Reasoning Workflow

Reasoning Workflow

How to use the reasoning agent and skills for structured thinking, problem solving, creative ideation, and learning.

Overview

The reasoning system provides structured cognitive capabilities through 4 composable skills coordinated by 1 agent.

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         REASONING                              |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|  AGENT                                                         |
|  +---------------------+                                       |
|  | rsn-problem-solver  |  Coordinates perceive --> think loop  |
|  +---------------------+                                       |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|  SKILLS                                                        |
|  +------------------+  +------------------+                    |
|  | rsn-perceiving-  |  | rsn-reasoning-   |                    |
|  | information      |  | problems         |                    |
|  | 6 modes          |  | 6 modes          |                    |
|  +------------------+  +------------------+                    |
|  +------------------+  +------------------+                    |
|  | rsn-learning-    |  | rsn-creating-    |                    |
|  | outcomes         |  | ideas            |                    |
|  | 5 modes          |  | 10+ techniques   |                    |
|  +------------------+  +------------------+                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Cognitive Cycle

ENVIRONMENT
    |
    v
rsn-perceiving-information  (What's happening?)
    |
    v
rsn-reasoning-problems      (What does it mean?)
    |
    +-----------+-----------+
    |                       |
    v                       v
rsn-creating-ideas      ACTION
(What could we do?)     (Execute)
                            |
                            v
                    rsn-learning-outcomes
                    (What did we learn?)

Skill Selection

Decision Tree

What is the primary task?

+-- GATHER INFORMATION
|   +-- Don't know what to look for? --> perceiving.scanning
|   +-- Need deep understanding? --> perceiving.focusing
|   +-- Too much information? --> perceiving.filtering
|   +-- Need to verify a claim? --> perceiving.triangulating
|   +-- Need ongoing awareness? --> perceiving.monitoring
|   +-- Multiple signals to combine? --> perceiving.synthesizing
|
+-- REASON THROUGH SOMETHING
|   +-- Have goal to achieve? --> reasoning.causal
|   +-- Need to explain observation? --> reasoning.abductive
|   +-- Have instances, need rule? --> reasoning.inductive
|   +-- Novel situation, recall similar? --> reasoning.analogical
|   +-- Conflicting options/tensions? --> reasoning.dialectical
|   +-- Evaluating "what if"? --> reasoning.counterfactual
|
+-- GENERATE IDEAS
|   +-- Need breakthrough? --> creating-ideas (First Principles)
|   +-- Rapid ideation? --> creating-ideas (SCAMPER)
|   +-- Stuck in pattern? --> creating-ideas (Lateral Thinking)
|   +-- Evaluate idea quality? --> creating-ideas (AUDIT mode)
|
+-- LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE
|   +-- Action failed, need quick fix? --> learning.single-loop
|   +-- Pattern of failures? --> learning.double-loop
|   +-- Experience complete? --> learning.reflection
|   +-- Belief needs testing? --> learning.experimentation
|   +-- Predictions miscalibrated? --> learning.calibration
|
+-- SOLVE A PROBLEM (multi-step)
    +--> rsn-problem-solver agent (coordinates perceive --> think loop)

Trigger Phrases

Composition Patterns

Skills compose into pipelines. The output of one skill becomes input to the next.

Perceive then Think

Most common pattern for analysis tasks.

perceiving.X --> reasoning.Y --> output

Example: scanning --> focusing --> triangulating --> synthesizing --> dialectical --> decision

Think then Act then Learn

For tasks where inputs are already known.

reasoning.X --> action --> learning.Y

Example: abductive --> fix --> single-loop

Create then Think

For tasks needing novel solutions.

creating-ideas --> reasoning.dialectical --> reasoning.causal

Example: ideate --> evaluate trade-offs --> plan execution

Full Cycle

For complete operational workflows.

perceiving --> reasoning --> acting --> learning --> (back to perceiving)

Workflow Patterns

Research to Decision

perceiving.scanning --> perceiving.focusing --> perceiving.triangulating
    --> perceiving.synthesizing --> reasoning.dialectical --> decision

Use when: Strategic question requires investigation before deciding.

Incident Response

perceiving.monitoring (trigger) --> reasoning.abductive (diagnose)
    --> learning.single-loop (fix) --> [if pattern] learning.double-loop

Use when: Something is broken and needs fixing.

Hypothesis Validation

reasoning.abductive (hypothesis) --> validation criteria
    --> learning.experimentation --> learning.calibration --> decision

Use when: Belief needs validation before commitment.

Retrospective

gather data --> learning.reflection --> learning.single-loop
    --> [if pattern] learning.double-loop --> recommendations

Use when: Learning from completed project or incident.

Thread Integration

Reasoning skills map to the causal flow thread structure:

Reference Card

rsn-perceiving-information Modes

rsn-reasoning-problems Modes

rsn-learning-outcomes Modes

rsn-creating-ideas Techniques