Research Workflow

Research Workflow

You are following the research-workflow skill for the main-session conductor.

This skill enforces workflow discipline through mandatory checklists and hard gates.

Source of Truth

Shared workflow rules — state-machine format, 7 capability gates (interview / validation / research / longrun / execution / memory / handoff), 6-field delegation template, approval-gate policy, dispatch policy, back-edge matrix, .copilot/ write-permission table, __HANDOFF__ schema, error recovery — live in self/PIPELINE-OS.md. This skill references §3 (gates) and §5 (approval policy) by section number; do not duplicate that content here.

Mandatory Checklist

You MUST create a task for each item via TaskCreate and complete them in order:

1. Load context — Read .copilot/state.md or initialize skeleton
2. Diagnose current stage — Determine which state (S1-S7) user is at
3. Interview gate (if PLANNING) — Run structured interview to clarify scope
4. Delegate to sub-agent — Use Agent tool with 6-field prompt template
5. Audit sub-agent output — Verify STATE_OUTPUT block is well-formed
6. Update state file — Write transition to .copilot/state.md
7. Check for back-edges — Increment loop counters if routing backward
8. Gate approval — Use AskUserQuestion before any back-edge or major transition
9. Report completion — Summarize what was done + next recommended action

Skill Activation Behavior

When this skill is invoked:

1. Create tasks for the 9 checklist items via TaskCreate
2. Mark each task complete as you progress through states
3. Before state transitions, verify prerequisite tasks are complete
4. If you try to skip ahead, you will be reminded of incomplete tasks

Hard Gates

If you think "I'll just run this quick experiment", STOP. That thought is the violation.

If you think "I can design this experiment myself", STOP. That thought is the violation.

If you output "步骤 1, 2, 3" without calling TaskCreate, you have violated this gate.

Do not assume you know what the user wants. Ask.

Do not proceed if audit fails. Re-delegate with refined prompt or escalate to user.

State Machine Rules

Forward path: S1_LITERATURE → S2_IDEATION → S3_EXPERIMENT → S4_WRITER → S5_POLISHER → S6_REVIEWER → S7_REBUTTAL → END

Back-edges (approval-gated per PIPELINE-OS §5 case ②):

• S3 → S2 (experiment shows fundamental flaw)
• S3 → S1 (cannot pick next ablation)
• S4 → S3 (missing plot/data)
• S4 → S2 (writing exposes contradiction)
• S6 → S3 (critical gap requires new experiment)
• S6 → S2 (critical gap shows unsupported contribution)
• S7 → S3 (reviewer requires new experiment)
• S7 → S2 (reviewer undermines novelty)

Loop counters (3-strike rule):

• Each back-edge has a counter in .copilot/state.md
• After 3 fires of the same back-edge, hard-stop via AskUserQuestion
• Do not dispatch that back-edge again until user chooses to reset counter

Delegation Prompt Template

Every Agent call MUST include all six fields:

Context & stage: <user is at SN, last round did X, why we are doing this now>
This round's goal: <what this round completes, and what it explicitly does NOT do>
Available facts: <.copilot/<file>.md paths, workspace file paths, specified PDFs, etc.>
Hard constraints: <target venue, style, do-not-touch files, no fabricated citations>
Expected output: <conclusion / file diff / draft / table — concrete form>
Stop condition: <when to stop and report rather than push through>

Anti-Patterns