discovery

Files (3)

• SKILL.md
• methodology.md · references/
• output-contract.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Discovery

Satisfy a `problem_discovery` responsibility by producing `discovery_findings`.

## Inputs

Require a problem statement, relevant product/customer context, and known constraints. Consume supplied persona, customer, repository, market, operational, or experiment evidence when available.

## Procedure

1. Read [references/methodology.md](references/methodology.md).
2. Reframe the problem in user/job/outcome terms without smuggling a solution into the problem statement.
3. Separate established observations from candidate root-cause hypotheses.
4. Identify decision-relevant hypotheses; use 3-5 only when that breadth is warranted.
5. For each hypothesis, identify evidence already available, missing evidence, the decision that evidence could change, and the lowest-cost plausible evidence source. A test/observation is only one possible source.
6. When empirical evidence is material, apply `../using-sensemaking/references/experiment-economy-v1.md` before recommending a probe or experiment. Do not promote missing evidence directly into experimentation.
7. Sequence learning by decision-relevant uncertainty reduction and total evidence-acquisition cost, not by presentation convenience.
8. Render [references/output-contract.md](references/output-contract.md) and return control.

## Stop or downgrade

- A proposed experiment is not validation evidence.
- If the requested conclusion requires customer or operational evidence that is unavailable, leave the hypothesis unresolved and name the missing evidence.
- Do not launch experiments, contact users, or mutate external systems without separate authority.

## Boundary

```text
uncertainty != experiment
missing evidence != experiment required
discovery recommendation != experimentation responsibility
validation plan != validated hypothesis
well-structured discovery artifact != correct product direction
```

Discovery owns the evidence need and candidate evidence source. Experiment Economy owns whether experimentation is warranted.

From ThorStarlord/sensemaking-skills, MIT.

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