roundtable

name	roundtable
description	Convene a multi-agent roundtable to discuss and decide on a topic. Covers attendee selection, chair norms, minutes format, decision logging, and filing.
when_to_use	When a decision requires input from multiple agents or divisions — planning sessions, scope reviews, audit responses, or cross-functional alignment. Also when HQ Chief of Staff convenes a brief-led micro-roundtable from roundtable-tech-brief outputs.
when_to_skip	Single-agent work with no cross-division dependency. Informal alignment that doesn't require a logged artifact. Do not convene a roundtable just to surface information — use roundtable-tech-brief for research and triage first.
version	1.0
last_updated	"2026-04-23T00:00:00.000Z"
applies_to	hq

Roundtable Procedure

Purpose

Decisions that require multi-agent input fail when agents debate indefinitely, when outcomes are not recorded, or when Engineering-relevant results never cross the org boundary. This skill governs the full roundtable lifecycle — from attendee selection through filed minutes and downstream handoffs — so every multi-agent session produces a traceable artifact with a decision log, clear owners, and a memory entry.

Onboarding gate (BAM Product)

HQ Chief of Staff (John) does not convene material roundtables (filed RT- minutes, cross-org decisions) until ONBOARDING.md at method pack root is Stable or a Founder waiver is recorded there — see org_hq/agents/core/hq-chief-of-staff.md § Onboarding gate (BAM Product). First-contact onboarding takes priority; informal Q&A without filed minutes may still occur.

Pair With

• memory-entry — every roundtable with material decisions requires an HQ- log entry
• cross-org-handoff — decisions that affect Engineering require an XD- handoff; do not route verbally
• roundtable-tech-brief — brief-led micro-roundtables start from this skill's outputs

Chair Norms

• No long roleplay — agents give short positions with evidence refs; the chair enforces timeboxes.
• Founder breaker: If two agents oppose after at most two substantive back-and-forth exchanges (or ~10 minutes wall-clock in a live session), stop debate. Chair captures Position A and Position B (one short paragraph + refs each) → the User (Founder) picks the path. Record the outcome in the Decisions Log (and HQ- / XD- when material).
• Engineering-only debates: Mike records per Engineering specs.

Per-Topic Flow

• When starting from roundtable-tech-brief/SKILL.md outputs, default to one primary topic per RT- so outcomes stay actionable.
• For stack-affecting topics, end with an explicit label: adopt / watch / ignore, plus owner and how/when when not ignore.

Micro-Roundtable (Brief-Led)

Use when HQ Chief of Staff convenes a short session from roundtable-tech-brief/SKILL.md outputs.

• Duration: 30–45 minutes default.
• Attendees: 2–4 HQ agents + HQ Chief of Staff (chair) + founder optional; use the routing matrix in roundtable-tech-brief/SKILL.md.
• Agenda: Max 3 questions; label each explore (no decision expected) vs decide (need owner + next step). Prefer one primary topic per session file.
• Minutes: Same roundtables/RT-... filename pattern; include a Brief source line (RTI- id or briefing date).
• Outputs: Action items with one owner; no silent scope creep to Engineering — use cross-org-handoff when build work is real.
• Touch logs: Each participant appends their ../../../shared_context/agent_touch_logs/touch-<slug>.md (HQ) or ../../../shared_context/agent_touch_logs/engineering/touch-<slug>.md (Engineering) after the session.

Checklist

Priority	Item	Notes / Evidence
CRITICAL	Minutes filed in ../../roundtables/ before session closes	Filename: RT-YYYY-MM-DD-NNN_{topic_slug}.md — unfiled minutes are invisible to the next session
CRITICAL	Decisions Log populated — every decision has an ID, certainty tag, owner, and due	No "TBD" owners — name the agent or role; RT{NNN}-D1 format
CRITICAL	Material decisions logged in bound hq_business_memory_log.md (use memory-entry)	Evidence: HQ- entry referencing the RT- ID — pack hq_memory_log.md is stub only
HIGH	Founder breaker invoked correctly when agents oppose past two exchanges	Chair captures Position A + B with refs; Founder picks path; outcome logged
HIGH	Engineering-affecting decisions trigger an XD- handoff	Evidence: handoff_*.yaml in bound shared_context/ or pack_private/ — do not route Engineering scope verbally
HIGH	cross_org_decisions.md (or pack cross_org_decisions.STUB.md) updated if any XD- decisions were made	Evidence: row with status, direction, summary
MEDIUM	Attendee touch logs updated after session	Each participant appends ../../../shared_context/agent_touch_logs/touch-<slug>.md
MEDIUM	Stack-affecting topics end with adopt / watch / ignore label plus owner	Prevents drift — unlabeled technology topics do not have a tracking state
LOW	Gate criteria section included when roundtable closes a project phase	Checklist items give the next session a clear done-state

Output Artifact

A completed roundtable produces a minutes file in ../../roundtables/. Naming convention: roundtables/RT-YYYY-MM-DD-NNN_{topic_slug}.md

Example: roundtables/RT-YYYY-MM-DD-001_execution_plan.md

# HQ Roundtable RT-YYYY-MM-DD-NNN: [Title]

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Called by:** [Agent Name]
**Purpose:** [1-2 sentence description]
**Division:** [Division name] (Division N of M)
**Priority:** P0 | P1 | P2 — [brief rationale]

---

## Attendees

| Agent | Role | Division |
|-------|------|----------|
| [Name] | [Chair/Input/Review] | [Division] |

---

## Agenda

1. Topic 1
2. Topic 2

---

## Discussion Minutes

### 1. [Topic Title]

[Discussion content with specific decisions, data, and rationale]

---

## Decisions Log

| ID | Decision | Certainty | Owner | Due |
|----|----------|-----------|-------|-----|
| RT{NNN}-D1 | [Decision] | known/risk | [Owner] | [Version/Sprint] |

---

## Action Items

1. [Agent]: [Action]
2. [Agent]: [Action]

---

## Gate Criteria for [Phase] Completion

- [ ] Gate criterion 1
- [ ] Gate criterion 2

---

**Minutes recorded by:** [Agent Name]
**Memory log entry:** HQ-YYYYMMDD-NNN

Anti-Patterns

• The unrecorded session: Agents discuss, align, and close — but no minutes file is created. Decisions exist only in conversation context. The next session has no record of what was agreed or who owns what. Minutes are required before the session closes.

• The ownerless decision: A decision is logged in the Decisions Log with "TBD" as the owner or due date. It sits open indefinitely. Every Decisions Log row must name an agent or role and a target version or date.

• The verbal Engineering handoff: A roundtable concludes that Engineering needs to build something, but no XD- artifact is created. The scope lives in a minutes file Engineering may never read. Always use cross-org-handoff for real build work.

• The endless debate: Two agents hold opposing positions and the chair lets the exchange run past two rounds. Apply the Founder breaker — capture both positions and escalate. Debate beyond two exchanges is not productive and delays the session.

• The orphaned memory: Minutes are filed but no HQ- memory entry is created. The roundtable is invisible to any agent scanning hq_business_memory_log.md. Always pair with memory-entry after filing.

Stop Conditions

• Two agents in sustained opposition past two exchanges → invoke Founder breaker; do not proceed without a path decision
• Engineering scope identified but cross_org_decisions (live or pack .STUB.md) is inaccessible → do not route verbally; flag to founder before closing
• Minutes cannot be filed (roundtables/ directory unavailable) → do not close session; surface blocker to founder

Filing

1. Minutes → ../../roundtables/RT-YYYY-MM-DD-NNN_{topic_slug}.md
2. Memory entry → bound hq_business_memory_log.md (use memory-entry skill)
3. XD- decisions → ../../../shared_context/cross_org_decisions.STUB.md (or live cross_org_decisions.md when bound)
4. Engineering-affecting decisions → cross-org-handoff skill → bound shared_context/handoff_*.yaml or pack_private/handoff_*.yaml
5. Touch logs → ../../../shared_context/agent_touch_logs/touch-<slug>.md per participant