S4h Resource

Resource

Applies resource reasoning to allocation, constraints, leverage, and waste. Diagnoses what kind of resource work is needed and applies the right tool.

Which tool fits

Routing Decision

• Have limited resources and competing priorities — need to allocate → allocation-analysis
• Things are moving slowly — need to find the actual constraint → bottleneck-analysis
• Want to maximize impact with what you have → leverage-mapping
• Sense that effort isn't producing commensurate output → waste-audit
• Unclear → bottleneck-analysis; finding the constraint usually determines how to allocate and where the leverage is

Framing check: Confirm the specific resource situation before routing. State what you've identified — the system or context under analysis and the core resource tension (scarcity, blockage, inefficiency, or leverage) — in one sentence, then use AskUserQuestion:

• Question: "I'm reading this as: [your one-sentence framing of the resource situation and what kind of problem it is]. Is that right?"
• Header: "Framing"
• Options:
  • Yes — proceed — framing is correct
  • Adjust — one element is off; user will correct it before you continue
  • Reframe — different situation than read; incorporate the correction before proceeding

Confirm Direction

After diagnosing which tool fits, use the AskUserQuestion tool to confirm direction. Construct the question dynamically to include your diagnosis:

• Question: "My read: [diagnosed tool] — [one sentence on why it fits]. How would you like to proceed?"
• Header: "Direction"
• Options:
  • Yes, run that tool — Execute the diagnosed skill immediately using the context already provided
  • Show all options — List every skill in this category with one-line descriptions
  • Quick version — Run a lighter-weight alternative if one exists for this situation
  • Re-diagnose — Revisit the situation description for a different read

Proceed based on their selection.

Allocation Analysis

Distributes limited resources across competing needs.

Make the trade-offs explicit rather than implicit. Map all competing claims on the resource. For each: what is the expected return on investment? What is the cost of under-resourcing? Are any allocations producing diminishing returns? Are any starved below a minimum threshold for effectiveness? Allocation decisions made without explicit trade-off analysis tend to satisfy the loudest voice rather than the best use.

Output: Allocation map with expected returns, identified diminishing returns, minimum thresholds, and the recommended distribution with explicit trade-off reasoning.

Bottleneck Analysis

Identifies what is actually constraining throughput.

Apply Theory of Constraints logic: the system can only move as fast as its slowest point. Adding resources anywhere except the bottleneck doesn't improve throughput. Identify the current bottleneck: where does work queue up, where does it wait, where is output consistently below demand? Verify it's the actual bottleneck and not a symptom. Once identified: what would it take to elevate it?

Output: Bottleneck identified with evidence, verification that it's the system constraint (not a symptom), and the options to elevate it with effort estimates.

Leverage Mapping

Finds the highest-leverage use of available resources.

Leverage is where the same input produces the most output. Not all investments are equal — some create multiplying effects (better systems, better people, better tools) while others are purely linear. For each candidate use of resources: is the return linear (1 unit in → 1 unit out) or multiplying (1 unit in → many units out over time)? Prioritize multiplying investments, especially those that unblock other work.

Output: Candidate uses of resources mapped by leverage type (linear vs. multiplying), with the highest-leverage options ranked and reasoning for each.

Waste Audit

Finds where resources are being lost, duplicated, or underused.

Apply the seven wastes to knowledge work: (1) Overproduction — work done before it's needed, (2) Waiting — time spent blocked or idle, (3) Transport — handoffs that add no value, (4) Over-processing — more work than the task requires, (5) Inventory — work in progress that isn't being acted on, (6) Motion — effort that doesn't produce output, (7) Defects — rework from problems earlier in the process. Find the biggest waste category and its source.

Output: Waste audit across all seven categories, the biggest waste sources, and the highest-impact reductions.