PM Workshop · Module 3 · Session 3
Orchestration
From Skills to Systems
Building Your Personal workOS
From discrete skills to an integrated system that plans, captures, refines, and learns.
1
Foundations
2
Skills
3
Systems · Today
Recap of the journey
Where we've been
Session 1
Foundations
Prompts, agents, knowledge bases.
You can build a simple agent with tools.
Session 2
Skills
Discrete capabilities, single workflows.
You can build reusable context.
Session 3 · Today
Systems
Composition, orchestration, flywheel.
Your skills work together as one system.
Vocabulary → Sentences → Paragraphs & Essays
The agent framework · where we're going
You built the engine. Today you build the vehicle.
What we learned
An agent is a system that pursues a goal by repeatedly:
01
Reasoning / Planning
→ Deciding what to do next
02
Acting on Environment (Tools)
→ Executing actions via tools
03
Updating Itself (Context / Memory)
→ Learning from results
Sessions 1–2: we built self-learning agents that complete routine tasks, packaged as skills.
What we add today
Five principles. One system.
Goals as Gravity
Skills know what matters
Hooks as Senses
Skills know what's happening
Structure as Intelligence
Skills know where to look
Agent as Partner
Skills ask, draft, seek feedback
The Flywheel
Skills feed each other daily
Session 3: The agent loop stays the same. Today we build the SYSTEM around it.
The problem
Skills in isolation
Kusto Skill
Works alone
Email Skill
Works alone
Deck Skill
Works alone
Analysis Skill
Works alone
Each skill works alone. Every conversation starts from zero. No shared context. No memory between skills. No system.
The gap isn't intelligence — it's structure.
The mental model
Five principles for system design
01
Goals as Gravity
Everything orbits your goals — tasks, priorities, recommendations.
02
Hooks as Senses
Your system perceives the world (time, calendar, signals) without you asking.
03
Structure as Intelligence
Right folders + right files = right context, automatically.
04
Agent as Partner
Claude recommends, asks, drafts, seeks feedback — not just executes.
05
The Flywheel
Each day's work feeds tomorrow's intelligence; skills get better over time.
The end state · what you're building toward
Demo · A PM Monday
Time Action What happens
8:30 AM /morning Goals + tasks + work-graph signals → daily priorities
9:00 AM /prep Project context + work-graph calendar → meeting brief
10:15 AM /capture Meeting notes → action items routed to projects
10:30 AM Deep work Claude recommends a task, drafts, asks for your feedback
1–3 PM Meetings Repeat the /prep — /capture cycle
3:30 PM Check-in Claude flags stale tasks, suggests next focus
5:00 PM /eod Archive done, flag deferred, update goals
WORK IQ Your work-graph MCP (Microsoft Graph / Google Workspace API / equivalent) provides calendar, chat, and email signals throughout.
The whole machine · how the pieces fit
System Architecture
HOOKS · Senses
› Time context
› Stale detection
› Sub-agents
GOALS · the gravity
goals.md
TASKS
active · backlog · archive
WORK IQ
Calendar
Team chat
Email
Org graph
/morning
Plan the day
FEEDBACK
You review · Claude refines
/capture
Context out
/prep
Context in
PROJECTS
Structure · the containers
/eod
Close the day
THE FLYWHEEL /eod › sleep › /morning › work › /capture › feedback › /eod
Principle 02
Hooks as Senses
Hooks are shell commands that fire at key moments. They inject context automatically — and can even trigger sub-agents working in parallel.
UserPromptSubmit
When
Before your message is sent to Claude
Use case
Inject context — time, calendar, signals
PreToolUse
When
Before Claude uses a tool
Use case
Validate actions, trigger sub-agents
PostToolUse
When
After a tool completes
Use case
Process results, kick off parallel work
Hooks can trigger sub-agents — while you work on task A, a sub-agent completes task B in the background.
The next ~2 hours · agenda
What you'll build today
Part What You Build Time Principle
Part 2 The Spine goals.md + tasks + projects 25 min Goals as Gravity
Part 3 Hooks & Signals Time hook + Work IQ signals 20 min Hooks as Senses
Part 4 Morning Brief /morning skill + Work IQ 25 min Skills Compose
Part 5 Prep & Capture /prep + /capture + Work IQ 20 min Structure = Intelligence
Part 6 Proactive Partner Proactive feedback behavior 20 min Agent as Partner
Part 7 The Flywheel /eod + full walkthrough 15 min The Flywheel
Prerequisites check
Before we start
Prerequisites
Claude Code installed and working
Work IQ MCP server configured (work-graph MCP — Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace)
Completed Sessions 1 and 2 (or equivalent experience)
Have 2–3 real quarterly goals in mind
Know your active projects and current tasks
~2 hours of focused time available
Everything you build today IS your starting workOS. Not a throwaway exercise — real goals, real tasks, real system.
Prompt convention
Copy everything in this format:
What should I focus on today?
Black box + orange text = copy-paste directly into Claude. If it's highlighted like this, it's meant to be used as-is.
How the next 2 hours work
From here · self-guided exploration
The exercises that follow are designed for you to work through at your own pace. Build each piece, test it, make it yours.
01
Work at your own pace
Each exercise builds on the last — go in order, but take your time.
02
In-person trainers are here
Raise your hand if you get stuck — we're circulating to help.
03
Use real data
Your real goals, real projects, real meetings — not toy examples.
04
We regroup in the last 15 minutes
Share what we built and close the session together.
Everything you build in these exercises IS your starting workOS. Take it home.
Principle 01
Goals as Gravity
the centre
goals.md
Tasks
What you act on
Projects
Where work lives
Skills
How Claude acts
Priorities
What rises to the top
Your goals determine what Claude recommends, prioritizes, and flags.
Without goals.md, Claude is intelligent but aimless.
Tasks · the working memory
The 3-file task system
active.md
This Week
5–10 tasks max.
What you're doing NOW.
backlog.md
Queued
Prioritized, not infinite.
What's coming NEXT.
archive/
Completed
By date. The system's memory.
What's DONE.
This is NOT a project management replacement. It's a context source for Claude.
Projects · the containers
Project folders as context containers
filesystem · ~/.claude/projects/
~/.claude/projects/
├── mobile-onboarding/
│   ├── brief.md
│   ├── decisions.md
│   └── notes/
├── data-pipeline/
│   ├── brief.md
│   ├── decisions.md
│   └── notes/
└── compete-q2/
    ├── brief.md
    ├── decisions.md
    └── notes/
brief.md
1-page project summary
Goal, scope, team, timeline
decisions.md
Decision log with dates
What was decided + why
notes/
Meeting notes & research
Chronological history
One folder per project. Three predictable files. Claude knows exactly where to look.
Exercise 1
Build your workspace spine
15 min
You'll build
Create goals.md with your real quarterly OKRs
Set up task system: active.md, backlog.md, archive/
Create project folders with brief.md each
Verify: ask Claude what to focus on today
Use your real quarterly goals. This becomes your starting workOS.
paste into Claude
Create a file at ~/.claude/goals.md with my top priorities. Here are my goals for this quarter: 1. [Your Goal 1] 2. [Your Goal 2] 3. [Your Goal 3] For each goal, include: description, key results, current status, related projects. Ask me any clarifying questions as required. Set up my task management system...
Principle 02 · now it's your turn
Hooks as Senses
Hooks are shell commands that fire at key moments. They inject context automatically — and can even trigger sub-agents working in parallel.
UserPromptSubmit
When
Before your message is sent to Claude
Use case
Inject context — time, calendar, signals
PreToolUse
When
Before Claude uses a tool
Use case
Validate actions, trigger sub-agents
PostToolUse
When
After a tool completes
Use case
Process results, kick off parallel work
Hooks can trigger sub-agents — while you work on task A, a sub-agent completes task B in the background.
The time hook · more than just a clock
Time awareness reshapes every conversation
Before · no hook
You: "It's Monday, Jan 15. What should I do?"
Claude: (no time awareness — you tell it every time)
After · time hook active
You: "What should I focus on?"
Claude: (knows it's Monday PM — adjusts priorities)
What time awareness enables
Monday morning
Suggest weekly planning, review last week's carry-overs
Before a meeting
Auto-trigger /prep for upcoming calendar event
Friday afternoon
Prompt end-of-week reflection, flag unfinished items
Task stale 3+ days
Proactively ask: still relevant? blocked? need help?
Deadline tomorrow
Escalate priority, offer to help clear blockers
Work IQ · your work-graph signal
Connect Claude to your real work context
Work IQ connects Claude to your real work context via your work-graph (Microsoft Graph for M365; similar APIs for Google Workspace).
Calendar
Provides
Today's meetings, attendees, response status, time blocks
Enables
Auto-trigger /prep before each meeting
Team chat
Teams / Slack
Provides
Channel messages, DMs, group conversations, mentions
Enables
Surface key signals in /morning brief
Email
Provides
Important threads, flags, attachments, follow-ups
Enables
Route signals to relevant projects
Org Graph
Provides
Manager chain, team structure, stakeholders
Enables
Personalize meeting prep by audience
"What meetings do I have today, Feb 26? Include times, attendees, and response status."
Reference · don't build these now
Advanced hook patterns
Don't build these now — understand the possibilities.
Pattern 01
Calendar Hook
Auto-fetch today's meetings via Work IQ.
Mechanic
UserPromptSubmit:
call Work IQ for calendar on startup
Pattern 02
Sub-Agent Hook
Trigger background work automatically.
Mechanic
PostToolUse:
when a draft completes, kick off analysis
Pattern 03
Stale Task Hook
Flag tasks that haven't moved in 3+ days.
Mechanic
UserPromptSubmit:
check active.md dates and surface warnings
Exercise 2
Create your time hook + explore Work IQ
10 min
You'll build
Add UserPromptSubmit hook to settings.json
Hook injects date, time, and day of week
Test: ask Claude "What time is it?"
Bonus: try a Work IQ query for your calendar
After this, every conversation has time awareness — for free.
paste into Claude
Add a UserPromptSubmit hook to my ~/.claude/settings.json that injects the current date, time, and day of week into every conversation. Use a simple shell command — no external dependencies. Keep it under 1 second.
Principle 03
Skills compose into workflows
Source
goals.md
Source
active.md
Sense
Time Hook
Sense
Work IQ
Skill
/morning
Orchestrate · reason · synthesize
Output
Prioritized Brief
Top 3 priorities (goal-aligned)
Today's meetings (from Work IQ)
Flags & blockers
Quick wins for gaps
Recommended focus blocks
A skill is an orchestrator: it reads from your spine + signals, applies reasoning, and produces actionable output.
How a skill works · 5 steps
Anatomy of a workflow skill
01
Arguments
$ARGUMENTS — user input passed to the skill
02
Read Sources
Load goals, tasks, project files, Work IQ signals
03
Analyze
Apply reasoning: priority, urgency, goal alignment
04
Generate Output
Structured format: headers, bullets, callouts
05
Invite Action
"Want me to dive deeper?" — proactive next step
Create a skill called 'morning'
A/B · same model, different system
Same Claude. Different Structure. Different Output.
Illustrative comparison — not for copying
WITHOUT STRUCTURE
"Look at my tasks and tell me what to do"
No goals context — can't prioritize
No time awareness — can't schedule
No calendar — misses meetings
Starts from zero every time
WITH STRUCTURE · GOALS + HOOKS + WORK IQ
"What should I focus on today?"
Reads goals.md — aligns priorities to OKRs
Knows the time — suggests focus blocks
Has Work IQ — knows your meetings
Builds on yesterday's /eod output
The model is identical. The system around it is what changes the answer.
Hands-on
Exercise 3
Build the /morning skill
15 MIN
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Create a skill called 'morning'
Reads goals + tasks + time + Work IQ signals
Outputs: top 3 priorities, meetings, focus plan
Test: run /morning and see your personalized brief
PROMPT
Create a skill called 'morning' that: 1. Reads my goals, active tasks, time context 2. Queries Work IQ for today's calendar 3. Analyzes priorities vs meetings vs goals 4. Outputs a prioritized daily brief 5. Offers to start drafting for my review
Then try it
/morning
Principle 4 · Structure as Intelligence
Principle 4: Structure = Right Context at Right Time
Your project folders are context infrastructure. Work IQ adds live signals. Together, Claude knows everything before you walk into a meeting.
STEP 01
/prep mobile-onboarding
You type
→
STEP 02
Match project + fetch Work IQ
→
STEP 03
Read brief + decisions + notes
→
STEP 04
Generate 1-page prep
You didn't explain the project. The structure + Work IQ did that for you.
Example — illustrative, not for copying
/prep mobile onboarding → auto-matches project folder → fetches Work IQ calendar → reads brief + decisions → generates prep
Skill anatomy · context in
The /prep skill — Meeting Preparation
01
Status Snapshot
2–3 sentence project status from brief.md
02
Meeting Context
Attendees + agenda from Work IQ calendar
03
Open Action Items
Your tasks + others' for this project
04
Recent Decisions
Last 3 decisions with rationale
05
Talking Points
What to report, ask, and flag
Readable in 2 minutes. Work IQ adds live meeting context that files alone can't provide.
Composition · paired skills
The /capture workflow — Context In, Context Out
/prep  ·  CONTEXT IN
Reads project files + Work IQ calendar
Assembles talking points
Surfaces open items and risks
↔
/capture  ·  CONTEXT OUT
Extracts decisions and action items
Routes to project folders + task list
Asks you to review what was captured
Together, /prep and /capture keep your projects current. Claude always asks: did I capture everything?
Example prompt: "What was discussed in my last meeting? Include all messages, discussion points, decisions, and action items shared in the Teams / your team chat. Include sender names and timestamps. Take my feedback on which tasks need to be included in tasks.md."
Hands-on
Exercise 4
Build /prep and /capture
15 MIN
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Create a 'prep' skill: match project + fetch Work IQ
Create a 'capture' skill: pull meeting chat via Work IQ
Test /prep with a real project
Test /capture: pull a real Teams / your team chat meeting and route it
PROMPT
Create a skill called 'prep' that: 1. Matches project from $ARGUMENTS 2. Fetches meeting context via Work IQ 3. Reads brief.md + decisions.md + notes/ 4. Generates 1-page meeting prep Then create a skill called 'capture' that extracts action items + decisions and routes them to the right files.
Then try them
/prep [project]
/capture
Principle 4 · Agent as Partner
Agent as Proactive Partner
REACTIVE · COMMAND EXECUTOR
You:
"Write me a PRD"
Claude:
Writes a PRD
You:
"Review it"
Claude:
"Looks good!"
No challenge. No initiative.
Waits passively for every command.
PROACTIVE · THOUGHT PARTNER
Recommends what to work on (from goals)
Asks clarifying questions before starting
Drafts while you think (parallel work)
Presents output + asks for YOUR feedback
Refines based on what you say
Remembers preferences for next time
The mechanism · how the partner gets sharper
The Feedback Loop — You Review, It Learns
01
Recommend
Claude suggests what to work on (from goals)
→
02
Draft
Starts work, asks you clarifying questions
→
03
Present
Shows output + asks: What's missing? What's wrong?
→
04
Refine
Applies YOUR feedback, shows what changed
→
05
Learn
Updates context + skills get better
The human reviews the work, not the AI. You give feedback, Claude refines. Each cycle makes the system smarter.
"What can I start drafting for you to review and give feedback on?" — embed this in every skill.
The compounding return on feedback
Skills get better over time
Week 1
First Drafts
Claude uses goals.md and project brief to generate. Output is generic, needs heavy feedback.
Week 4
Calibrated
Claude remembers your preferences, tone, and framing. First drafts are closer to final.
Month 3
Anticipatory
Claude recommends before you ask. Knows your style, your stakeholders, your patterns. Truly proactive.
Every time you give feedback, you're not just improving today's output — you're training tomorrow's first draft.
Hands-on
Exercise 5
Experience the proactive partner
12 MIN
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Ask Claude to recommend what to work on (from goals)
Let it draft proactively, then give it real feedback
Watch it refine and show what changed
Update /morning, /prep, /capture to always offer next drafts
PROMPT
Based on my goals and tasks, what should I work on right now? I have 2 hours. 1. What do you recommend and why? 2. What questions do you need from me? 3. What can you start drafting that I can review and give feedback on? Ensure to do this every time — always offer to draft something for my review.
Principle 5 · the system that compounds
Principle 5: The Flywheel
Each day's work
feeds tomorrow's
intelligence
/morning
plan
Work + Feedback
execute + refine
/capture
record
Context
gets richer
/eod
reflect
Tomorrow
smarter
↘
↓
↙
←
↑
↗
/morning → Work + Feedback → /capture → Context → /eod → Tomorrow → /morning
Skill anatomy · closing the loop
The /eod skill — Close the Day
01
Show active tasks
Display task list with current status
02
Interactive check-in
Done / Carry / Defer / New — you decide
03
Ask for feedback
How did today go? Any preferences to remember?
04
Process updates
Archive completed, update active, move deferred
05
Update goals
Adjust goal status if key results changed
06
Generate summary
Wins, carry-overs, tomorrow's preview
Hands-on · final exercise
Exercise 6
Build /eod + Full Monday Walkthrough
10 MIN
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Create /eod with interactive task check-in + feedback
Run the flywheel: /eod then immediately /morning
Verify: /morning reflects changes /eod made
Bonus: full PM Monday walkthrough (s3-08)
PROMPT
Create a skill called 'eod' that: 1. Shows active tasks, asks Done/Carry/Defer 2. Asks for feedback on today's work 3. Archives completed, updates active 4. Updates goal progress if changed 5. Previews tomorrow's priorities
Then try the flywheel
/eod
/morning
Final-state recap · the whole system
The Complete Architecture
HOOKS
Time, stale detection, sub-agents
YOUR GOALS  ·  goals.md  — the gravity
YOUR TASKS  ·  active / backlog / archive
WORK IQ
Calendar, Teams / your team chat, email, org graph
/morning
plan
FEEDBACK
you review
/capture
record
/prep
context in
PROJECTS
structure
/eod
close day
THE FLYWHEEL
/eod → sleep → /morning → work → /capture → feedback → /eod   (skills get better each cycle)
After the workshop · keep the flywheel spinning
Your Homework: Keep Building
01
Run /morning and /eod every day this week
Let the flywheel spin — each day gets smarter
02
Give feedback every time Claude delivers
Your feedback trains the system — don't skip it
03
Add one new skill per week
Automate things you do repeatedly
04
Expand project folders for all active projects
More structure = better context for Claude
05
Share with your team
Skills and structures can be shared and adapted
The workshop gave you the structure. The habit makes it a system.
Recap of the mental model
The Five Principles — what you experienced
01
Goals as Gravity
Every recommendation tied back to your OKRs
02
Hooks as Senses
Time + Work IQ signals were always available
03
Structure as Intelligence
Project folders + Work IQ gave Claude instant context
04
Agent as Partner
Claude asked, recommended, drafted, sought your feedback
05
The Flywheel
/eod → /morning  + feedback made the system smarter each day
Closing
Nebula · Session 3
You Built a System.
Now Make It Yours.
Orchestration: From Skills to Systems
Not a collection of tools — a system where structure drives intelligence, skills compose into workflows, and every day's work feeds the next day's clarity.
Welcome to workOS.
The umbrella program
Nebula
Nebula set out to turn PMs into AI-first builders. Three modules later, that mission is complete.
Module 1
Prototyping
Learning to speak the language of AI and building AI apps
Module 2
Evals
Measuring quality of your AI product
Module 3
Agentic Systems
Orchestrating agents into living systems to improve your productivity
But this isn't the end. It's the beginning of a community that continuously explores the new era of AI — charting the new ways of product management, together.
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