Module 4 of 5Lesson 1 of 4~15 min
Test a skill before relying on it
A skill that gives a good result once can disappoint as soon as the request changes a little. This lesson teaches you to evaluate your skill on representative situations, check that it truly adds something compared with Claude alone, and improve it step by step from what you observe.
Lesson objective
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to write at least three evaluation scenarios for a skill, compare results with and without the skill, and improve the skill through a loop of observation and correction.
Topics covered
- testing a skill
- skill evaluation
- test scenarios
- iterative improvement
- Claude Skills
Where it fits
Test, share and measure
How do I prove a skill works, use it in a real workflow, share it safely and track its value?
Lessons in this module
- Test a skill before relying on it (this lesson)
- Case study: the skill in a real PRD workflow
- Choose, audit and share skills
- Measure value and help a skill mature
What you will learn in the course
This lesson is part of the course Build reliable Claude Skills for your product work
- Identify a recurring task that justifies a skill rather than a one-off prompt, and explain how the skill is loaded (progressive disclosure).
- Choose and justify the right mechanism for a given need (skill, CLAUDE.md, subagent, MCP server, hook).
- Write a name and description that trigger the skill at the right moment, and choose who can invoke it.
- Design a complete SKILL.md (frontmatter, checkable rules, procedure, output format, reference files) from a scoping brief.
- Configure a skill's pre-approved and removed tools according to risk, without confusing pre-approval with restriction.
- Test a skill's triggering and output with evaluation scenarios, iterate, then measure its value over time.
- Choose, audit and share skills (third-party or internal) while managing the security risks.
Related courses
- Choosing and using AI tools at workAll levels · ~1 hr 40 min
- Prompting for product managers: delegate, describe, verifyJunior · ~2 hr 45 min
- Understand what LLMs do well, and where they failAll levels · ~2 hr