art-of-war-software-engineering
Installation
SKILL.md
Art of War for Software Engineering
Use Sun Tzu's five factors as a mnemonic for structured due diligence, not as a source of scientific thresholds. Make assumptions visible and calibrate the decision to the initiative's cost, reversibility, and evidence.
Five Parallel Factors
| Factor | Software interpretation | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Tao — alignment | shared outcome, user value, incentives, explicit non-goals | strategy, problem evidence, stakeholder understanding |
| Heaven — conditions | timing, regulation, ecosystem, competition, dependencies | dated market/technology evidence and uncertainty |
| Earth — terrain | architecture, legacy constraints, skills, data, build/buy landscape | code/runtime audit, dependency map, vendor options |
| Command — leadership | accountable owner, decision rights, capability, conflict resolution | named owner, authority, capacity, escalation path |
| Method — operating system | delivery, testing, observability, security, learning cadence | current five-metric DORA baseline, controls, feedback loops |
Assess all five against the same initiative. A factor can be supported, uncertain, constrained, or contradicted; numeric scores are optional and must have a locally defined rubric.