PowerVS Discovery Skill

An AI skill for IBM Cloud sellers to prepare for discovery conversations with customers interested in IBM Power Virtual Server (PowerVS). This skill transforms seller input about an account into a polished, printable Word document (.docx) containing tailored discovery questions, value narratives, objection handling, and next steps.

What This Skill Does

PowerVS matters to customers running IBM Power workloads (AIX, IBM i, or Linux on Power) who need to decide how and where to continue running these workloads. This skill helps sellers:

• Identify the right discovery motion - DR, Migration/Data Center Exit, or Dev/Test
• Generate targeted questions - Tailored to the customer's specific situation
• Provide value narratives - Mapped to the customer's likely drivers
• Surface watch-outs - Honest about fit and potential deal-killers
• Recommend next steps - Concrete actions to move the opportunity forward

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• IBM Bob Shell installed and configured
• Access to the docx skill (for Word document generation)

Installation

Option 1: Clone the Repository (Recommended for Development)

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url> ~/powervs-skill

# Create the skills directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/.bob/skills

# Copy the skill directory to Bob's skills location
cp -r ~/powervs-skill/powervs-discovery ~/.bob/skills/

Option 2: Download and Extract

# Download the repository (replace with actual download URL)
# Extract to a temporary location, then:

# Create the skills directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/.bob/skills

# Copy the skill directory to Bob's skills location
cp -r /path/to/extracted/powervs-skill/powervs-discovery ~/.bob/skills/

Note: The skill must be unpacked as a directory at ~/.bob/skills/powervs-discovery/ (not as a .skill file). Bob Shell will automatically load skills from this location.

Using the Skill

1. Verify installation - Restart Bob Shell or reload skills if needed

2. Invoke the skill with information about your customer:

   /powervs-discovery
   
   I'm meeting with Acme Manufacturing next week. They run AIX 7.2 and IBM i 7.4 
   on POWER9 hardware that's coming off lease in 6 months. Their CFO wants to 
   avoid the capex for a refresh. They have about 50 cores across 8 LPARs running 
   their ERP system and some custom RPG applications.
   

3. Review the generated guide - The skill will create a Word document with:

   • Account snapshot
   • Discovery questions grouped by conversation phase
   • Value narrative specific to their situation
   • Watch-outs and disqualifiers
   • Recommended next steps

Example Scenarios

Disaster Recovery Play:

/powervs-discovery

Regional bank with AIX 7.3 running their core banking system. They failed their 
last DR test and their auditor flagged it. Currently have a second data center 
that costs $500K/year. Looking at cloud DR as an alternative.

Data Center Exit:

/powervs-discovery

Retail company needs to exit their colo by end of Q2. Running IBM i 7.5 for 
their point-of-sale and inventory systems on POWER10. About 30 cores total. 
They want to avoid buying new hardware.

Dev/Test:

/powervs-discovery

Insurance company modernizing their claims processing app. Need OpenShift on 
Power for development. Currently waiting weeks to get test environments on 
their shared POWER9 box.

Customizing the Skill

Modifying Discovery Questions

Edit powervs-discovery/references/scenarios.md to:

• Add new questions for specific industries
• Refine existing questions based on field feedback
• Update value narratives for new PowerVS capabilities
• Add objection handling for common concerns

Example: Adding an industry-specific question

### Setting the scene (Financial Services)
- What regulatory requirements (SOX, PCI-DSS, etc.) govern where this data can reside?
- Do you have specific audit requirements for DR testing frequency?

Updating Technical Facts

Edit powervs-discovery/references/powervs-facts.md to:

• Add newly supported OS versions
• Update hardware specifications
• Document new storage tiers or networking options
• Clarify migration paths

Adjusting the Guide Structure

Edit powervs-discovery/SKILL.md to:

• Change the output document format
• Add or remove sections
• Modify the motion detection logic
• Adjust question grouping

Testing Your Changes

Running Evaluations

The skill includes an evaluation framework to test changes:

# Navigate to the workspace directory
cd powervs-discovery-workspace

# Review test cases
cat ../powervs-discovery/evals/evals.json

# Run evaluations (process depends on your Bob Shell setup)
# Results will be stored in iteration-* directories

Reviewing Results

After running evaluations:

1. Check iteration-*/benchmark.json for performance metrics
2. Review generated Word documents in eval-*/with_skill/outputs/
3. Compare with baseline results in eval-*/without_skill/outputs/
4. Examine grading results to ensure quality hasn't degraded

Understanding the Three Discovery Motions

1. Disaster Recovery (DR)

Trigger signals: Failed DR test, audit findings, expensive secondary site, compliance pressure

Key questions focus on:

• Current DR posture and costs
• RTO/RPO requirements
• Replication approach
• Testing frequency

2. On-premises Migration / Data Center Exit

Trigger signals: Hardware refresh cycle, lease expiry, data center exit mandate, aging equipment

Key questions focus on:

• Current Power generation and workloads
• Migration timeline and dependencies
• OS versions and upgrade needs
• Connectivity requirements

3. Dev/Test & New Workloads

Trigger signals: Slow environment provisioning, capacity constraints, modernization projects, OpenShift needs

Key questions focus on:

• Current development bottlenecks
• Environment lifecycle (short-lived vs. persistent)
• Modernization plans
• Project timelines

Best Practices

For Sellers Using the Skill

1. Provide context - The more you tell the skill about the customer, the better the guide
2. Identify the motion - Mention if you know it's DR, migration, or dev/test
3. Include specifics - OS versions, hardware generation, workload types, timelines
4. Note constraints - Compliance requirements, budget pressures, decision-makers

For Skill Developers

1. Ground in reality - Base questions on real customer situations, not hypotheticals
2. Be honest about fit - Include disqualifiers and watch-outs, not just positive messaging
3. Test thoroughly - Run evaluations after changes to ensure quality
4. Verify technical claims - Check all technical statements against powervs-facts.md
5. Keep it scannable - Sellers use these guides during calls; favor clarity over completeness

Project Structure

powervs-skill/
├── powervs-discovery.skill          # Packaged skill (import this)
├── powervs-discovery/
│   ├── SKILL.md                     # Core skill logic and instructions
│   ├── references/
│   │   ├── scenarios.md             # Discovery playbooks by motion
│   │   └── powervs-facts.md         # Technical specifications
│   └── evals/
│       └── evals.json               # Test cases
├── powervs-discovery-workspace/     # Evaluation results
├── getting-started.md               # PowerVS product documentation
├── ibmcloud-architecture.md         # IBM Cloud architecture context
├── powervs-architecture.md          # PowerVS technical architecture
└── workload-migration.md            # Migration guidance

Dependencies

• Python 3.12+ - For any local development or testing
• markdownify - Text processing library
• docx skill - Required for Word document generation
• uv - Python package manager
• mise - Tool version management

Contributing

When modifying the skill:

1. Update the source files in powervs-discovery/ directory
2. Test your changes using the evaluation framework
3. Repackage the skill into powervs-discovery.skill
4. Document significant changes in this README

Support and Documentation

• AGENTS.md - Comprehensive guide for agents working with this repository
• SKILL.md - Complete skill instructions and logic
• scenarios.md - Full discovery playbooks for each motion
• getting-started.md - PowerVS product documentation

License

[Add your license information here]

Version History

• v0.1.0 - Initial release with three discovery motions (DR, Migration, Dev/Test)