| name | retrospective |
| description | Post-interaction retrospective analysis — use after completing a significant task, conversation, or phase to extract lessons, identify process improvements, and update procedures |
| consumer | cc_background_reflection |
| phase | 6 |
| skill_type | workflow |
Retrospective
Purpose
Analyze a completed interaction or task to extract lessons, identify process
improvements, and update procedural memory.
When to Use
- After a multi-step task completes (success or failure).
- After a user interaction that revealed a gap or surprise.
- After an obstacle was resolved (capture the resolution pattern).
- Scheduled: end of each active work session.
Workflow
- Reconstruct timeline — What happened, in what order? What was the goal?
- Identify outcomes — Did it succeed? Partially? What was the quality?
- Extract surprises — What was unexpected? What assumptions broke?
- Find patterns — Does this match any existing procedural knowledge?
Does it contradict any?
- Derive lessons — Concrete, actionable learnings (not vague platitudes).
- Update memory — Write observations, update procedures if warranted,
flag contradictions for user review.
Output Format
subject: <what was analyzed>
date: <YYYY-MM-DD>
outcome: success | partial | failure
surprises:
- <unexpected finding>
lessons:
- <concrete actionable lesson>
procedure_updates:
- procedure: <name>
change: <what to update>
observations:
- <observation to store>
References
src/genesis/learning/procedural/ — Procedure CRUD for updatessrc/genesis/learning/observation_writer.py — Writing observations
