| name | your-investigation-name |
| description | Multi-phase investigation for {problem class}. Routes to the appropriate phase based on artifact state. Phase 1 resolves coordinate mismatches (majority of incidents). Phase 2 investigates systemic issues. Phase 3 remediates and documents. |
| metadata | {"author":"your-team","version":"2.0"} |
| compatibility | List required tools |
Your Investigation Name
Multi-phase investigation for {problem class}. This router detects progress
from the investigation artifact and routes to the correct phase.
Critical principle: The most common root cause in operations incidents is a
coordinate mismatch (human checked the wrong path/endpoint/environment), not a
system bug. The skill is structured to surface this BEFORE any deep analysis begins.
Design Principles
- Evidence-as-state: Progress is tracked in the artifact file, not session history. The artifact IS the state.
- Coordinates before code: Resolve writer/reader mismatches from configuration before reading source code or tracing system internals.
- Evidence hierarchy: System output (DEFINITIVE) > configuration (CONFIG) > human consensus (SOCIAL) > single recollection (ANECDOTAL).
- Reporter methodology ≠ system path: What the reporter checked and where the system writes are independent until proven same.
- Ask less, infer more: Derive from configs and APIs before asking the user.
- Confidence labels on every claim: Definitive, heuristic, or correlated.
Prerequisites
- Start from a clean session. Prior conversation history causes the agent to conflate previous output with actual evidence.
- Verify tool access before starting: {list required tools and access}.
Entry Point
- Capture the incident input (alert, thread, error message).
- Determine artifact location:
sessions/{date}-{slug}.md
Detect Current Progress
Inspect the artifact document to determine what phase to enter.
| Check | Indicates |
|---|
| No artifact file | Start at Phase 1 |
| Has intake table, no coordinate verdict | Continue Phase 1 |
Has COORDINATE MISMATCH verdict | Skip to Phase 3 |
Has COORDINATES VERIFIED + hypotheses | Continue Phase 2 |
| Has findings + remediation | Continue Phase 3 |
| All actions resolved | Investigation complete |
Phase Files
Domain Routing
After Phase 1 coordinate resolution, if the domain is clear AND coordinates
are verified, route to the specialized skill for deep investigation in Phase 2.
| Signal in Symptom | Domain | Route To |
|---|
| {signal pattern 1} | {domain} | {skill name} |
| {signal pattern 2} | {domain} | {skill name} |