case-management

name	case-management
description	Manage knowledge work using CMMN (Case Management Model and Notation) primitives including Cases, Stages, Tasks, and Artifacts. Use for discretionary workflows, research projects, consulting engagements, creative work, or any knowledge-intensive work requiring flexible orchestration. Integrates with PM-Agent for AI-driven case lifecycle management.
license	Complete terms in LICENSE.txt

Case Management (CMMN)

Orchestrate knowledge-intensive work using SEA-Forge™'s case-based approach. Cases adapt to reality rather than forcing reality into rigid plans, making them ideal for research, consulting, creative projects, and complex discretionary workflows.

No-Technical-Debt Rule

This skill forbids placeholders of any kind. Do not introduce or suggest:

• TODO/FIXME/XXX/HACK/STUB markers
• Stubs, mocks-as-implementations, or empty handlers
• raise NotImplementedError / throw new Error("not implemented")
• pass or any placeholder logic

If an issue blocks progress, request explicit user feedback with options and a recommendation.

For reference: Case Management Handbook | SDS-012: Case Management Service

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When to Use This Skill

Use case-management when:

1. Discretionary Work: Outcome is clear but path is uncertain (research, design)
2. Knowledge Reification: Raw notes need to become formal specifications or assets
3. Hybrid Teams: Coordinating mix of human experts and AI specialists
4. Complex Workflows: Multiple stages with event-driven transitions
5. Asset Formation: Work products should become reusable organizational capital

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Core Concepts

CMMN Primitives

Primitive	Purpose	Example
Case	Container for knowledge work	"Market Research Q1", "Feature X Design"
Stage	Logical grouping of tasks	"Discovery", "Analysis", "Recommendations"
Task	Unit of work (discretionary or mandatory)	"Interview stakeholders", "Write spec"
Sentry	Event-driven conditional trigger	"When 3 interviews complete, activate analysis"
Milestone	Observable achievement	"Discovery complete", "Spec approved"

Artifact Pipeline (Four Reification Stages)

Cognitive Artifact → Intellectual Artifact → Information Product → Intellectual Capital
(notes, sketches) → (specs, designs)      → (software, reports) → (organizational assets)

Key Principle: Artifacts must progress through stages in order. No "teleportation" – every transition requires provenance via TransitionTokens.

PM-Agent Orchestration

The Project Manager Agent (PM-Agent) serves as conductor for hybrid human-AI teams:

• Activates discretionary tasks when sentries fire
• Assigns tasks to appropriate specialists (human or AI)
• Tracks artifact pipeline progression
• Enforces governance (Sovereign Gates for high-impact decisions)

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Workflow: Creating a Case

Step 1: Define Desired Outcome

Every case starts with a clear goal:

Example:

case:
  id: "case-2026-001"
  title: "Optimize Skills Architecture"
  desiredOutcome: "All skills whitelabeled, cognitive-artifacts-builder created, handbooks aligned"
  context: "Current skills reference Claude; need SEA-Forge branding and CADSL integration"
  stakeholders:
    - name: "Architecture Team"
      role: "Owner"
    - name: "Documentation Team"
      role: "Contributor"

Step 2: Define Stages

Break case into logical phases:

Stage Types:

• Discretionary: Can be skipped if not needed
• Mandatory: Must be completed
• Repeatable: Can occur multiple times

Example:

stages:
  - id: "analysis"
    name: "Current State Analysis"
    type: "mandatory"
    entryCriteria:
      - "Case activated"
    exitCriteria:
      - "All skills inventoried"
      - "Brand references identified"

  - id: "whitelabeling"
    name: "Whitelabeling"
    type: "mandatory"
    entryCriteria:
      - "Analysis complete"
    exitCriteria:
      - "5 skills whitelabeled"

  - id: "transformation"
    name: "Transformation"
    type: "mandatory"
    entryCriteria:
      - "Whitelabeling complete"
    exitCriteria:
      - "cognitive-artifacts-builder created"
      - "CADSL examples included"

Step 3: Define Tasks

Tasks are the atomic units of work:

Task Types:

• Human Task: Requires human judgment
• Process Task: Can be automated
• Case Task: Nested sub-case

Example:

tasks:
  - id: "task-001"
    name: "Inventory all skills"
    type: "process"
    stage: "analysis"
    assignedTo: "agent-specialist-analysis"
    isDiscretionary: false

  - id: "task-002"
    name: "Identify Claude references"
    type: "process"
    stage: "analysis"
    assignedTo: "agent-specialist-analysis"
    isDiscretionary: false
    activationSentry:
      conditions:
        - "task-001 completed"

  - id: "task-003"
    name: "Whitelabel web-artifacts-builder"
    type: "process"
    stage: "whitelabeling"
    assignedTo: "agent-specialist-refactor"
    isDiscretionary: false
    activationSentry:
      conditions:
        - "analysis stage complete"

Step 4: Configure PM-Agent

PM-Agent manages case lifecycle:

Configuration:

pmAgent:
  caseId: "case-2026-001"
  capabilities:
    - taskActivation: true
    - artifactTracking: true
    - sovereignGateEnforcement: true

  rules:
    # Activate discretionary tasks when conditions met
    - trigger: "sentry-fired"
      action: "activate-task"

    # Track artifact pipeline transitions
    - trigger: "artifact-created"
      action: "record-transition-token"

    # Require human approval for capital formation
    - trigger: "capitalization-flow"
      action: "request-sovereign-signature"

Step 5: Track Artifacts

As work progresses, artifacts move through pipeline:

Artifact Tracking:

artifacts:
  - id: "artifact-001"
    name: "Skills Analysis Report"
    stage: "IntellectualArtifact"  # Formal spec
    case: "case-2026-001"
    createdBy: "agent-specialist-analysis"
    provenance:
      - transition: "CognitiveArtifact → IntellectualArtifact"
        transitionToken: "token-001"
        timestamp: "2026-01-06T10:00:00Z"

  - id: "artifact-002"
    name: "cognitive-artifacts-builder Skill"
    stage: "InformationProduct"  # Executable work product
    case: "case-2026-001"
    createdBy: "agent-specialist-refactor"
    provenance:
      - transition: "IntellectualArtifact → InformationProduct"
        transitionToken: "token-002"
        timestamp: "2026-01-06T12:00:00Z"

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Common Case Patterns

Research Case

Stages: Literature Review → Hypothesis Formation → Experiments → Analysis → Publication

Key Sentries:

• Activate experiments when 10+ papers reviewed
• Activate analysis when 3+ experiments complete
• Activate publication when findings validated

Artifacts:

• Literature notes (Cognitive) → Research design (Intellectual) → Paper draft (Product) → Published paper (Capital)

Development Case (Spec-First)

Stages: Ideation → Specification → Implementation → Testing → Deployment

Key Sentries:

• Activate implementation when ADR + PRD + SDS approved
• Activate testing when code generation complete
• Activate deployment when all tests pass

Artifacts:

• Design notes (Cognitive) → ADR/PRD/SDS (Intellectual) → Generated code (Product) → Released feature (Capital)

Consulting Case

Stages: Discovery → Analysis → Recommendations → Presentation → Handoff

Key Sentries:

• Activate analysis when 5+ stakeholder interviews complete
• Activate recommendations when analysis validated
• Activate presentation when recommendations approved

Artifacts:

• Interview notes (Cognitive) → Analysis doc (Intellectual) → Recommendation deck (Product) → Client asset (Capital)

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Integration Points

Cognitive Artifacts (CADSL)

Cases can use cognitive artifacts (checklists, decision trees, kanban) for visualization:

case:
  id: "case-2026-001"
  artifacts:
    - type: "Kanban"
      artifactId: "kanban-001"
      columns: ["Backlog", "In Progress", "Review", "Done"]

    - type: "Checklist"
      artifactId: "checklist-001"
      items: ["Whitelabel skills", "Create new skills", "Update handbooks"]

Use cognitive-artifacts-builder skill to generate these visualizations.

Knowledge Graph (DomainForge™)

Link cases and artifacts to semantic concepts:

case:
  semanticRefs:
    - conceptId: "sea:KnowledgeWork"
    - conceptId: "sea:DiscretionaryWorkflow"

artifacts:
  - id: "artifact-001"
    semanticRefs:
      - conceptId: "sea:Specification"
      - conceptId: "sea:IntellectualArtifact"

Internal Federated Ledger (IFL)

Every case state transition creates immutable TransitionToken:

transitionTokens:
  - id: "token-001"
    case: "case-2026-001"
    transition: "Created → Active"
    timestamp: "2026-01-06T09:00:00Z"
    ifl:hash: "sha256:abc123def4567890abc123def4567890abc123def4567890abc123def4567890"

  - id: "token-002"
    case: "case-2026-001"
    transition: "Stage[analysis] → Complete"
    timestamp: "2026-01-06T11:00:00Z"
    ifl:hash: "sha256:def456abc1237890def456abc1237890def456abc1237890def456abc1237890"

No Teleportation Policy: Artifacts cannot skip stages. Every transition must have provenance token.

Observability (OpenTelemetry)

Track case metrics:

cmmn_cases_active_total{type="research"}
cmmn_stages_completed_total{case_id="case-2026-001"}
cmmn_artifacts_reified_total{stage="IntellectualCapital"}
cmmn_sovereign_gates_triggered_total

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Governance Policies

Single Agent Control

Policy: AI members must be managed exclusively by PM-Agent

Enforcement: Case members cannot self-assign tasks or activate stages

No Teleportation

Policy: Artifacts must progress through pipeline in order

Example Violation:

# ❌ VIOLATION: Skipping IntellectualArtifact stage
artifact:
  stage: "InformationProduct"
  provenance: []  # No IntellectualArtifact transition token

Valid:

# ✅ VALID: Complete provenance chain
artifact:
  stage: "InformationProduct"
  provenance:
    - transition: "CognitiveArtifact → IntellectualArtifact"
      token: "token-001"
    - transition: "IntellectualArtifact → InformationProduct"
      token: "token-002"

Sovereign Gate

Policy: High-impact capital conversions require human signature

Trigger: When artifact transitions to IntellectualCapital

Action: PM-Agent requests SignatureToken from human sovereign

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PM-Agent Configuration

Role Assignment

PM-Agent assigns tasks based on capability matching:

members:
  - id: "agent-specialist-analysis"
    type: "ai"
    capabilities: ["analysis", "research", "synthesis"]

  - id: "agent-specialist-refactor"
    type: "ai"
    capabilities: ["code-generation", "refactoring"]

  - id: "human-architect"
    type: "human"
    capabilities: ["architecture-decisions", "sovereign-approval"]

taskAssignment:
  rules:
    - taskType: "analysis"
      assignTo: "agent-specialist-analysis"

    - taskType: "refactoring"
      assignTo: "agent-specialist-refactor"

    - taskType: "sovereign-gate"
      assignTo: "human-architect"

Sentry Evaluation

PM-Agent continuously evaluates sentries:

sentries:
  - id: "activate-analysis"
    conditions:
      - "task-001.status == 'complete'"
      - "task-002.status == 'complete'"
    action:
      - "activate-stage('analysis')"
      - "notify-members(['agent-specialist-analysis'])"

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Examples by Domain

Software Development

case:
  title: "Implement CADSL Renderer"
  stages:
    - Ideation (brainstorm, spike)
    - Specification (ADR, SDS, SEA™)
    - Implementation (codegen)
    - Testing (unit, integration)
    - Deployment (CI/CD)

Research Project

case:
  title: "LLM as Idiolect Study"
  stages:
    - Literature Review
    - Hypothesis Formation
    - Experiment Design
    - Data Collection
    - Analysis
    - Publication

Consulting Engagement

case:
  title: "Digital Transformation Roadmap"
  stages:
    - Discovery (stakeholder interviews)
    - Current State Analysis
    - Future State Design
    - Recommendations
    - Presentation

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Quality Guidelines

1. Clear Desired Outcomes

❌ Bad: Vague or unachievable

desiredOutcome: "Make things better"

✅ Good: Specific and measurable

desiredOutcome: "All 17 skills whitelabeled with SEA-Forge branding; 3 new skills created; handbooks aligned with skills"

2. Proper Sentry Design

❌ Bad: Missing conditions

sentry:
  action: "activate-stage('analysis')"
  # No conditions specified

✅ Good: Explicit conditions

sentry:
  conditions:
    - "task-inventory.status == 'complete'"
    - "task-analysis.status == 'complete'"
  action: "activate-stage('whitelabeling')"

3. Complete Provenance

Always track artifact transitions:

artifact:
  id: "spec-001"
  provenance:
    - stage: "CognitiveArtifact"
      timestamp: "2026-01-05T14:00:00Z"
      token: "token-001"
    - stage: "IntellectualArtifact"
      timestamp: "2026-01-06T10:00:00Z"
      token: "token-002"

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References

• Case Management Handbook
• SDS-012: Case Management Service
• CMMN Reference Guide
• Artifact Pipeline Management
• PM-Agent Orchestration