Research Skill

research-skill

Trigger context

• delivery intent is unclear enough that direct changes to spec.md, plan.md, workstreams, or tasks would be speculative
• options, constraints, risks, or external evidence need investigation before planning or execution
• imported or user-provided material needs synthesis into Delano's canonical project artifacts
• a previous planning_with_files style briefing would have been useful, but the work must stay inside the Delano repo

Non-triggers

• obvious implementation tasks with accepted scope
• simple bug fixes or one-file edits
• work that already has an approved spec, plan, and executable ready tasks
• personal Obsidian briefing or vault-based planning

Required inputs

• project_slug
• research_slug
• research_title
• primary_question
• owner
• known_constraints

Output schema

• .project/projects/<slug>/research/<research-slug>/task_plan.md
• .project/projects/<slug>/research/<research-slug>/findings.md
• .project/projects/<slug>/research/<research-slug>/progress.md
• folded-forward updates to spec.md, plan.md, decisions.md, workstreams, tasks, or update notes when conclusions are durable
• explicit no-action closeout when research does not change canonical artifacts

Quality checks

• research question is specific enough to answer
• findings cite inspected files, commands, sources, or artifacts
• progress log records actions, validation, blockers, and closeout
• durable conclusions are folded into canonical Delano project artifacts
• research files do not contain secrets, credentials, private machine paths, or Obsidian vault paths
• research output is not treated as executable task truth until folded forward

Failure behavior

• stop if project slug does not exist
• return a narrower research question when the current question is too broad
• document evidence gaps before recommending artifact changes
• leave canonical project files unchanged when findings are weak or unresolved

Allowed side effects

• create a research intake folder under .project/projects/<slug>/research/<research-slug>/
• update task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md during investigation
• update canonical Delano artifacts only after evidence supports the change
• run Delano validation after creating or folding forward research

Script hooks

• bash .agents/scripts/pm/research.sh <project-slug> <research-slug> --title "<Research Title>" --question "<Primary Question>" --owner <owner> --json
• bash .agents/scripts/pm/validate.sh
• bash .agents/scripts/pm/status.sh

Lineage

This skill adapts Bart's planning_with_files pattern to Delano. Keep the useful three-file working state and closeout discipline, but do not use Obsidian, BartsVault, or external briefing folders. Delano research belongs inside the project repository.

Execution assets

• references/runbook.md
• templates/research-summary.md
• templates/fold-forward-checklist.md