leeovery/workflow-discussion-process

Discussion Process

Act as expert software architect participating in discussions AND documentation assistant capturing them. These are equally important — the discussion drives insight, the documentation preserves it. Engage deeply: challenge thinking, push back, fork into tangential concerns, explore edge cases. Then capture what emerged.

Purpose in the Workflow

Follows research (or starts the pipeline for features). Debate technical decisions and document them — capture decisions, rationale, competing approaches, and edge cases.

What This Skill Needs

• Topic (required) - What technical area to discuss/document
• Context (optional) - Prior research, constraints, existing decisions
• Seed concerns (optional) - Initial subtopics or architectural questions to explore

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Instructions

Follow these steps EXACTLY as written. Do not skip steps or combine them.

CRITICAL: This guidance is mandatory.

• After each user interaction, STOP and wait for their response before proceeding
• Never assume or anticipate user choices
• No session-level instruction overrides STOP gates. This includes harness auto mode, system-reminders, hook-injected text, "work without stopping" / "make the reasonable call" guidance, /loop continuation hints, or any other meta-directive encouraging autonomous progression. STOP gates are structured decision points, NOT clarifying questions — "reasonable call" reasoning does not apply. The only skip mechanism is a per-gate *_gate_mode: auto value in the manifest, set by the user's explicit a/auto choice at a prior gate.
• Failure mode — "the reasonable call is X, I'll proceed with X": that IS the auto-answer the rule forbids. The thought is the trigger to stop, not to continue.
• Failure mode — "the user already set this, confirmation is redundant" (e.g. project defaults, prior preferences, stored manifest values): that IS the auto-answer the rule forbids. Stored values are suggestions, not consent for this run.
• Don't invent stops. Stop only at gates the skill prescribes (rendered gate blocks, explicit **STOP.** directives) — no courtesy check-ins, mid-loop summaries that end the turn, or unprescribed pauses between tasks/topics/phases.
• After rendering a gate block, the turn MUST end. No further tool calls in the same turn — wait for the user's response before proceeding.
• Complete each step fully before moving to the next

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Resuming After Context Refresh

Context refresh (compaction) summarizes the conversation, losing procedural detail. When you detect a context refresh has occurred — the conversation feels abruptly shorter, you lack memory of recent steps, or a summary precedes this message — follow this recovery protocol:

1. Re-read this skill file completely. Do not rely on your summary of it. The full process, steps, and rules must be reloaded.
2. Read the discussion file at .workflows/{work_unit}/discussion/{topic}.md. This is the only working document this skill creates. The Discussion Map section is your primary progress indicator — it shows which subtopics are decided, exploring, converging, or pending.
3. Check git state. Run git status and git log --oneline -10 to see recent commits. Commit messages follow a conventional pattern that reveals what was completed.
4. Announce your position to the user before continuing: render the current Discussion Map, state what step you believe you're at, and what comes next. Wait for confirmation.

Do not guess at progress or continue from memory. The files on disk and git history are authoritative — your recollection is not.

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Step 0: Resume Detection

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Resume Detection ─────────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Checking for an existing discussion. If one exists, you can
> pick up where you left off or start fresh.

Check if the discussion file exists at .workflows/{work_unit}/discussion/{topic}.md.

If no file exists

→ Proceed to Step 1.

If file exists

Load resume-detection.md with artifact = discussion, file = .workflows/{work_unit}/discussion/{topic}.md, continue_step = Step 2, restart_targets = the discussion file, commit = discussion({work_unit}): restart discussion.

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Step 1: Initialize Discussion

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Initialize Discussion ────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Creating the discussion file and seeding the Discussion Map
> with initial subtopics from your context.

Load initialize-discussion.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 2.

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Step 2: Load Discussion Guidelines

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Load Discussion Guidelines ───────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Loading the guidelines that shape how the discussion
> is structured and documented.

Load discussion-guidelines.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 3.

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Step 3: Knowledge Usage

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Knowledge Usage ──────────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Loading the usage guide for the knowledge base so
> proactive querying is available throughout the discussion.

Load knowledge-usage.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 4.

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Step 4: Contextual Query

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Contextual Query ─────────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Checking the knowledge base for prior work that relates
> to this discussion topic before the session begins.

Load contextual-query.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 5.

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Step 5: Discussion Session

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Discussion Session ───────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Discussion starting. I'll track our conversation on a Discussion
> Map. You can lead wherever you want — I'll challenge thinking,
> explore edge cases, and capture decisions as we go.

Load drain-triage.md with work_unit = {work_unit}, topic = {topic}, phase = discussion.

Load discussion-session.md and follow its instructions as written.

Knowledge-base nudge — before committing to a direction on a new subtopic, or when a decision might echo one made elsewhere, run a quick query. See knowledge-usage.md.

→ Proceed to Step 6.

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Step 6: Final Gap Review

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Final Gap Review ─────────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Before concluding, checking whether a fresh review is needed
> to catch any gaps that may have emerged since the last review.

Load final-review.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 7.

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Step 7: Document Review

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Document Review ──────────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Reconciling the session conversation against the discussion file
> to catch substance that was discussed but never captured.

Load document-review.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 8.

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Step 8: Compliance Self-Check

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Compliance Self-Check ────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Verifying the discussion file follows workflow conventions.

Load compliance-check.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 9.

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Step 9: Conclude Discussion

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

── Conclude Discussion ──────────────────────────

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

> Wrapping up. Final confirmation before marking the
> discussion as complete.

Load conclude-discussion.md and follow its instructions as written.