Warm Start Strategy
The user has a general direction — they know the field or area but not the specific problem.
Questioning Protocol
All SOPs in this strategy follow these rules:
- One question at a time — never overwhelm with multiple questions
- Prefer multiple choice when possible — easier to answer
- Always allow "unsure" / "TBD" as legitimate answers
- Always ask WHY — not just "what do you want" but "why do you want it"
- After user answers: confirm understanding before continuing
- If user's answer reveals new information: immediately follow up
- If user declines to answer (privacy): accept, note that downstream work becomes broader/more iterative
Available Tactics
| Tactic |
Purpose |
| actor-profiling |
Understand who the user is |
| landscape-reconnaissance |
Broad, shallow field exploration |
| direction-narrowing |
Focus within chosen field(s) |
| obstacle-analysis |
Identify and mitigate barriers |
| goal-decomposition |
KAOS-style AND/OR goal structuring |
| north-star-synthesis |
Converge into North Star + ResearchBrief |
Default Flow (reference only)
actor-profiling (simplified) → landscape-reconnaissance (simplified or skipped)
→ direction-narrowing → obstacle-analysis → goal-decomposition → north-star-synthesis
This is a reference, not a mandate. How to simplify, how much to simplify, whether to skip entirely — these are your decisions. This strategy suggests simplification as the default posture, but you judge based on what the user's initial message reveals.
Simplification Guidance
- actor-profiling: The user's stated direction already reveals partial context. Focus on resources, constraints, and intentionality rather than exhaustive background exploration.
- landscape-reconnaissance: The user already knows the general field. You may skip broad scanning and go directly to direction-narrowing, or do a targeted scan of the specific sub-area they mentioned.
Iteration Points
- From obstacle-analysis: may return to landscape-reconnaissance, direction-narrowing, or obstacle-analysis itself
- From goal-decomposition: may return to landscape-reconnaissance, direction-narrowing, obstacle-analysis, or goal-decomposition itself
How to Use This Strategy
You are the general. This strategy gives you:
- A default flow as starting reference
- Available tactics with their purposes
- Simplification guidance for the warm-start context
- Iteration points where backtracking makes sense
What you decide:
- Whether to execute a tactic fully or partially
- Whether to skip a tactic entirely
- Whether to invoke individual SOPs directly (bypassing tactic framing)
- When to iterate and where to return to
- When enough information exists to move forward
The only non-negotiable: the process ends with north-star-synthesis producing a North Star + ResearchBrief that the user confirms.
Available Tactics
Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.
| Tactic |
When to use |
| actor-profiling |
Understand who the user is — background, resources, constraints, and deep motivations. Produces an ActorProfile that informs all downstream decisions. Use this tactic at the start of any crystallization process to build a model of the user's capabilities, limitations, and intent. |
| direction-narrowing |
Focus within the user's chosen field(s). Identify specific sub-directions through deep paper and web research, then present ranked candidates. Use after landscape-reconnaissance has identified fields of interest. |
| goal-decomposition |
Structure the user's chosen direction into a formal goal tree using KAOS-style AND/OR decomposition. Validate feasibility against ActorProfile and ObstacleReport. Use after obstacle-analysis confirms the direction is viable. |
| landscape-reconnaissance |
Broad, shallow exploration of candidate research fields. Understand what's out there before narrowing. Use when the user needs to discover which fields are available to them — especially in cold-start and warm-start scenarios. |
| north-star-synthesis |
Converge all accumulated context into a crystallized North Star statement and structured ResearchBrief. Performs self-review before presenting to user. Use as the final tactic in any start mode — this is where everything comes together. |
| obstacle-analysis |
Identify what blocks the user from pursuing their chosen direction, assess severity, propose mitigations with search-validated evidence, and get user acceptance. Use after direction-narrowing has identified a specific direction. |
1---2name: warm-start3description: Simplified crystallization strategy for users who have a general research direction (e.g., "I'm interested in LLM reasoning") but lack specificity. Simplifies actor profiling and landscape reconnaissance, then proceeds through direction narrowing, obstacle analysis, goal decomposition, and north-star synthesis. Use when the user's first message reveals a general area but not a specific problem.4---56# Warm Start Strategy78The user has a general direction — they know the field or area but not the specific problem.910## Questioning Protocol1112All SOPs in this strategy follow these rules:1314- One question at a time — never overwhelm with multiple questions15- Prefer multiple choice when possible — easier to answer16- Always allow "unsure" / "TBD" as legitimate answers17- Always ask WHY — not just "what do you want" but "why do you want it"18- After user answers: confirm understanding before continuing19- If user's answer reveals new information: immediately follow up20- If user declines to answer (privacy): accept, note that downstream work becomes broader/more iterative2122## Available Tactics2324| Tactic | Purpose |25|--------|---------|26| actor-profiling | Understand who the user is |27| landscape-reconnaissance | Broad, shallow field exploration |28| direction-narrowing | Focus within chosen field(s) |29| obstacle-analysis | Identify and mitigate barriers |30| goal-decomposition | KAOS-style AND/OR goal structuring |31| north-star-synthesis | Converge into North Star + ResearchBrief |3233## Default Flow (reference only)3435```36actor-profiling (simplified) → landscape-reconnaissance (simplified or skipped)37→ direction-narrowing → obstacle-analysis → goal-decomposition → north-star-synthesis38```3940This is a reference, not a mandate. How to simplify, how much to simplify, whether to skip entirely — these are your decisions. This strategy suggests simplification as the default posture, but you judge based on what the user's initial message reveals.4142## Simplification Guidance4344- **actor-profiling**: The user's stated direction already reveals partial context. Focus on resources, constraints, and intentionality rather than exhaustive background exploration.45- **landscape-reconnaissance**: The user already knows the general field. You may skip broad scanning and go directly to direction-narrowing, or do a targeted scan of the specific sub-area they mentioned.4647## Iteration Points4849- From obstacle-analysis: may return to landscape-reconnaissance, direction-narrowing, or obstacle-analysis itself50- From goal-decomposition: may return to landscape-reconnaissance, direction-narrowing, obstacle-analysis, or goal-decomposition itself5152## How to Use This Strategy5354You are the general. This strategy gives you:551. A default flow as starting reference562. Available tactics with their purposes573. Simplification guidance for the warm-start context584. Iteration points where backtracking makes sense5960What you decide:61- Whether to execute a tactic fully or partially62- Whether to skip a tactic entirely63- Whether to invoke individual SOPs directly (bypassing tactic framing)64- When to iterate and where to return to65- When enough information exists to move forward6667The only non-negotiable: the process ends with north-star-synthesis producing a North Star + ResearchBrief that the user confirms.6869<!-- BEGIN available-tables (generated) -->7071## Available Tactics7273Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.7475| Tactic | When to use |76| --- | --- |77| actor-profiling | Understand who the user is — background, resources, constraints, and deep motivations. Produces an ActorProfile that informs all downstream decisions. Use this tactic at the start of any crystallization process to build a model of the user's capabilities, limitations, and intent. |78| direction-narrowing | Focus within the user's chosen field(s). Identify specific sub-directions through deep paper and web research, then present ranked candidates. Use after landscape-reconnaissance has identified fields of interest. |79| goal-decomposition | Structure the user's chosen direction into a formal goal tree using KAOS-style AND/OR decomposition. Validate feasibility against ActorProfile and ObstacleReport. Use after obstacle-analysis confirms the direction is viable. |80| landscape-reconnaissance | Broad, shallow exploration of candidate research fields. Understand what's out there before narrowing. Use when the user needs to discover which fields are available to them — especially in cold-start and warm-start scenarios. |81| north-star-synthesis | Converge all accumulated context into a crystallized North Star statement and structured ResearchBrief. Performs self-review before presenting to user. Use as the final tactic in any start mode — this is where everything comes together. |82| obstacle-analysis | Identify what blocks the user from pursuing their chosen direction, assess severity, propose mitigations with search-validated evidence, and get user acceptance. Use after direction-narrowing has identified a specific direction. |8384<!-- END available-tables (generated) -->
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