docs(triage): make AskUserQuestion the named primary loop for the consult queue #1070

Merged

coilysiren merged 1 commit from aos/claude/uv95-askuserquestion-loop into main

2026-08-15 21:22:47 +00:00

coilyco-ops commented

2026-08-15 21:12:23 +00:00

Member

Kai asked for tooling-issue-prioritization to explicitly call out and rely primarily on the AskUserQuestion flow.

The gap

The skill tiers a backlog and labels an autonomy ceiling, then says nothing about how an autonomy/async-consult issue ever stops being one. The queue had a name and no mechanism, so the labels described a wait rather than ending it.

The change

Entrypoint - a new ## Primary loop: AskUserQuestion section placed before the tier definitions, so it reads as the skill's main loop rather than a closing step. It restates the ranking's job as choosing what to ask about next, and adds one sentence to the autonomy section pointing at the rounds as how that queue drains, with role/* naming whose queue it is.

New reference - references/askuserquestion-flow.md carries the loop (read first, cluster and batch, ask per decision, record before the next round, relabel), option-design rules, what to record, and the failure modes.

Additive to main's text. The only edits to existing lines are the frontmatter description and one appended sentence in the autonomy section.

Notes for review

The failure modes are the part I would most want challenged. They are drawn from a live run of this flow over a ~118-issue backlog, and the two that cost the most were asking what the ticket already answered, and forcing a picker on an issue that needed a design pass.
Rejected alternative: folding the flow into automation-mode-axis.md. Kept separate because that doc defines what the labels mean, and this one defines what you do about them.
Body sizes after frontmatter strip: COMPOSED.md 3998/4000, askuserquestion-flow.md 3487/4000. The entrypoint is close to the cap, so the next addition there should displace something rather than extend it.
pre-commit run --all-files green.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Kai asked for `tooling-issue-prioritization` to explicitly call out and rely primarily on the AskUserQuestion flow. ## The gap The skill tiers a backlog and labels an autonomy ceiling, then says nothing about how an `autonomy/async-consult` issue ever stops being one. The queue had a name and no mechanism, so the labels described a wait rather than ending it. ## The change **Entrypoint** - a new `## Primary loop: AskUserQuestion` section placed before the tier definitions, so it reads as the skill's main loop rather than a closing step. It restates the ranking's job as choosing what to ask about next, and adds one sentence to the autonomy section pointing at the rounds as how that queue drains, with `role/*` naming whose queue it is. **New reference** - `references/askuserquestion-flow.md` carries the loop (read first, cluster and batch, ask per decision, record before the next round, relabel), option-design rules, what to record, and the failure modes. Additive to main's text. The only edits to existing lines are the frontmatter description and one appended sentence in the autonomy section. ## Notes for review - The failure modes are the part I would most want challenged. They are drawn from a live run of this flow over a ~118-issue backlog, and the two that cost the most were asking what the ticket already answered, and forcing a picker on an issue that needed a design pass. - **Rejected alternative:** folding the flow into `automation-mode-axis.md`. Kept separate because that doc defines what the labels mean, and this one defines what you do about them. - Body sizes after frontmatter strip: COMPOSED.md 3998/4000, askuserquestion-flow.md 3487/4000. The entrypoint is close to the cap, so the next addition there should displace something rather than extend it. - `pre-commit run --all-files` green. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

coilyco-ops added 1 commit

2026-08-15 21:12:23 +00:00

docs(triage): make AskUserQuestion the named primary loop for the consult queue

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3c20230000

The skill could tier a backlog and label an autonomy ceiling, and then said
nothing about how an `autonomy/async-consult` issue ever stops being one. The
queue had a name and no mechanism, so the labels described a wait rather than
ending it.

Name the mechanism. AskUserQuestion becomes the entrypoint's primary loop
rather than an implied step: batched rounds, read before asking, and the answer
written back to the tracker before the next round. The ranking's job is
restated as choosing what to ask about next.

Adds references/askuserquestion-flow.md with the loop, option-design rules,
what to record, and the failure modes - including the two that cost the most:
asking what the ticket already answers, and forcing a picker on an issue that
needs a design pass.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Kai Siren <coilysiren@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

coilyco-ops requested review from coilysiren

2026-08-15 21:12:23 +00:00