Analyzes ticket technical complexity to guide planning and development effort.

Install

mkdir -p .claude/skills/analyze-ticket && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/16920" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/analyze-ticket && rm skill.zip

Installs to .claude/skills/analyze-ticket

Activation

This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.

Internal helper called by /resolve. Analyzes ticket complexity (SIMPLE, MEDIUM, COMPLEX) to determine exploration depth and planning approach. Not intended for direct invocation.
178 charsno explicit “when” trigger
Advanced

Key capabilities

  • Extract keywords from ticket content for complexity signals
  • Calculate a base score based on technical complexity and scope indicators
  • Apply label-based overrides to force complexity levels
  • Determine the complexity level (SIMPLE, MEDIUM, COMPLEX)
  • Recommend workflow phases based on complexity level
  • Suggest focus areas and key concerns for ticket resolution

How it works

The skill analyzes ticket content by extracting keywords, calculating a score based on technical and scope factors, and applying label overrides to determine a complexity level. It then recommends workflow phases and actions.

Inputs & outputs

You give it
Ticket content including title, description, labels, and comments
You get back
A complexity analysis report with score breakdown, classification, recommended workflow, key concerns, and suggested focus areas

When to use analyze-ticket

  • Assess ticket scope
  • Determine planning requirements
  • Identify need for architecture review
  • Categorize technical debt complexity

About this skill

Analyze Ticket Skill

This skill analyzes a ticket's content to determine its complexity and decide which workflow phases are required.

Complexity Levels

LevelScoreExplorationPlanningAEPArchitect
SIMPLE0-2SkipBasicNoNo
MEDIUM3-5LightStandardPartialOptional
COMPLEX6+Full AEPDetailedFullYes

Scoring Factors

Analyze the ticket content and assign points for each applicable factor:

Technical Complexity

FactorPointsDetection Signals
Multi-component changes+2Mentions multiple services, modules, or layers
Database schema changes+2Keywords: migration, schema, table, column, index
API breaking changes+3Keywords: breaking, deprecate, remove endpoint, change contract
New external dependency+2Keywords: integrate, new library, third-party, SDK
Performance requirements+2Keywords: optimize, performance, latency, throughput
Security implications+2Keywords: auth, permission, encryption, sensitive data

Scope Indicators

FactorPointsDetection Signals
Cross-team coordination+2Mentions other teams, external dependencies
Multiple file types+1Backend + frontend, or multiple languages
Test infrastructure changes+1Keywords: test framework, CI/CD, pipeline
Documentation required+1Explicit doc requirements or public API changes

Uncertainty Factors

FactorPointsDetection Signals
Vague requirements+2Ambiguous language, missing acceptance criteria
Research needed+2Keywords: investigate, explore, POC, spike
Unknown impact+2Cannot determine affected components
No clear success criteria+1Missing "done when" or validation steps

Negative Factors (Reduce Complexity)

FactorPointsDetection Signals
Well-defined scope-1Clear, specific requirements
Single file change-1Obvious single-file fix
Existing pattern-1Similar to existing code/feature
Has acceptance criteria-1Clear validation steps provided

Label-Based Override

Certain labels can force complexity level:

Simple Labels (force SIMPLE)

  • quick-fix, typo, documentation, trivial, minor
  • Config: complexity.simple_labels

Complex Labels (force COMPLEX)

  • needs-analysis, architecture, breaking-change, migration, epic
  • Config: complexity.complex_labels

Analysis Process

Step 1: Extract Keywords

Parse ticket content for complexity signals:

  • Title
  • Description
  • Labels/Tags
  • Comments (if available)

Step 2: Calculate Base Score

Sum points from all applicable factors.

Step 3: Apply Label Override

Check for forcing labels that override calculated score.

Step 4: Determine Level

if has_simple_label:
    level = SIMPLE
elif has_complex_label:
    level = COMPLEX
elif score <= simple_threshold (default: 2):
    level = SIMPLE
elif score >= complex_threshold (default: 6):
    level = COMPLEX
else:
    level = MEDIUM

Step 5: Recommend Actions

Based on complexity level, recommend workflow phases:

SIMPLE

  • Skip exploration phase
  • Create direct implementation plan
  • No AEP methodology
  • Basic validation only

MEDIUM

  • Light exploration (1 agent, focused search)
  • Standard implementation plan
  • Partial AEP (Analyse + Plan, skip deep Explore)
  • Standard validation

COMPLEX

  • Full AEP workflow (3 parallel explore agents)
  • Invoke Architect skill for planning
  • Detailed implementation plan with phases
  • Comprehensive validation strategy

Output Format

## Complexity Analysis

### Score Breakdown

| Factor | Points | Reason |
|--------|--------|--------|
| Multi-component changes | +2 | Affects API and frontend |
| Database changes | +2 | Requires migration |
| Well-defined scope | -1 | Clear acceptance criteria |
| **Total** | **3** | |

### Classification

**Complexity Level**: MEDIUM (score: 3)

### Label Analysis
- Labels found: `feature`, `backend`
- No complexity-forcing labels detected

### Recommended Workflow

1. **Exploration**: Light (1 focused agent)
2. **Planning**: Standard approach
3. **AEP**: Partial (Analyse + Plan)
4. **Architect Skill**: Optional

### Key Concerns

- Database migration requires careful ordering
- Consider rollback strategy for schema changes

### Suggested Focus Areas

1. Existing migration patterns in codebase
2. Related API endpoints
3. Test coverage for affected components

Integration with Workflow

This skill is invoked by:

  1. /resolve command - after fetch, before workspace setup
  2. Planning phase to determine approach

Configuration

Reads from .claude/ticket-config.json:

{
  "complexity": {
    "auto_detect": true,
    "simple_labels": ["quick-fix", "typo"],
    "complex_labels": ["architecture", "migration"],
    "simple_threshold": 2,
    "complex_threshold": 6
  }
}

Exploration Guidelines by Level

SIMPLE - No Exploration

Proceed directly to implementation planning.

MEDIUM - Light Exploration

Launch 1 explore agent to:

  • Find similar existing code
  • Identify files to modify
  • Check test patterns

COMPLEX - Full AEP Exploration

Launch up to 3 parallel explore agents:

Agent 1: Implementation Patterns

  • Search for similar features
  • Find reusable code patterns
  • Identify coding conventions

Agent 2: Impact Analysis

  • Trace dependencies
  • Find all affected components
  • Check for breaking changes

Agent 3: Test Coverage

  • Find related tests
  • Check testing patterns
  • Identify test utilities

Language

Analysis output in French for user communication. Technical terms and factor names in English.

When not to use it

  • When the skill is not called internally by /resolve
  • When direct invocation by a user is intended

Limitations

  • The skill is intended for internal invocation by /resolve.
  • The skill relies on predefined scoring factors and detection signals.
  • The skill's configuration for labels and thresholds is external.

How it compares

This skill provides a structured, score-based method for analyzing ticket complexity and recommending specific workflow phases, unlike a manual or ad-hoc assessment.

Compared to similar skills

analyze-ticket side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.

SkillInstallsUpdatedSafetyDifficulty
analyze-ticket (this skill)01moNo flagsAdvanced
drift-analysis25moNo flagsIntermediate
planning23moNo flagsIntermediate
gsd-plan-checker14moNo flagsBeginner

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