do-it-decide

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.

1. Necessity first — does this need to exist?
2. One load-bearing premise at a time; falsify with local files (path:line) before asking.
3. Ask one question at a time; wait for the answer. Multiple simultaneous questions confuse.
4. For each question: 2–3 options, tradeoffs, recommended default.
5. 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.