What’s inside

One SKILL.md (the playbook) + one starter template. A preview:

Annotated Wash Diagram

When to use

• You need to explain a multi-stage wash process — a car wash, a parts wash, a laundry line, a cleaning protocol — and a paragraph of text leaves readers unsure of the order
• Customers keep asking "what actually happens to my car in there?" and your answer is currently a list of chemical names
• You are writing an operations manual, training doc, or customer-facing explainer where each stage's purpose, inputs, and result must be unambiguous
• You need a diagram that works in print, on a web page, and on a wall poster without being redrawn three times
• Your existing diagram has arrows pointing everywhere, labels overlapping the drawing, and no clear place to start

Workflow

1. List the stages (input: the real process → output: ordered stage list)
   Walk the actual process in order and write each stage as a verb phrase: pre-rinse, foam, contact wash, rinse, dry. Confirm the order with someone who runs the process — diagrams drawn from memory routinely swap two stages or invent one. For each stage, note three things: what goes in, what happens, what comes out. If a stage has a branch (a deluxe option, a decision point), mark it as a branch now rather than forcing it into the main line.
2. Draw the spine (input: stage list → output: process flow)
   Lay the stages out as one clear spine — left to right for a horizontal diagram, top to bottom for a vertical one — with one arrow of flow between consecutive stages. The spine is the diagram's promise: a reader can follow it from stage one to the end without lifting their eyes. Keep the spine straight and uncluttered; anything that is not a stage (chemicals, equipment, warnings) hangs off the spine as annotation, never sits on it.
3. Number and annotate (input: process flow → output: callout system)
   Number every stage in order, large and unmissable. Each number gets a callout with the same three-part structure: what happens (one line), why it matters (one line), and the key detail (water temperature, contact time, product used — whatever the stage turns on). Keep callouts outside the drawing with leader lines to their stages, and keep leader lines short, straight, and non-crossing. One number, one callout, one leader line — if two leader lines cross, the layout needs reworking, not the reader's patience.

Template preview

Annotated Wash Diagram — Diagram Template

One diagram, one process. Confirm the stage list with someone who runs the process before drawing.

Process: {e.g. standard car wash} | Orientation: {horizontal L→R / vertical top→bottom}

Verified with: {name of person who runs the process} — Date: {date}

Stage list (in real order — never rearranged for visual balance)

Branches: {deluxe option / decision point — describe, or "none"}

Callouts (one per stage — what happens / why it matters / key detail)

1 — {stage}: {what happens — one line} Why: {one line} Key detail: {…}

2 — {stage}: {…} Why: {…} Key detail: {…}

3 — {stage}: {…} Why: {…} Key detail: {…}

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