north-star-crystallization

name	north-star-crystallization
description	Goal-Driven Requirement Refinement Engine for Research. Crystallize a user's fuzzy research intent into a North Star statement and structured ResearchBrief through adaptive dialogue and on-demand investigation.
execution	campaign
dependencies	{"strategies":["cold-start","hot-start","warm-start"],"sops":["context-checkpoint","context-init"]}

North Star Crystallization

Strategy Routing

Signal	Route to
No direction at all ("I want to publish but don't know what")	cold-start
Has a general direction but not specific ("I'm interested in LLM reasoning")	warm-start
Has a specific topic/problem ("I want to improve CoT faithfulness")	hot-start

Manifest

Strategies (3)

Strategy	Purpose
cold-start	Full crystallization from zero — actor profiling through synthesis
warm-start	Simplified flow for users with a general direction
hot-start	Rapid crystallization for users with a specific topic

Tactics (6)

Tactic	Purpose
actor-profiling	Understand user's background, expertise, resources
landscape-reconnaissance	Broad survey of potential research areas
direction-narrowing	Focus from broad area to specific problem
obstacle-analysis	Identify and assess obstacles to research goals
goal-decomposition	Break down research goals into sub-goals
north-star-synthesis	Converge into North Star + ResearchBrief

SOPs (23)

Dialogue + investigation operations. See individual SOP directories for details.

Context Management

• Output: North Star Statement + ResearchBrief
• Downstream: knowledge-acquisition campaigns consume the ResearchBrief

Available Strategies

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

Strategy	When to use
cold-start	Full crystallization strategy for users who have no research direction at all. Covers actor profiling, landscape reconnaissance, direction narrowing, obstacle analysis, goal decomposition, and north-star synthesis. Use when the user's first message reveals zero specificity about what they want to research.
hot-start	Minimal crystallization strategy for users who already have a specific research topic or problem (e.g., "I want to improve CoT faithfulness in LLMs") and need structuring into a formal North Star. Heavily simplifies or skips exploration tactics, focusing on obstacle analysis, goal decomposition, and synthesis. Use when the user's first message reveals a specific, actionable research direction.
warm-start	Simplified crystallization strategy for users who have a general research direction (e.g., "I'm interested in LLM reasoning") but lack specificity. Simplifies actor profiling and landscape reconnaissance, then proceeds through direction narrowing, obstacle analysis, goal decomposition, and north-star synthesis. Use when the user's first message reveals a general area but not a specific problem.

Available SOPs

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

SOP	When to use
context-checkpoint	Append research process and results to the current Phase's context file. Covers both process and results with genuine substance. Use this skill at plan-designated checkpoint points — typically after each strategy completes or at key decision nodes within a research Phase.
context-init	Create a new context file for a research Phase. Called once at Phase start to initialize the file that subsequent context-checkpoint calls will append to. Use this skill whenever a new research Phase begins and a fresh context file is needed.