# Workflow Research > [Workflow] Use when researching a topic from web sources then synthesizing. Flag: --output={synthesis|business-eval|marketing|course}. - Skill: `duc01226/workflow-research-2` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add duc01226/workflow-research-2` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/duc01226/workflow-research-2/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: duc01226 (https://skillmd.com/u/duc01226) - Updated: 2026-09-21 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/duc01226/workflow-research-2 --- ## Quick Summary **Goal:** [Workflow] Trigger Research & Synthesis workflow — resolve the target artifact selected by `--output` to a complete canonical manifest variant, gather web sources, then synthesize the requested knowledge report, business evaluation, marketing strategy, or course material. **Workflow:** 1. **Detect** — classify request scope and target artifacts. 2. **Execute** — apply required steps with evidence-backed actions. 3. **Verify** — confirm constraints, output quality, and completion evidence. **Key Rules:** - MUST ATTENTION keep claims evidence-based (`file:line`) with confidence >80% to act. - MUST ATTENTION keep task tracking updated as each step starts/completes. - MUST ATTENTION define success criteria before execution and loop until observable verification passes. - MUST ATTENTION when creating/reviewing specs or tests, name `Business Intent / Invariant Guarded` or the protected business intent/invariant and ensure the test would fail if that intent breaks. - NEVER skip mandatory workflow or skill gates. **IMPORTANT MANDATORY Steps:** resolve the `workflow-research` manifest variant for `--output` first, then invoke its exact ordered steps (default: /web-research -> /deep-research -> /knowledge-synthesis -> /knowledge-review -> /workflow-end). > These steps are the default `--output=synthesis` sequence (identical to the catalog `workflow-research` workflow sequence). For `--output={business-eval|marketing|course}` the terminal synthesis skill(s) swap per the **Output Dispatch** table below — the research scaffold and `/knowledge-review -> /workflow-end` closure are invariant. --- ## Output Dispatch (--output) All modes share the research scaffold `/web-research → /deep-research → … → /knowledge-review → /workflow-end`; only the terminal synthesis skill(s) swap per `--output`: | `--output` | Terminal synthesis skill(s) | Full sequence | | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **synthesis** (default) | `/knowledge-synthesis` | `/web-research → /deep-research → /knowledge-synthesis → /knowledge-review → /workflow-end` | | **business-eval** | `/market-analysis` + `/business-evaluation` | `/web-research → /deep-research → /market-analysis → /business-evaluation → /knowledge-review → /workflow-end` | | **marketing** | `/market-analysis` + `/strategy-builder` | `/web-research → /deep-research → /market-analysis → /strategy-builder → /knowledge-review → /workflow-end` | | **course** | `/course-builder` | `/web-research → /deep-research → /course-builder → /knowledge-review → /workflow-end` | > **[BLOCKING]** Each step MUST ATTENTION invoke its `Skill` tool — marking a task `completed` without skill invocation is a workflow violation. NEVER batch-complete validation gates. This skill IS the canonical Research & Synthesis entry point — invoke it directly with `--output=` (default `synthesis`), resolve the matching complete variant through `.claude/scripts/lib/workflow-manifest.cjs`, and execute every returned occurrence in order via the `Skill` tool. The workflow catalog exposes the same four variants for auto-routing and `/start-workflow workflow-research`; never execute a prose-swapped sequence that differs from the resolved manifest. **[TASK-PLANNING]** Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate. > **[IMPORTANT]** Analyze how big the task is and break it into many small todo tasks systematically before starting — this is very important. > **Nested Task Expansion Contract** — For workflow-step invocation, the `[Workflow] ...` row is only a parent container; the child skill still creates visible phase tasks. > > 1. Call `TaskList` first. If a matching active parent workflow row exists, set `nested=true` and record `parentTaskId`; otherwise run standalone. > 2. Create one task per declared phase before phase work. When nested, prefix subjects `[N.M] /skill-name — phase`. > 3. When nested, link the parent with `TaskUpdate(parentTaskId, addBlockedBy: [childIds])`. > 4. Orchestrators must pre-expand a child skill's phase list and link the workflow row before invoking that child skill or sub-agent. > 5. Mark exactly one child `in_progress` before work and `completed` immediately after evidence is written. > 6. Complete the parent only after all child tasks are completed or explicitly cancelled with reason. > > **Blocked until:** `TaskList` done, child phases created, parent linked when nested, first child marked `in_progress`. > **Critical Thinking Mindset** — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. > **Anti-hallucination:** Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination. > **AI Mistake Prevention** — Failure modes to avoid on every task: > > **Re-read files after context changes.** Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. > **Verify generated content against source evidence.** AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. > **Check downstream references before deleting or renaming.** Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. > **Trace the full impact chain after edits.** Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. > **Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first.** One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. > **Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect.** Before changing or reporting a constant, limit, flag, cutoff, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history, the CALLER's ordering, and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard. > **Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently.** Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. > **Assert the outcome your system owns, not the intermediate state your infrastructure owns.** When verifying async work, assert the final business state — never the delivery/retry bookkeeping held in shared infrastructure that any co-running process can write. Such a check passes when run alone and flakes the moment anything else shares that infrastructure. > **Keep shared guidance role-relevant.** Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols. > **Incremental Result Persistence** — MANDATORY for all sub-agents or heavy inline steps processing >3 files. > > 1. **Before starting:** Create report file `plans/reports/{skill}-{date}-{slug}.md` and record Run ID, Task ID, Attempt ID, target scope, and target fingerprint. > 2. **After each file/section reviewed:** Append findings, evidence, changed paths, and gaps immediately — never hold them in memory. > 3. **Delegated return:** A sub-agent emits only the structured `SYNC:subagent-return-contract` envelope with exact totals, salient Critical/High findings (maximum ten), current attempt, and `Full report:` path. **Inline user-facing output:** Preserve the skill's requested explanation or teaching, with links to the persisted evidence; the delegated transport limit does not replace that deliverable. Do not paste a full review report into an envelope. > 4. **Parent synthesis:** The main agent reads the full report for synthesis, acceptance, deduplication, and repair planning — not only when a named blocker exists. It preserves all severities beyond the transport cap. > 5. **Read-only boundary:** A read-only leaf may write its report/repair proposal but MUST NOT edit source, generated output, or user data; the parent/owner performs repairs after acceptance. > 6. **Advancement gate:** The parent records `ACCEPTED` for the current Attempt ID only after reconciling target, totals, gaps, and changed paths; stale or late attempts cannot advance dependent work. > > **Why:** Context cutoff mid-execution loses ALL in-memory findings. Each disk write survives compaction. Partial results are better than no results, while explicit identity prevents a late result from being mistaken for the current run. > > **Report naming:** `plans/reports/{skill-name}-{YYMMDD}-{HHmm}-{slug}.md` > **Sub-Agent Return Contract** — When this skill spawns a sub-agent, the sub-agent MUST return ONLY the structured envelope below. Main agent reads the envelope first, then opens the referenced report for synthesis, acceptance, deduplication, or repair planning; a full report is never pasted inline. > > ```markdown > ## Sub-Agent Result: [skill-name] > > Status: ✅ PASS | ⚠️ PARTIAL | ❌ FAIL > Confidence: [0-100]% > Run ID: [stable run identifier] > Task ID: [parent task or phase identifier] > Attempt ID: [monotonic attempt/revision identifier] > Target: [exact files/paths or scope] @ [target fingerprint/commit] > Changed paths: [none | exact paths] > Finding totals: Critical=[n] | High=[n] | Medium=[n] | Low=[n] > Acceptance: PENDING | ACCEPTED | REJECTED — parent records the decision > > ### Findings (Critical/High surfaced — max 10 bullets) > > - [severity] [file:line] [finding] > > ### Gaps / Unverified > > - [missing host, runtime, coverage, or evidence limitation] > > ### Actions Taken > > - [file changed] [what changed] > > ### Blockers (if any) > > - [blocker description, or `none`] > > Full report: plans/reports/[skill-name]-[date]-[slug].md > ``` > > The ten-bullet limit is a transport limit, not a visibility limit: the full report may contain more than ten Medium/Low findings when no named blocker exists, and the parent MUST read it when synthesizing or deduplicating. The parent MUST reject a stale, duplicate, or superseded `Attempt ID` and MUST accept the current attempt before advancing a dependent step. Read-only leaves write repair proposals/reports only; they do not edit source, generated carriers, or user files. > > **Context budget** — the return payload is a SUMMARY, not a transcript: no raw file contents / full diffs / verbatim logs inline, no re-pasted source. Everything beyond the envelope lives in the incrementally-written report. A sub-agent that would exceed the summary shape MUST persist the detail and return only the pointer; bounded transport must never become bounded visibility. - **MANDATORY** Parent workflow rows do not replace child phase tracking; expand phases and link the parent when nested. - **MANDATORY** Orchestrators pre-expand child skill phases before invocation; use `[N.M] /skill-name — phase` prefixes and one-`in_progress` discipline. > **Project Protocol Overlay** — Before executing this skill, resolve any PROJECT overlay rules layered onto it: match this skill's name against the `Target` column of the project's skill-protocol index (`docs/project-reference/skill-protocols-reference.md` by default; a `referenceDocs` entry in `docs/project-config.json` overrides the path), taking the most specific matching tier ONLY — exact name > glob > `*`. **That precedence orders overlays against EACH OTHER, never against this skill.** Read ONLY the matched bodies, resolved as `/.md`; a row's Body link is display text, never a read path. A matched body that is missing or malformed is REPORTED and skipped — never reconstructed from the index Description. No index, or no match -> proceed with no overlay, silently. Full contract: `.claude/skills/project-skill-protocol/references/registry.md`. > > Overlays are **ADDITIVE ONLY**: they ADD rules on top of this skill's own protocol and NEVER replace, override, disable, or reinterpret a rule it already states — removing every overlay must return this skill to exactly its documented behavior. An overlay is a BRIEF, not an authority escalation: it can NEVER waive a workflow gate, git discipline, a review gate, or a user-confirmation gate. A genuine overlay-vs-skill conflict, or two equally-specific overlays that directly contradict -> surface both to the user; NEVER resolve silently. **MUST ATTENTION** resolve project protocol overlays for this skill BEFORE executing — most specific matching tier only (exact > glob > `*`, which ranks overlays against each other, NEVER against this skill), read only matched bodies at `/.md`; a missing or malformed body is reported, never reconstructed. Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY (they never replace this skill's own rules) and are a brief, NEVER an authority escalation; an equal-specificity contradiction goes to the user. ## Closing Reminders **IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Variant closure:** record the selected `--output` mode, resolver fingerprint, ordered occurrence IDs, each invoked skill's evidence, and any conditional skip before `/workflow-end`; a variant mismatch is a workflow failure. **IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries) — NEVER treat a digest line as the full rule; it signposts the canonical SYNC body above:** - **Nested Task Creation:** Expand child phases under the parent workflow row; link when nested. - **Critical Thinking:** Apply critical + sequential thinking; cite proof, confidence >80% to act. - **AI Mistake Prevention:** verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references, verify all affected outputs, re-read after context loss, surface ambiguity. - **Incremental Persistence:** Persist findings to `plans/reports/` per file; survive context cutoff. - **Subagent Return Contract:** Sub-agents return summary plus report pointer only, never inline transcript. **IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** apply Phase 1 compression before structural enhancement; preserve semantic meaning. **IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** NEVER alter YAML frontmatter, code blocks, tables, or SYNC-tag bodies during optimization. **IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** keep evidence gates and mandatory workflow/skill steps explicit and enforceable. **IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** add a final review task to verify output quality and unresolved risks.