peterbamuhigire Analytical Report Shapes
Use When
- Use when the user asks for a report, memo, brief, paper, deck, one-pager, intelligence product, status update, evaluation, or recommendation and the exact shape matters.
- Use before drafting or briefing sub-agents so structure, evidence density, confidence language, and audience action are locked.
- Use alongside
research-output-formats; this skill focuses on decision-grade analytical shapes.
Do Not Use When
- The user provides a binding template, regulator form, journal template, or house style.
- The output is a raw research note that is not meant for a reader decision.
Shape Selection Intake
- Audience, decision context, time sensitivity, evidence maturity, confidentiality, and expected action.
- Output family, length, citation expectations, and whether the piece is descriptive, estimative, evaluative, or advisory.
Legacy Shape Method
- Identify the reader's action: know, decide, approve, fund, investigate, monitor, challenge, or communicate.
- Classify the analytic mode: descriptive, explanatory, estimative, warning, evaluative, advisory, or status.
- Select the shape from
references/shape-catalogue.md. - Load the matching template from
references/templates.md. - Route to companion skills for evidence, reasoning, uncertainty, decision, executive writing, and rendering.
- Run the shape-specific ship gate before final drafting.
Quality Standards
- The first screen or page tells the reader why the artifact exists.
- The shape matches the decision lifespan: current brief, durable report, warning note, or reusable knowledge asset.
- Evidence density matches audience and stakes.
- Confidence language survives editing.
- Headings form a skim path that communicates the argument.
Legacy Shape Pitfalls
- Treating "report" as a single genre.
- Using an academic essay shape for an executive decision.
- Using a consulting deck shape for an evidentiary investigation that needs audit trail.
- Hiding uncertainty in footnotes.
- Drafting before choosing the reader action.
Legacy Shape Deliverables
- Shape selection note.
- Artifact outline.
- Shape-specific quality gate.
- Sub-agent deliverable instructions.
Evidence Produced
| Category | Artifact | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| UX quality | Shape selection note | Markdown table | Audience, action, shape, reason |
| Release evidence | Shape ship gate | Checklist | Evidence, uncertainty, skim path, next action |
References
- Load
references/shape-catalogue.mdto select the artifact. - Load
references/templates.mdto draft the artifact skeleton.
Companion Skills
Inputs
| Input | Source/provider | If absent |
|---|---|---|
| Audience, decision, urgency, evidence maturity | Brief and evidence register | Stop shape selection until audience and decision are known |
| Delivery constraints | Requester or publishing channel | Return a content architecture without claiming format readiness |
Capability Contract
Shape selection and review are read-only. Creating, rendering, publishing, or replacing deliverables requires explicit authority.
Degraded Mode
Without rendering or channel access, provide a qualified outline and state that visual and production checks are not assessed.
Decision Rules
| Choice | Action | Failure/risk avoided |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent warning | Use warning note | Buried signal |
| Options require commitment | Use decision memo | Descriptive non-decision |
| Evidence remains exploratory | Use research report | Overstated recommendation |
Legacy Shape Scenario
A time-sensitive indicator with an explicit trigger routes to a warning note, not a broad research report.
Companion Skills
research-output-formatscovers broad academic, advocacy, commercial, and professional families.executive-communicationsupplies Minto, SCQA, and action-title structure.analytic-tradecraftsupplies intelligence judgment discipline.decision-support-analysissupplies options and recommendation logic.
Workflow
- Identify the audience, decision, urgency, evidence maturity, and delivery constraint.
- Select the smallest report shape that can carry the decision and required evidence.
- Stop when the audience or decision is unknown, or the shape implies unsupported certainty.
- Recover by selecting a less committal shape or returning a qualified architecture with format checks unassessed.
- Validate section order, decision visibility, evidence placement, and channel fit.
Outputs
| Artefact | Consumer | Acceptance condition |
|---|---|---|
| Selected report shape and content architecture | Analyst, writer, and decision-maker | The form exposes the decision, evidence maturity, urgency, and required action without surplus sections |
Anti-Patterns
- Choosing a format by habit. Fix: route from audience and decision.
- Using a broad report for an urgent warning. Fix: use a warning note.
- Forcing a recommendation from exploratory evidence. Fix: use a research report.
- Copying every template section. Fix: retain only decision-bearing sections.
- Claiming visual readiness without rendering. Fix: mark production checks unassessed.
Worked Example
A time-sensitive indicator with a named trigger routes to a warning note, while an exploratory evidence review remains a research report.