strategy-selection
Match problems to the right solving strategy. Covers working backwards, pattern recognition, simplification, systematic listing, trial and error, means-ends analysis, analogical transfer, and decomposition. Use after comprehension is complete to narrow from "general problem" to a concrete approach before committing time and effort.
Profile →npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill strategy-selection --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Strategy Selection Strategies are general-purpose operators on problems. Polya called them heuristics. Simon and Newell formalized some of them as search operators in a state-space. A good solver has many strategies and picks the right one; a weak solver has few and applies them indiscriminately. This skill is the strategy catalog and the decision rules for matching strategies to problem features. **Agent affinity:** polya-ps (overall framing), simon (state-space strategies), newell (means-ends analysis) **Concept IDs:** prob-working-backwards, prob-pattern-recognition, prob-simplification, prob-systematic-listing, prob-trial-error-iteration ## The Strategy Catalog at a Glance | # | Strategy | When it applies | Key signal | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Working backwards | Goal is clear, path is obscure | "You need the goal to find the start" | | 2 | Pattern recognition | Problem looks like one you've seen | "This is a ___ problem in disguise" | | 3 | Simplification | Full problem is intractable | Solve for n=2, then generalize | | 4 | Systematic listing | Finite solution space, risk of missing cases | Combinatorics, case analysis | | 5 | Trial and error with tracking | No obvious path
- The Strategy Catalog at a Glance
- Strategy 1 — Working Backwards
- Strategy 2 — Pattern Recognition
- Strategy 3 — Simplification
- Strategy 4 — Systematic Listing
- Strategy 5 — Trial and Error with Tracking
- Strategy 6 — Means-Ends Analysis
- Strategy 7 — Analogical Transfer
- Strategy 8 — Decomposition
- Strategy 9 — Drawing a Diagram
- Strategy 10 — Forward Chaining
- The Strategy Decision Tree
- Combining Strategies
- When Strategy Selection Fails
What does the strategy-selection skill do?
Match problems to the right solving strategy. Covers working backwards, pattern recognition, simplification, systematic listing, trial and error, means-ends analysis, analogical transfer, and decomposition. Use after comprehension is complete to narrow from "general problem" to a concrete approach before committing time and effort.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill strategy-selection --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, a repository with 534 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.