interpretable-context-methodology-template

Workflow Rubric Guide

Use this guide when you know the kind of workflow you are building, but you are not sure which deterministic icm review checks to use.

The rule of thumb: keep human judgment in the Review Gate, and use rubrics for artifact shape, source coverage, required sections, placeholder cleanup, and other checks a script can verify repeatably.

Choose By Workflow

Workflow	Useful Artifacts	Good Rubric Checks	Example
Project planning	Source inventory, milestone map, project calendar, decision log, review pack	Required sources, table columns, link/path count, source-inventory, calendar, decision-log	examples/completed-project-plan
Research brief	Source traceability table, source triage, synthesis, recommendation	Required sections, required sources, required terms, forbidden placeholders	examples/completed-research-brief
Content planning	Source inventory, theme selection, content calendar, approval pack	Required sections, required sources, table columns, calendar shape once dates stabilize	examples/completed-content-plan
Documentation refresh	Source inventory, gap analysis, update plan, release calendar, decision log	Table columns, link/path count, source-inventory, calendar, decision-log	examples/completed-documentation-refresh
Release readiness	Validation report, source inventory, changelog check, upgrade smoke	Required sections, required terms, path count, source inventory shape	docs/release-ready-workspace.md

Project Planning Starter

For a project-planning workflow, begin with source traceability and common artifact shapes.

Discovery report rubric:

## Required Sections

- Known Facts
- Assumptions
- Open Questions
- Source Traceability
- Candidate Workflow
- Risks
- Discovery Recommendation

## Required Sources

- ../00_intake/output/project-brief.md
- references/discovery-question-bank.md
- ../../_config/quality-gates.md

## Required Table Columns

- Source
- Used For

## Required Link Or Path Count

- 3

Project calendar rubric:

## Required Sections

- Calendar
- Review Notes

## Required Artifact Shapes

- calendar

Decision log rubric:

## Required Sections

- Decisions
- Review Notes

## Required Artifact Shapes

- decision-log

Research Starter

Research workflows should emphasize source coverage and recommendation discipline.

## Required Sections

- Known Facts
- Source Traceability
- Source Quality
- Recommendation
- Risks

## Required Terms

- confidence
- source quality
- traceability

## Required Sources

- ../00_intake/output/project-brief.md
- references/discovery-question-bank.md

## Forbidden Terms

- TBD
- lorem ipsum

Documentation Starter

Documentation workflows often need both source coverage and table shape checks.

## Required Table Columns

- Source
- Used For

## Required Link Or Path Count

- 3

## Required Artifact Shapes

- source-inventory

Practical Advice

• Use required sections when the artifact needs a predictable reading order.
• Use required terms when a concept must appear somewhere, but not necessarily as a heading.
• Use required sources when an artifact must cite specific upstream files or decisions.
• Use table-column checks when a human reviewer expects scan-friendly rows.
• Use path counts only as a floor; a human still decides whether the cited sources are good.
• Use artifact shapes for source inventories, calendars, and decision logs that should stay machine-checkable.
• Add forbidden terms for placeholders and known failure modes.

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