yogsoth-ai Decomposition Formulation
Decompose a complex research question into independently answerable sub-questions — when a single experiment cannot answer the whole question.
When to Use
- High problem complexity, involving multiple independent dimensions
- A single experiment/study cannot answer it completely
- Research plans that need to proceed in phases
- The question contains multiple causal chains or multiple variable groups
Thinking Framework
Core logic: a complex problem = a combination of several simpler problems. Find the right decomposition such that each sub-question can be answered independently, and the answers to the sub-questions combine to answer the main question.
Decomposition Principles
- MECE: sub-questions are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive
- Independence: each sub-question can have its research design developed independently
- Coverage: the combined answers of all sub-questions = the answer to the main question
- Operationalizability: each sub-question is researchable (not a philosophical question)
Decomposition Dimensions
- By causal chain: antecedent → mechanism → outcome
- By variable: one sub-question per key variable
- By condition: behavior under different boundary conditions
- By level: macro → meso → micro
- By time: short-term → mid-term → long-term effects
Budget Gate
| Tier | Sub-questions | Dependency analysis | Sequence design |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | ≥2 sub-questions | basic dependency identification | suggested order |
| M | ≥3 sub-questions | dependency graph + critical path | optimal sequence + parallelization opportunities |
| L | ≥5 sub-questions | full dependency graph + cycle detection | multi-path plan + resource allocation |
Default Reference Flow
- Analyze the complexity dimensions of the main RQ
- Choose a decomposition strategy (by causality/variable/condition/level/time)
- Generate sub-questions (sub-question-generation SOP)
- Verify MECE and coverage
- Map dependencies (dependency-mapping SOP)
- Design the answering sequence (answering-sequence-design SOP)
- Run a FINER check on each sub-question
context-checkpoint
After the Strategy completes, you must call context-checkpoint and record:
- The main RQ and its complexity analysis
- The chosen decomposition strategy
- The list of sub-questions + independence argument
- The dependency graph
- The suggested answering sequence
Available Tactics
Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.
| Tactic | When to use |
|---|---|
| sub-question-decomposition | Tactic: Decompose a main question into a hierarchy of independently answerable sub-questions |
Available SOPs
Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.
| SOP | When to use |
|---|---|
| finer-criteria-check | SOP: check research-question quality against each of the 5 FINER criteria |