★★★★Charlotte Smith· Nov 7, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: kaizen:analyse-problem is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • ★★★★★Dev Khanna· Nov 7, 2024

    Registry listing for kaizen:analyse-problem matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

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