The Baseline System is an AI-driven workflow solution designed to enhance the efficiency and quality of product teams' operations, including research, strategy, design, communication, and delivery. By integrating structured knowledge and domain expertise, this system empowers users to streamline their product development processes, achieving results faster than traditional methods.

Core Components

The system is built around three key components:

Skills provide universal methodologies, while context tailors outputs to reflect the unique aspects of the business. For instance, invoking a skill produces results not only informed by proven practices but also consistent with the brand voice.

Functionality

The Baseline System operates through a series of steps:

1. Task Definition: Specify the task at hand, such as "Create a PRD for the new onboarding flow" or "Help prioritize the Q2 roadmap."
2. Skill Identification: The system matches the task to the relevant skill, e.g., mapping a PRD request to product-communications.
3. Loading Resources: Based on a defined manifest.yaml, the system gathers necessary files associated with the skill, including frameworks and relevant context.
4. Execution: The system then follows through to plan, clarify, execute, and validate the task.

Available Skills

The Baseline System offers twelve distinct skills to assist with various aspects of product development:

For detailed documentation on individual skills, refer to the Skills Documentation.

System Usage

Automated Integration with AI Tools

Automated processes are facilitated through the AGENTS.md file, which provides AI tools with the instructions necessary to locate skills, access manifests, and execute operations seamlessly. Popular tools including Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains AI, and Claude Code utilize this file for an efficient workflow.

Interaction with Chat Tools

Conversational AI tools that do not automatically access project files, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, require users to upload or paste the necessary files indicated in the skill’s manifest.yaml. After doing so, users can describe their tasks for assistance.

Context Creation and Management

The user's context is vital for ensuring high-quality output. This context consists of core elements like brand identity and voice, along with extended information about products, users, and competitive positioning. Users can easily maintain and update their context through commands such as npx baseline context and npx baseline context add <name> to tailor outputs further.

File Structure

The system's organization is clear and intuitive:

your-system/
├── AGENTS.md  
├── CLAUDE.md  
├── .github/
│   └── copilot-instructions.md  
├── baseline.config.json  
├── skills/  
├── context/  
│   ├── core/  
│   └── extended/  
├── frameworks/  
└── cli/  

This structure facilitates comprehensive management of the Baseline System while ensuring that users retain ownership of their context, which is crucial for customizing AI-generated outputs.