| name | do-it-decide |
| description | Use when premises or options must be pressure-tested, a short plan/handoff is needed, or a large plan must be sliced — grill facts locally, ask decisions one at a time. |
Do-It Decide
Align before you build. Standard stays short; Heavy earns pressure-test. No mandatory brainstorm→grill→plan chain.
Leading words: grill, tracer bullet, path map.
Modes
| Mode | When |
|---|
| Grill | Heavy default; Standard only if a load-bearing premise or user preference gates the route |
| Diverge | Requirement or architecture shape is genuinely unclear |
| Plan card | Handoff, multi-step Standard, or Heavy needs durable acceptance/verify notes |
| Slice | More than one independently deliverable unit |
Skip for Light mechanical work and pure questions.
Grill Rules
Interview relentlessly on decisions; never on readable facts.
- Necessity first — does this need to exist?
- One load-bearing premise at a time; falsify with local files (
path:line) before asking.
- Ask one question at a time; wait for the answer. Multiple simultaneous questions confuse.
- For each question: 2–3 options, tradeoffs, recommended default.
- Do not enact the plan until shared understanding is confirmed (or the user explicitly skips).
Fresh-context challenge applies in-flight too: doubt the route while deciding, not only the finished diff.
Diverge Briefly
Surface real alternatives (skip → stdlib/native → existing → minimal custom). Do not invent fog. Hand route-changing choices to grill.
Research-First Surfaces
For a new dependency, datastore, framework/runtime, protocol, or other permanent external surface: inspect repository constraints, compare at least two viable candidates, and record compatibility, maintenance/activity, license, operational fit, and a recommendation. Ask the user only when a preference changes the selected route; never memory-pick a permanent dependency. Cite primary sources (official docs, the source repo) over summaries; when findings are durable, capture them in the worklog or handbook instead of re-researching next session.
Shortest Plan Card
Only fields that change execution:
- Goal / non-goals
- Current truth (facts vs assumptions)
- Acceptance evidence
- Failure-mode forecast + path map (or N/A) —
../references/workflow-kernel.md
- Verification commands
- Review depth / stop / ownership when delegating
Durable file only when another session or worker must read it.
Slice Only When Large
Thin vertical tracer bullets. Each slice: ownership, deps, acceptance, AFK/HITL. Parallel only with disjoint writes. Parent owns shared files and integration.
Stop
Pause when preference gates the route. Do not expand scope silently.
