Project Management Tool Configuration

VerifiedSafe

Configures the project management tool by guiding selection from supported options, applying the implementation guide, updating way-of-working adoption, and recording the decision. Detects existing configuration and supports reconfiguration.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
806/2/2026
Claude Code
#pm-tool#configuration#project-management#setup

Recommended for

Our review

Configures the project management tool for the current project by guiding selection, applying implementation guides, and recording the decision.

Strengths

  • Idempotent: detects existing configuration to avoid duplication.
  • Guides the developer through tool selection with clear recommendations.
  • Automatically applies implementation guides for supported tools.
  • Records the decision and updates adoption files.

Limitations

  • Only two tools (GitHub Projects, Filesystem) have implementation guides.
  • For any other tool, the process halts and requires manual guide creation.
  • Relies on the .pair/adoption file structure and existing guides.
When to use it

When you need to set up a project management tool for the first time or switch to another in a project using the Pair framework.

When not to use it

If the desired tool is not supported by an implementation guide or if you prefer manual configuration without decision recording.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score90/100

The skill guides the developer through text-based configuration steps, file reads/writes, and calling a companion skill. No execution of external commands, no network access, no data exfiltration, and no obfuscated payloads. All file operations are contained within a project's .pair directory.

No concerns found

Examples

Configure GitHub Projects
/pair-capability-setup-pm $tool=github
Interactive tool selection
/pair-capability-setup-pm
Reconfigure existing PM tool
/pair-capability-setup-pm

name: pair-capability-setup-pm description: "Configures the project management tool by guiding selection from supported options, applying the implementation guide, updating way-of-working adoption, and recording the decision via /pair-capability-record-decision. Idempotent — detects existing configuration." version: 0.4.1 author: Foomakers

/pair-capability-setup-pm — PM Tool Configuration

Configure the project management tool for the current project. Guides the developer through tool selection, applies the implementation guide, updates adoption files, and records the decision.

Arguments

| Argument | Required | Description | | -------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | $tool | No | PM tool to configure (e.g., github, filesystem). If omitted, presents selection options. |

Composed Skills

| Skill | Type | Required | | ------------------ | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | /pair-capability-record-decision | Capability | Yes — records PM tool choice as ADL entry + adoption update |

Algorithm

Step 1: Detect Existing Configuration

  1. Check: Read adoption/tech/way-of-working.md. Does it contain a PM tool configuration (e.g., "Github Projects is adopted" or "Filesystem is adopted" for project management)?

  2. Skip (not configured): Proceed to Step 2.

  3. Act (already configured): Present current configuration:

    PM tool already configured: [tool name].

    • Current setup: [summary of PM section from way-of-working.md]

    Options:

    1. Keep current — no changes needed
    2. Reconfigure — switch to a different PM tool
    • If Keep current → stop, output current state.
    • If Reconfigure → proceed to Step 2.
  4. Verify: Mode is configure or done.

Step 2: Select PM Tool

  1. Check: Is $tool provided and valid?

  2. Skip: If valid $tool, proceed to Step 3 with that tool.

  3. Act: Present PM tool options using the selection framework:

    Select a project management tool:

    | Tool | Best For | Implementation Guide | |------|----------|---------------------| | GitHub Projects | Teams using GitHub, remote collaboration, any size | Available | | Filesystem | Small teams, offline work, high security | Available | | Other (Jira, Linear, Azure DevOps, etc.) | Enterprise, complex workflows | No implementation guide yet |

    Which tool does your team use or want to adopt?

  4. Act: If developer selects a tool without an implementation guide → HALT:

    No implementation guide available for [tool name]. To add support:

    • Create guidelines/collaboration/project-management-tool/<tool>-implementation.md
    • Follow the structure of existing implementation guides

    For now, you can manually configure adoption/tech/way-of-working.md.

  5. Verify: Tool selected with available implementation guide.

Step 3: Apply Implementation Guide

  1. Act: Read the implementation guide for the selected tool:

  2. Act: Walk the developer through the setup steps from the implementation guide:

    • For GitHub Projects: project creation, board configuration, label setup, automation rules, MCP integration
    • For Filesystem: directory structure creation, status tracking files, workflow templates
  3. Act: Gather project-specific details needed for configuration:

    • Project/organization name
    • Board columns and workflow methodology (Kanban, Scrum, etc.)
    • Label taxonomy
    • Automation preferences
  4. Verify: PM tool is configured and accessible.

Step 4: Update Way-of-Working

  1. Check: Read current adoption/tech/way-of-working.md.
  2. Act: Add or update the PM tool section with:
    • Tool name and version/tier
    • Workflow methodology (Kanban, Scrum, etc.)
    • Project identifier (e.g., GitHub org/project name, filesystem path)
    • Access method (e.g., MCP, CLI, direct)
    • Reference to implementation guide
  3. Verify: Way-of-working reflects current PM configuration.

Step 5: Record Decision

  1. Act: Compose /pair-capability-record-decision with:

    • $type: non-architectural
    • $topic: pm-tool-choice
    • $summary: "[Tool] adopted for project management with [methodology] workflow"
  2. Verify: ADL entry created at adoption/decision-log/YYYY-MM-DD-pm-tool-choice.md and adoption files updated.

Output Format

PM CONFIGURED:
├── Tool:       [tool name]
├── Methodology: [Kanban | Scrum | etc.]
├── Project:    [project identifier]
├── Access:     [MCP | CLI | filesystem]
├── Adoption:   [way-of-working.md updated]
├── Decision:   [ADL entry path]
└── Status:     [Configured | Already configured (unchanged) | Reconfigured]

Composition Interface

When composed by /pair-process-bootstrap:

  • Input: /pair-process-bootstrap reaches PM configuration phase and invokes /pair-capability-setup-pm (optionally with $tool if developer pre-selected).
  • Output: Returns tool name, configuration status, and ADL entry path.
  • /pair-process-bootstrap includes the adoption and ADL changes in the next commit.

When invoked independently:

  • Interactive: full Step 1-5 flow. Developer commits changes when satisfied.

Edge Cases

  • PM tool already configured + reconfigure: Old configuration is replaced, not appended. The new ADL entry references the previous decision if one exists.
  • No MCP connection for GitHub: Warn that GitHub Projects requires MCP or CLI access. Offer to configure the adoption file manually and validate connectivity later.
  • Multiple PM tools: Not supported in a single project. One tool per project. If developer needs multiple, suggest primary + secondary pattern and document in way-of-working.

Graceful Degradation

  • If way-of-working.md doesn't exist, create it with PM section as initial content. Warn: "Created way-of-working.md — this appears to be a new project."
  • If implementation guide not found for selected tool, HALT with contribution instructions (Step 2.4).
  • If /pair-capability-record-decision is not installed, warn and skip ADL recording: "Decision not recorded — /pair-capability-record-decision not installed. Please manually document the PM tool choice."

Notes

  • Supported tools with implementation guides: GitHub Projects, Filesystem.
  • The selection framework provides decision matrix and cost-benefit analysis for tool selection.
  • This skill modifies: adoption/tech/way-of-working.md and creates an ADL entry via /pair-capability-record-decision.
  • PM tool configuration is a project-level decision — it applies to all team members and workflows.
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