# Knowledge-Work Workflow

## 1. Frame the task

Record:
- the exact question or decision;
- audience and intended use;
- scope, jurisdictions, industries, entities, and time period;
- cutoff date for current information;
- required deliverables and level of detail;
- material assumptions and exclusions.

## 2. Build the source hierarchy

Default priority:
1. primary documents, official data, statutes, regulations, judgments, filings, contracts, and original research;
2. high-quality institutional or peer-reviewed analysis;
3. reputable secondary reporting;
4. commentary and discovery sources.

Use lower-tier material to locate or contextualize higher-tier evidence. Do not use it to overrule primary evidence without explanation.

## 3. Retrieve and verify

For each material source:
- verify title, author or institution, date, version, and relevant scope;
- inspect the underlying text, table, appendix, or data—not only a snippet or abstract;
- capture the smallest locator that supports the proposition;
- note limitations, conflicts, and whether the source is current enough.

## 4. Maintain a claim-evidence matrix

| Material claim | Evidence | Source quality | Counterevidence | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ... | ... | Primary/Secondary | ... | Verified/Qualified/Unverified |

Do not draft a confident synthesis while decisive claims remain unmapped.

## 5. Analyze

Separate:
- descriptive facts;
- causal claims and identification assumptions;
- legal or institutional interpretation;
- the source author's conclusion;
- the agent's critique;
- the agent's proposal.

For quantitative claims, check definitions, units, denominators, sample construction, timing, missingness, and comparability.

## 6. Adversarial review

Before finalizing:
- search for disconfirming evidence;
- identify alternative explanations;
- check whether sources are independent or merely repeat one another;
- test whether the conclusion depends on a single fragile assumption;
- identify what evidence would reverse the conclusion.

## 7. Deliver

Lead with the conclusion and decision relevance. Then provide:
- scope and method;
- evidence-backed findings;
- disagreements and counterevidence;
- assumptions and limitations;
- implications or recommendations;
- a clear separation between verified findings and original inference.