# Decisions record

Decisions that shaped the methodology, newest first. Each is a rule in force, not a proposal.

## 2026-10-25

- **Phase replaces "work family".** The grouping of work types is called a phase. Work type is kept, and the phase is derived from it rather than stored on each document.

## 2026-10-24

- **Re-parenting is allowed when a rule requires it.** An activity may be moved to another project whenever the [master rule](../work-structure/the-master-rule.md) or the taxonomy requires it, recorded as a manual allocation. The earlier forward-only restriction no longer applies.
- **One stage vocabulary.** The five guided stages (intake, route, draft for approval, build, iterate) are the only stage list. Earlier longer sequences are mapped onto them.
- **No separate program charter kind.** A scope document with a program level, plus a program template, serves as the charter.
- **The name "recommendation" stays.**
- **Existing files move to catalog kinds.** Closed note and report files are renamed to document kinds, so "forward-only" no longer holds for them. The mapping table comes first, then renames and link repair in batches, with a dry-run count before each batch.
- **Front matter has a common core plus per-kind fields,** checked for new files only. `state` stays authored.
- **First process catalog is five core processes:** research-to-recommendation, write-document, build-feature, migrate and build-kb-topic. The rest enter by the [adding rule](../processes/levels-one-or-two.md), and one prior improvised request is enough to add a process.
- **The process is recorded on the shell and on every document,** and a process that spans two phases is a handoff between two processes.
- **All process terms are minted as Proposed** after a check against existing terms.
- **Narrowing overlapping generations:** the three-spine mapping is approved. Rows with no clear home stay on a confirm list before anything is applied.
- **One advisory project shell is tombstoned** with the other empty shells after the link sweep.

## 2026-10-23

- **Knowledge document kinds:** light reorganisation. `home` and `tracker` are generated; `toc` is kept with front matter; `model` is defined narrowly.
- **CRM link fields:** `person`, `organization`, a reserved `deal` and `crm_role`.
- **The system proposes the process and you confirm** (see [How intake routes](../processes/how-intake-routes.md)).
- **Narrowing groups General, empty shells, micro-programs and client one-offs** are approved as tabled. Near-duplicate names are merged into the larger Active shell.
- **A single edit rule for work types and phases.** Their values, families and process fields change together in one schema edit; blank or low-confidence work types are proposed to you as a list, never filled automatically.

Approval of these decisions does not apply them. Records, schemas and code are changed to match later, each by its own piece of work.