Metis Flight Levels Skill

This skill teaches Flight Levels methodology for work management using Metis. It extends the Metis MCP server with judgment and methodology guidance.

Prerequisites

• Metis MCP server connected and available
• A Metis workspace initialized (metis init or via MCP)

What This Skill Provides

The Metis MCP server teaches you how to use the tools. This skill teaches you when and why.

• When to create which document type
• How to decompose work effectively
• When to transition between phases
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them
• Patterns for different project types

Core Methodology

See methodology/core-principles.md for:

• The Flight Levels hierarchy (Vision -> Strategy -> Initiative -> Task)
• Pull-based Kanban flow
• Value alignment and why hierarchy matters
• Phase-gated progress
• Source of truth (filesystem over database)

Choosing a Configuration

See methodology/preset-selection.md for:

• Full vs Streamlined vs Direct presets
• Decision framework for choosing
• When to change presets
• Signs you chose wrong

Breaking Down Work

See methodology/decomposition.md for:

• When to decompose (ahead of capacity, not upfront)
• Sizing by scope, not time
• The explicit decompose phase and why it exists
• Decomposition patterns (vertical slices, risk-first, etc.)

Moving Through Phases

See methodology/phase-transitions.md for:

• Phase sequences for each document type
• Exit criteria patterns
• When and how to transition
• Monitoring phase health

What Not to Do

See methodology/anti-patterns.md for:

• Shadow work and shadow backlogs
• Too many active items (WIP limits)
• Skipping phases
• Stale work and metric gaming

Project Patterns

Apply these patterns based on your situation:

• patterns/greenfield.md - Starting new projects
• patterns/tech-debt.md - Debt reduction campaigns
• patterns/incident-response.md - Handling urgent work
• patterns/feature-development.md - Standard feature flow

Decision Guides

When unsure what to do:

• decision-trees/document-type.md - Which document type to create
• decision-trees/when-to-adr.md - When to record architectural decisions

Quick Reference

Document Types

Common Operations

Start a project:

1. initialize_project with appropriate prefix
2. Create and publish a vision
3. Create initiatives aligned to vision
4. Decompose initiatives into tasks

Do work:

1. Pull tasks when capacity exists
2. Transition to active when starting
3. Complete when acceptance criteria met
4. Look up for next work when backlog is low

Handle ad-hoc work:

1. Create backlog item with category (bug/feature/tech-debt)
2. Either work independently (if critical) or feed into initiative

Key Principles

• Work is pulled, never pushed - Low backlog signals to look up
• All work traces to vision - If it doesn't align, question its value
• Phases exist for a reason - Don't skip them (transitions will fail if you try)
• Filesystem is truth - Database is just a cache
• Scope over time - Size by capability increment, not duration
• Read before edit - Always read_document before edit_document
• Delete unused sections - Templates contain optional sections; delete what doesn't apply rather than leaving empty placeholders
• Update active tasks - Use active tasks as working memory; record progress, findings, and decisions regularly