seacow-conventions

name	seacow-conventions
description	SEACOW meta-framework expertise for organizational design. Use when designing structures, analyzing systems, asking 'where should this go', creating conventions for projects/vaults, or understanding organizational patterns.
title	SEACOW Meta-Framework: Analytical Lens for Organization
stratum	2
branches	["agentic"]

Purpose

Expertise in using SEACOW as an analytical lens for designing and understanding organizational structures. This skill teaches you HOW TO THINK about organization, not what folders to create.

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Critical Understanding

SEACOW IS NOT A FOLDER STRUCTURE.

SEACOW is a meta-framework - a set of questions and categories for ANALYZING any organizational system, whether it's:

• A personal Obsidian vault
• A corporate file share
• A code repository
• A Claude Code project
• A Notion workspace
• A physical filing cabinet

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The Framework: S.E.A.(C.O.W.r)

System (S)

Question: What platform/technology context are we in?

Examples:

• Obsidian vault with plugins
• Windows SMB file share
• Git repository
• Notion workspace
• Claude Code .claude/ directory
• Physical office with file cabinets

Analysis: The system determines your constraints and affordances:

• Can you use tags? Properties? Wikilinks? Only folders?
• Is it hierarchical? Graph-based? Database-like?
• Who has access? What are the permissions?
• Is it versioned? Searchable? Shareable?

Entity (E)

Question: WHO accesses or interacts with this?

Examples:

• Just you (personal knowledge base)
• Multiple teams (engineering, marketing, sales)
• Public audiences (blog readers, recruiters)
• AI agents (Claude, custom tools)
• Mix of internal/external stakeholders

Analysis: Entities create natural boundaries:

• Personal vs shared spaces
• Read-only vs read-write access
• Different views of the same content
• Audience-specific outputs

Activities (A)

These are the three fundamental activities that happen to information:

Capture (C)

Question: Where and how does information ENTER the system?

NOT prescribing: "You must have a /Capture/ folder"

Instead asking:

• Where do raw inputs land?
• How do you save things for later?
• What's your "inbox" (whatever you call it)?
• Where does unprocessed information live?

Example implementations:

• Personal vault: Inbox/, Clippings/, Quick Notes/
• Corporate share: Teams/[name]/Drop/, Incoming/, Submissions/
• Code repo: docs/ADRs/, issue templates, raw-data/
• Email: Inbox, unread messages
• Physical: In-tray on desk

Work (W)

Question: Where and how does information get PROCESSED?

NOT prescribing: "You must have a /Work/ folder"

Instead asking:

• Where does active processing happen?
• What's the difference between raw input and finished output?
• Where do you iterate, refine, synthesize?
• What's "in progress" vs "done"?

Example implementations:

• Personal vault: Projects/, Zettelkasten/, Active/
• Corporate share: Teams/[name]/Active/, WIP/, Drafts/
• Code repo: src/, tests/, docs/drafts/
• Email: Flagged, folders, drafts
• Physical: Working files on desk, active project folders

Output (O)

Question: Where and how does finished information EXIT to consumers?

NOT prescribing: "You must have an /Output/ folder"

Instead asking:

• Where do finished artifacts go?
• What's ready for an audience?
• How do you distinguish drafts from published work?
• What leaves your control (shared, published, delivered)?

Example implementations:

• Personal vault: Blog/, Published/, Presentations/, Portfolio/
• Corporate share: Shared/Reports/, Public/, Client Deliverables/
• Code repo: dist/, build/, docs/api/, releases
• Email: Sent folder, templates
• Physical: Outbox, filed completed work

Relation (r)

Question: How do things CONNECT across the structure?

NOT prescribing: "Use these exact tags"

Instead asking:

• How do you link related items?
• How do you track dependencies?
• How do you navigate cross-cutting concerns?
• What's your graph/network layer?

Example implementations:

• Obsidian: Wikilinks, tags, graph view, Dataview queries
• File share: Shortcuts, README files, index documents
• Code repo: Import statements, references, dependency graphs
• Notion: Relations, mentions, backlinks
• Physical: Cross-reference notes, index cards

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How to Use SEACOW: The Analysis Process

Step 1: Identify Your System

What platform/context are you in? What are its affordances?

Example: "I'm using Obsidian with Templater and Dataview plugins. I have wikilinks, tags, and properties available."

Step 2: Identify Your Entities

Who accesses this? Are there boundaries between different users/audiences?

Example: "Just me, but I share some notes publicly on my blog."

Step 3: Map Activities

For Capture:

• Where do things land when you first encounter them?
• What's raw/unprocessed?
• Examples: Web clipper → Clippings/, voice notes → Inbox/, PDFs → References/

For Work:

• Where do you process/refine/synthesize?
• What's the workspace?
• Examples: Active projects, permanent notes, drafts

For Output:

• What's finished and ready for consumption?
• Where do published/delivered artifacts live?
• Examples: Blog posts, presentations, client deliverables

For Relation:

• How do you connect things?
• What's your linking/tagging strategy?
• Examples: Tags for topics, wikilinks for connections, MOCs for structure

Step 4: Design Your Structure

Based on your analysis, create a structure that fits YOUR context.

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Diagnostic Questions

When you're stuck organizing something, ask:

1. Is this raw input or processed?

   • Raw → Capture area
   • Processed → Work or Output area

2. Is this finished or in progress?

   • Finished → Output area
   • In progress → Work area

3. Who is this for?

   • Just me processing → Work area
   • An audience → Output area
   • Future me to process → Capture area

4. Does this support the system itself?

   • Yes → System area (templates, config, meta)
   • No → Content area (capture, work, output)

5. How does this connect to other things?

   • Use your system's relation layer (tags, links, properties)

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Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Don't Copy Blindly

❌ "I'll create /Capture/, /Work/, /Output/ because SEACOW says so" ✓ "Let me think about where information enters, gets processed, and exits MY system"

Don't Force the Framework

❌ "This doesn't fit any SEACOW category, so I don't know where to put it" ✓ "SEACOW is a lens, not a prison. Some things span categories or don't fit neatly."

Don't Ignore Your Platform

❌ "I'll use this exact tag structure even though my system doesn't support tags" ✓ "My platform uses database properties, so I'll adapt the SEACOW activities to that"

Don't Forget Evolution

❌ "I must get the perfect SEACOW structure before I start" ✓ "I'll start with a basic structure and refine as I learn how I actually work"

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Summary: The Core Insight

SEACOW is about asking the right questions:

• Where does information ENTER? (Capture)
• Where does it get PROCESSED? (Work)
• Where does it EXIT? (Output)
• What PLATFORM are you on? (System)
• WHO interacts with it? (Entity)
• How do things CONNECT? (Relation)

Answer these for YOUR context, and design a structure that fits. Don't copy folder names. Copy the thinking process.