eg-exploratory-goals

name	eg - Exploratory Goals
description	Handle goals where the objective is exploration and discovery rather than reaching a known destination.
output	{"format":"prose"}

Exploratory Goals

Input: $ARGUMENTS

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Overview

Most goal procedures assume you know what success looks like. Exploratory goals are different: success IS the discovery. You don't know what you're looking for until you find it. Requires breadth before depth, surprise as signal, and flexible termination.

Steps

Step 1: Define the Exploration Space

1. What domain/space are you exploring?
2. Boundaries? (in scope vs out)
3. Why explore? What motivated this?
4. What would a valuable discovery look like? (even vaguely)
5. What would make the exploration a waste?

Step 2: Choose Exploration Strategy

Knowledge Level	Strategy	Approach
Know nothing	Random sampling	Wide, shallow passes
Know the dimensions	Systematic sweep	Cover each dimension
Know some regions	Expand from known	Explore adjacent areas
Have a hunch	Directed search	Follow hunch, verify no tunnel vision

Allocate 70% exploration, 30% exploitation of findings. Set checkpoints to reassess.

Step 3: Set Discovery Criteria

1. What counts as a "finding"? Minimum threshold: surprising, useful, or connective
2. What counts as "significant"?
3. Recording format (log, tags)

Step 4: Execute Exploration Passes

Per pass:

1. Define scope (which region)
2. Execute using chosen strategy
3. Record: what found, what surprised, what questions raised, what connects
4. Rate: noise / minor / interesting / significant
5. After each pass: continue here or move to new region?

Step 5: Synthesize

1. Cluster findings by theme
2. Identify patterns across findings
3. What's the emerging picture?
4. What are biggest surprises?
5. What new questions emerged?

Step 6: Decide Next Direction

• Go deeper: One finding warrants deep investigation → targeted goal
• Go wider: More to discover → another pass
• Stop: Diminishing returns → document and close
• Pivot: Exploration revealed the REAL question → redefine

EXPLORATION REPORT:
Space: [description]
Strategy: [strategy]
Passes: [N]
Findings: [N total, N significant]

Key discoveries:
1. [discovery] — [significance]
2. [discovery] — [significance]

Patterns: [what findings suggest together]
Open questions: [still unknown]
Recommendation: [deeper / wider / stop / pivot]

When to Use

• Research without a hypothesis
• Entering a new domain
• Creative brainstorming
• When you don't know what you don't know

Verification

• Space defined with boundaries
• Strategy chosen and justified
• Discovery criteria set before exploring
• Findings recorded systematically
• Synthesis performed
• Next direction decided