dills122 Research To Decision
Answer one decision question with retained evidence. Keep research, inference, and the final decision distinct.
Frame The Packet
State before searching or experimenting:
- question and decision owner;
- why the answer matters now;
- authorized scope and prohibited actions;
- preferred source hierarchy;
- comparison or success criteria;
- stop condition and expected repository artifact.
Do not broaden a research task into implementation authority.
Gather Evidence
Prefer primary and current sources. For repository experiments, record the exact commit, environment, inputs, commands, and artifact paths. Separate each conclusion into:
- Documented fact: directly supported by a cited source;
- Observation: reproduced in the named environment;
- Inference: reasoned from facts or observations;
- Unknown: material uncertainty that remains.
Avoid long source dumps. Retain the smallest excerpt or result needed to make the conclusion auditable.
Compare Against The Decision Criteria
Evaluate credible options consistently. Record constraints, trade-offs, failure modes, reversibility, and what evidence would change the recommendation. A failed candidate is not proof that every alternative works.
Retain The Result
Write the result into the repository's existing research, feasibility, or decision location. Include:
- scoped status;
- executive conclusion;
- method and source index;
- evidence with fact/observation/inference labels;
- option comparison;
- confidence, limitations, and unresolved questions;
- recommendation and required decision owner;
- implementation consequences and next gate.
If the conclusion changes architecture, security posture, public behavior, or an expensive-to-reverse choice, create or update the governing ADR or spec after approval. Chat history alone is not retained evidence.