Deep Research - Asymmetric Research Squad

Usage: /deep-research [--team] [--output-dir "..."] [--dry-run] <research-subject>

Examples:
  /deep-research "AI model deployment strategies"
  /deep-research --output-dir docs/research/quantum "quantum computing applications"
  /deep-research --dry-run "cryptocurrency market dynamics"
  /deep-research --team "AI model deployment strategies"
  /deep-research --team --dry-run "cryptocurrency market dynamics"

Phase 0: Research Definition & Setup

Step 1: Parse Arguments

Extract from $ARGUMENTS:

1. --team: Boolean flag. Set AGENT_TEAM_MODE=true if present, else false.
2. --output-dir: Quoted string after flag (optional)
3. --dry-run: Boolean flag. Set DRY_RUN=true if present, else false.
4. research-subject: Remaining non-flag text (required)

Validate the research subject:

• Must be provided
• Should be a clear, focused topic
• Not too broad (e.g., "technology") or too narrow (e.g., "one specific bug")

Compatibility note: When this skill is invoked from a Cursor or Codex bundle, --team must not be used (those bundles ship without team tools).

Step 2: Determine Output Directory

If --output-dir is provided, use that path. Otherwise, create a sanitized directory name:

# Sanitize subject: lowercase, replace spaces with hyphens, remove special chars
SANITIZED=$(echo "$RESEARCH_SUBJECT" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | tr ' ' '-' | tr -cd '[:alnum:]-')
OUTPUT_DIR="research/${SANITIZED}"

Step 3: Handle Dry Run

If --dry-run is present, display:

# Dry Run: Deep Research on [Subject]

## Output Directory

$OUTPUT_DIR/

## Directory Structure

$OUTPUT_DIR/ ├── objective.md ├── persona-findings/ │ ├── historian.md │ ├── contrarian.md │ ├── analogist.md │ ├── systems-thinker.md │ ├── journalist.md │ ├── archaeologist.md │ ├── futurist.md │ └── negative-space.md ├── synthesis/ │ ├── crucible-analysis.md │ └── emergent-insights.md ├── evidence/ │ └── verification-log.md └── report.md

## Research Phases

### Phase 1: Asymmetric Persona Deployment (8 parallel agents)

1. **Historian** - Historical evolution, failed attempts, forgotten alternatives
2. **Contrarian** - Disconfirming evidence, expert critiques, documented failures
3. **Analogist** - Cross-domain parallels, biological/military/economic analogies
4. **Systems Thinker** - Second-order effects, stakeholder mapping, causal chains
5. **Journalist** - Current state, key players, latest developments
6. **Archaeologist** - Past solutions (10-50 years ago), obsolete approaches
7. **Futurist** - Patents, speculative research, 2030+ predictions
8. **Negative Space Explorer** - What's NOT discussed, adoption barriers

### Phase 2: The Crucible - Structured Analysis (2 parallel agents)

1. **ACH Analyst** - Analysis of Competing Hypotheses
2. **Contradiction Mapper** - Cross-persona disagreements

### Phase 3: Emergent Insight Generation (4 parallel agents)

1. **Tension Mapper** - Maximum disagreement points
2. **Pattern Recognizer** - Unexpected historical echoes
3. **Negative Space Analyst** - Unanswered questions
4. **Innovation Agent** - Novel hypotheses from persona combinations

### Phase 4: Strategic Report Synthesis

Final report consolidating all research into actionable intelligence.

## Next Steps

Remove --dry-run flag to execute the research.

If AGENT_TEAM_MODE=true, additionally print the team roster block:

Team name:      drpr-<sanitized-subject>
Teammates:      14
  Batch 1 (Phase 1 — personas):
    - historian                subagent_type=research-specialist      task=Historical evolution
    - contrarian               subagent_type=research-specialist      task=Disconfirming evidence
    - analogist                subagent_type=research-specialist      task=Cross-domain parallels
    - systems-thinker          subagent_type=research-specialist      task=Second-order effects
    - journalist               subagent_type=research-specialist      task=Current state
    - archaeologist            subagent_type=research-specialist      task=Past solutions
    - futurist                 subagent_type=research-specialist      task=Speculative futures
    - negative-space-explorer  subagent_type=research-specialist      task=What's NOT discussed
  Batch 2 (Phase 2 — crucible):
    - ach-analyst              subagent_type=general-purpose          task=Analysis of Competing Hypotheses
    - contradiction-mapper     subagent_type=codebase-research-analyst task=Map persona disagreements
  Batch 3 (Phase 3 — strategic):
    - tension-mapper           subagent_type=codebase-research-analyst task=Maximum disagreement points
    - pattern-recognizer       subagent_type=general-purpose          task=Unexpected historical echoes
    - negative-space-analyst   subagent_type=codebase-research-analyst task=Unanswered questions
    - innovation-agent         subagent_type=general-purpose          task=Novel hypotheses
Batches:        3  (Batch 1 → Batch 2 → Batch 3)
Dependencies:   Batch 2 blocked by Batch 1; Batch 3 blocked by Batch 2

Do not call spawn coordinated subagents, track the task, Agent, send follow-up instructions, or end the coordinated run in dry-run mode.

STOP HERE - do not run prerequisite checks, create directories, write files, or deploy agents.

Step 4: Create Research Infrastructure

Only run this step when DRY_RUN=false.

Run the prerequisite check script:

~/.config/opencode/skills/deep-research/scripts/check-prerequisites.sh "$OUTPUT_DIR"

Create the directory structure:

mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings"
mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR/synthesis"
mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR/evidence"

Step 5: Create Research Objective

Only run this step when DRY_RUN=false.

Write the research objective document to $OUTPUT_DIR/objective.md:

# Research Objective: [Subject]

## Core Research Questions

[Generate 3-5 key questions to answer based on the subject]

## Success Criteria

- [ ] All 8 personas deployed with distinct search strategies
- [ ] Minimum 8-10 parallel searches per persona executed
- [ ] Contradictions and disagreements captured, not smoothed over
- [ ] Evidence hierarchy applied (primary > secondary > synthetic > speculative)
- [ ] Cross-domain analogies explored
- [ ] Temporal range covered (past, present, future)

## Evidence Standards

- Primary sources preferred over secondary analysis
- Citations required for all claims
- Confidence ratings assigned to findings
- Contradictions explicitly documented

## Perspectives to Consider

- Historical evolution
- Current state and trends
- Future possibilities
- Alternative viewpoints
- What's NOT being discussed

## Potential Biases to Guard Against

[List 2-3 potential biases based on the subject]

Step 5.5: Team Setup (if --team)

If AGENT_TEAM_MODE=false, skip this step entirely.

If AGENT_TEAM_MODE=true, follow the universal lifecycle contract at ~/.config/opencode/shared/references/agent-team-dispatch.md.

Team name sanitization — apply the rules from the shared reference:

1. Lowercase the research subject.
2. Replace any character matching [^a-z0-9-] with -.
3. Collapse runs of - to a single -.
4. Trim leading/trailing -.
5. Truncate the sanitized context to 20 chars max.
6. If empty, fall back to untitled.

Team name: drpr-<sanitized-subject>.

Create the team (single spawn coordinated subagents call for the whole skill run):

spawn coordinated subagents: team_name="drpr-<sanitized-subject>", description="Deep-research squad for: <research-subject>"

On failure, abort the skill with the spawn coordinated subagents error message. Do NOT silently fall back to sub-agent mode.

Register all 14 tasks up front (per the shared contract's multi-batch guidance — dependencies preserved across batches):

# Batch 1 — Phase 1 personas (flat, no deps)
track the task: subject="historian: Historical evolution of <subject>",              description="Historical evolution, failed attempts, forgotten alternatives."
track the task: subject="contrarian: Disconfirming evidence on <subject>",           description="Expert critiques, documented failures, disconfirming evidence."
track the task: subject="analogist: Cross-domain parallels for <subject>",           description="Biological/military/economic analogies and cross-domain transfers."
track the task: subject="systems-thinker: Second-order effects of <subject>",        description="Stakeholder mapping, causal chains, feedback loops."
track the task: subject="journalist: Current state of <subject>",                    description="Key players, latest developments, present-day dynamics."
track the task: subject="archaeologist: Past solutions for <subject>",               description="Obsolete approaches, 10-50 year old attempts, forgotten lineages."
track the task: subject="futurist: Speculative futures for <subject>",               description="Patents, speculative research, 2030+ predictions."
track the task: subject="negative-space-explorer: What's NOT discussed about <subject>", description="Adoption barriers, silent assumptions, omissions."

# Batch 2 — Phase 2 crucible (blocked by all Batch 1 tasks)
track the task: subject="ach-analyst: Analysis of Competing Hypotheses",             description="Generate 5+ mutually exclusive hypotheses and seek disconfirming evidence."
track the task: subject="contradiction-mapper: Cross-persona disagreements",         description="Map contradictions between the 8 persona findings."
update the todo tracker: addBlockedBy=[<historianTaskId>, <contrarianTaskId>, <analogistTaskId>, <systemsThinkerTaskId>, <journalistTaskId>, <archaeologistTaskId>, <futuristTaskId>, <negativeSpaceExplorerTaskId>]
update the todo tracker: addBlockedBy=[<historianTaskId>, <contrarianTaskId>, <analogistTaskId>, <systemsThinkerTaskId>, <journalistTaskId>, <archaeologistTaskId>, <futuristTaskId>, <negativeSpaceExplorerTaskId>]

# Batch 3 — Phase 3 strategic (blocked by all Batch 2 tasks)
track the task: subject="tension-mapper: Maximum disagreement points",               description="Identify highest-tension disagreements from crucible output."
update the todo tracker: addBlockedBy=[<achAnalystTaskId>, <contradictionMapperTaskId>]
track the task: subject="pattern-recognizer: Unexpected historical echoes",          description="Find surprising pattern matches across persona findings and crucible."
update the todo tracker: addBlockedBy=[<achAnalystTaskId>, <contradictionMapperTaskId>]
track the task: subject="negative-space-analyst: Unanswered questions",              description="Document research gaps and what remains unresolved after crucible."
update the todo tracker: addBlockedBy=[<achAnalystTaskId>, <contradictionMapperTaskId>]
track the task: subject="innovation-agent: Novel hypotheses from combinations",      description="Synthesize novel hypotheses by recombining persona viewpoints."
update the todo tracker: addBlockedBy=[<achAnalystTaskId>, <contradictionMapperTaskId>]

Capture the concrete IDs returned by the preceding track the task calls (historianTaskId, achAnalystTaskId, etc.) and substitute them directly into each addBlockedBy list before running update the todo tracker.

The team persists across all three phases; teammates are spawned per phase (Steps 7, 11, 13) and shut down after each phase completes (Steps 8.5, 12.5, 13.5). end the coordinated run runs inside Step 13.5 — after the final shutdown — before Phase 4 synthesis.

If track the task fails for any task, call end the coordinated run and abort.

Phase 1: Asymmetric Persona Deployment

Step 6: Read Persona Prompts

Read the persona prompt templates:

cat ~/.config/opencode/skills/deep-research/templates/persona-prompts.md

Step 7: Deploy 8 Persona Agents in Parallel

Each agent receives:

• The objective.md file content
• Their specific persona mandate from the template
• Instructions for SCAMPER query variation
• Output file path
• Evidence quality standards

Use the prompts from persona-prompts.md with variables substituted:

• {{RESEARCH_SUBJECT}} - The research topic
• {{OUTPUT_DIR}} - The output directory path

Path A — Standalone sub-agents (AGENT_TEAM_MODE=false, default)

CRITICAL: Deploy all 8 persona agents in a SINGLE message with MULTIPLE Agent tool calls. Omit team_name= for standalone dispatch (keep per-agent name= where relevant).

Path B — Agent team (AGENT_TEAM_MODE=true)

MANDATORY — AGENT TEAMS REQUIRED

In Path B you MUST follow the agent-team lifecycle at ~/.config/opencode/shared/references/agent-team-dispatch.md. Do NOT mix standalone Task calls with team dispatch.

All 8 track the task entries were registered up front in Step 5.5 — do not re-create them here.

Spawn all 8 teammates in ONE message with EIGHT Agent tool calls. Every call MUST include:

• team_name = "drpr-<sanitized-subject>"
• name = "<teammate-name>" (from the table above — must match the track the task subject prefix)
• subagent_type = "research-specialist"
• The persona-specific prompt from persona-prompts.md

After spawning, use the todo tracker to confirm all 8 Batch 1 tasks are completed before proceeding to Step 8. Do not rely on agent return values alone — check the shared task state.

Step 8: Monitor Persona Research Progress

Update todos to track persona deployment:

- [ ] Historian research completed
- [ ] Contrarian research completed
- [ ] Analogist research completed
- [ ] Systems Thinker research completed
- [ ] Journalist research completed
- [ ] Archaeologist research completed
- [ ] Futurist research completed
- [ ] Negative Space Explorer research completed

Step 8.5: Shut Down Phase 1 Teammates (if --team)

If AGENT_TEAM_MODE=false, skip this step.

Otherwise, per the shared lifecycle (Section 2 Step 5), send shutdown requests to all 8 persona teammates before advancing to Phase 2:

send follow-up instructions(to="historian",                message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="contrarian",               message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="analogist",                message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="systems-thinker",          message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="journalist",               message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="archaeologist",            message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="futurist",                 message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="negative-space-explorer",  message={type:"shutdown_request"})

Do NOT end the coordinated run — the team persists for Phases 2 and 3.

Phase 2: The Crucible - Structured Analysis

Step 9: Read All Persona Findings

After all 8 persona agents complete, read their outputs:

ls -la "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/historian.md"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/contrarian.md"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/analogist.md"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/systems-thinker.md"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/journalist.md"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/archaeologist.md"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/futurist.md"
cat "$OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/negative-space.md"

Step 10: Read Analysis Prompts

Read the analysis agent templates:

cat ~/.config/opencode/skills/deep-research/templates/analysis-prompts.md

Step 11: Deploy Crucible Analysis Agents

Both agents receive:

• All 8 persona findings
• The objective.md file
• Their specific analysis mandate
• Output file path

Path A — Standalone sub-agents (AGENT_TEAM_MODE=false, default)

CRITICAL: Deploy both analysis agents in a SINGLE message with MULTIPLE Agent tool calls. Omit team_name= for standalone dispatch (keep per-agent name= where relevant).

Path B — Agent team (AGENT_TEAM_MODE=true)

Both track the task entries were registered up front in Step 5.5 (blocked by all Batch 1 tasks — they become eligible once Phase 1 completes).

Spawn both teammates in ONE message with TWO Agent tool calls. Every call MUST include:

• team_name = "drpr-<sanitized-subject>"
• name = "ach-analyst" or "contradiction-mapper"
• The corresponding subagent_type from the table above
• The analysis prompt from analysis-prompts.md

After spawning, use the todo tracker to confirm both Batch 2 tasks are completed before proceeding to Step 12.

Step 12: Evidence Triangulation

After crucible analysis completes, verify critical findings:

1. Identify claims made by multiple personas
2. Use WebFetch for primary source validation
3. Document verification results to $OUTPUT_DIR/evidence/verification-log.md:

# Evidence Verification Log

## High-Confidence Findings

### [Finding 1]

- **Claimed by**: Historian, Journalist, Systems Thinker
- **Primary sources**: [URLs]
- **Verification status**: Confirmed
- **Confidence**: High

### [Finding 2]

- **Claimed by**: Contrarian
- **Primary sources**: [URLs]
- **Verification status**: Partial
- **Confidence**: Medium
- **Notes**: [Explanation]

## Contradictions Requiring Resolution

### [Contradiction 1]

- **Persona A says**: [Claim]
- **Persona B says**: [Counter-claim]
- **Evidence for A**: [Sources]
- **Evidence for B**: [Sources]
- **Resolution**: [Assessment]

Step 12.5: Shut Down Phase 2 Teammates (if --team)

If AGENT_TEAM_MODE=false, skip this step.

Otherwise, send shutdown requests to both crucible teammates before advancing to Phase 3:

send follow-up instructions(to="ach-analyst",           message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="contradiction-mapper",  message={type:"shutdown_request"})

Do NOT end the coordinated run — the team persists for Phase 3.

Phase 3: Emergent Insight Generation

Step 13: Deploy Strategic Analysis Agents

Note on naming: negative-space-analyst is deliberately distinct from Phase 1's negative-space-explorer to keep teammate name= values unique across the full team lifecycle.

All agents receive:

• All persona findings
• Crucible analysis results
• Evidence verification log
• Their specific analysis mandate

Path A — Standalone sub-agents (AGENT_TEAM_MODE=false, default)

CRITICAL: Deploy all 4 strategic analysis agents in a SINGLE message with MULTIPLE Agent tool calls. Omit team_name= for standalone dispatch (keep per-agent name= where relevant).

Path B — Agent team (AGENT_TEAM_MODE=true)

All 4 track the task entries were registered up front in Step 5.5 (blocked by all Batch 2 tasks).

Spawn all 4 teammates in ONE message with FOUR Agent tool calls. Every call MUST include:

• team_name = "drpr-<sanitized-subject>"
• name = "<teammate-name>" (from the table above)
• The corresponding subagent_type
• The strategic analysis prompt

After spawning, use the todo tracker to confirm all 4 Batch 3 tasks are completed before proceeding to Step 13.5.

Step 13.5: Shut Down Phase 3 Teammates and Delete Team (if --team)

If AGENT_TEAM_MODE=false, skip this step.

Otherwise, send shutdown requests to all 4 strategic teammates, then tear down the team:

send follow-up instructions(to="tension-mapper",          message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="pattern-recognizer",      message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="negative-space-analyst",  message={type:"shutdown_request"})
send follow-up instructions(to="innovation-agent",        message={type:"shutdown_request"})
end the coordinated run

ALWAYS end the coordinated run before Phase 4 — Phase 4 is orchestrator-only synthesis work and the team is no longer needed. Leaving the team live pollutes the workspace across skill invocations.

Failure policy for the team lifecycle (applies to Steps 7, 11, 13):

• Single teammate failure: Record the gap in the corresponding output file (e.g., a stub note in persona-findings/<name>.md) and continue. Downstream phases will adapt.
• Majority failure in a batch (≥50% failed): Abort the skill. Send shutdown_request to any still-active teammates, call end the coordinated run, and report to the user. Suggest retrying without --team (standalone sub-agent fallback).
• Mid-run user abort: send follow-up instructions(shutdown) to every active teammate, then end the coordinated run. Never exit the skill with the team still live.

Phase 4: Strategic Report Synthesis

Step 14: Read All Research Artifacts

Read all outputs to prepare for synthesis:

Persona Findings (8 files) Crucible Analysis (2 files) Strategic Analysis (4 files) Evidence Verification (1 file)

Step 15: Read Report Template

Read the report structure template:

cat ~/.config/opencode/skills/deep-research/templates/report-structure.md

Step 16: Generate Final Report

Create $OUTPUT_DIR/report.md following the template structure.

Synthesis Principles:

1. Organize by insight, not by persona - Synthesize related findings
2. Highlight contradictions - Don't smooth over disagreements
3. Evidence hierarchy - Primary > Secondary > Synthetic > Speculative
4. Actionable intelligence - Focus on strategic implications
5. Preserve uncertainty - Mark areas requiring further research

Step 17: Validate Research Quality

Run the validation script:

~/.config/opencode/skills/deep-research/scripts/validate-research.sh "$OUTPUT_DIR"

Fix any issues reported:

• Missing persona findings
• Empty synthesis files
• Insufficient evidence citations
• Formatting problems

Step 18: Display Completion Summary

Provide comprehensive completion summary:

# Deep Research Complete: [Subject]

## Research Overview

- **Subject**: [Research subject]
- **Output Directory**: $OUTPUT_DIR/
- **Total Files Created**: [count]

## Research Execution

### Phase 1: Persona Deployment

- Historian: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings
- Contrarian: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings
- Analogist: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings
- Systems Thinker: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings
- Journalist: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings
- Archaeologist: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings
- Futurist: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings
- Negative Space Explorer: [search count] queries, [findings count] findings

### Phase 2: Crucible Analysis

- ACH Analysis: [hypotheses count] hypotheses analyzed
- Contradiction Mapping: [contradictions count] contradictions identified

### Phase 3: Emergent Insights

- Tension Mapping: [tensions count] tensions identified
- Pattern Recognition: [patterns count] patterns discovered
- Negative Space: [gaps count] research gaps identified
- Innovation: [insights count] novel hypotheses generated

### Phase 4: Report Synthesis

- Final report: $OUTPUT_DIR/report.md

## Key Discoveries

[2-3 most surprising or valuable findings]

## Critical Contradictions

[Top 1-2 unresolved disagreements between personas]

## Evidence Quality

- **High-confidence findings**: [count]
- **Medium-confidence findings**: [count]
- **Speculative findings**: [count]
- **Primary sources cited**: [count]

## Research Gaps

[Top 3-5 areas requiring further investigation]

## Next Steps

1. **Review the report**: Read $OUTPUT_DIR/report.md
2. **Examine specific personas**: Dive into $OUTPUT_DIR/persona-findings/ for details
3. **Review synthesis**: Check $OUTPUT_DIR/synthesis/ for analysis
4. **Verify evidence**: See $OUTPUT_DIR/evidence/verification-log.md

Quality Standards

Research Execution Checklist

Phase 1 - Persona Deployment:

• All 8 personas deployed with distinct search strategies
• Minimum 8-10 parallel searches per persona executed
• Each persona file includes confidence ratings
• Evidence sources cited for all claims
• Contradictions within persona findings noted

Phase 2 - Crucible Analysis:

• ACH analysis generated 5+ mutually exclusive hypotheses
• Disconfirming evidence actively sought
• Cross-persona contradictions mapped
• Emergent patterns identified
• Verification log created with primary sources

Phase 3 - Strategic Analysis:

• Tension mapping identifies maximum disagreement
• Pattern recognition finds unexpected connections
• Negative space documents unanswered questions
• Innovation synthesis generates novel hypotheses

Phase 4 - Report Synthesis:

• Executive synthesis is information-dense (not summary)
• Multi-perspective analysis preserves persona insights
• Evidence portfolio includes confidence ratings
• Strategic implications address second/third-order effects
• Research gaps explicitly documented

Persona Quality Checklist

Each persona finding should:

• Focus on its unique perspective
• Execute 8-10 diverse search queries
• Apply SCAMPER method for query variation
• Include confidence ratings on findings
• Cite primary sources
• Document uncertainties
• Capture contradictions with other sources

Evidence Quality Checklist

• Primary sources > Secondary sources > Synthetic > Speculative
• All major claims have citations
• Contradictions explicitly documented
• Confidence ratings assigned
• Verification log maintained
• Sources are authoritative and current

Best Practices

SCAMPER Query Variation

When deploying personas, encourage diverse search strategies using SCAMPER:

• Substitute: What if we replace X with Y?
• Combine: How does X interact with Y?
• Adapt: How has this been done in other domains?
• Modify: What if we change the scale/scope?
• Put to other uses: What else could this be used for?
• Eliminate: What if we remove X?
• Reverse: What if we do the opposite?

Evidence Hierarchy

Prioritize sources by quality:

1. Primary: Original research, official documentation, first-hand accounts
2. Secondary: Expert analysis, peer-reviewed synthesis, authoritative commentary
3. Synthetic: General media, aggregated data, secondary interpretations
4. Speculative: Predictions, opinion pieces, unverified claims

Contradiction Management

When personas disagree:

• Document: Capture both viewpoints with evidence
• Don't smooth: Preserve the tension
• Investigate: Search for additional evidence
• Assess: Determine which is better supported
• Report: Include in final synthesis with confidence ratings

Temporal Coverage

Ensure research spans:

• Past (10-50 years ago): Historical evolution, forgotten alternatives
• Recent past (1-10 years ago): Recent developments, failed attempts
• Present: Current state, key players, latest trends
• Near future (1-5 years): Emerging patterns, predictions
• Far future (5+ years): Speculative research, long-term implications

Troubleshooting

Issue: Persona findings are too similar

Cause: Personas not sufficiently differentiated Solution: Re-read persona mandates, ensure distinct search strategies, add SCAMPER variation

Issue: Too many speculative findings, not enough evidence

Cause: Insufficient primary source research Solution: Use WebFetch to access primary sources, prioritize authoritative documentation

Issue: Contradictions not being captured

Cause: Smooth-over tendency, lack of critical analysis Solution: Explicitly instruct personas to find disconfirming evidence, deploy Contrarian first

Issue: Research too shallow

Cause: Not enough search queries per persona Solution: Ensure minimum 8-10 diverse queries per persona, use SCAMPER for variation

Issue: Report is just a summary

Cause: Missing synthesis and analysis Solution: Read all artifacts before writing report, focus on insights not summaries, highlight contradictions

Issue: Research gaps not identified

Cause: Insufficient negative space analysis Solution: Deploy Negative Space Explorer and Negative Space Agent, explicitly look for what's NOT discussed

Important Notes

• You are the research orchestrator - coordinate persona agents, synthesize findings
• Deploy in parallel - single message per phase. Default uses multiple Task calls (standalone sub-agents). With --team, use multiple Agent calls with team_name= + name= under a shared spawn coordinated subagents/the todo tracker (Claude Code only).
• Preserve contradictions - don't smooth over disagreements
• Evidence quality matters - prioritize primary sources
• Temporal coverage - past, present, future perspectives
• SCAMPER variation - diverse search strategies per persona
• Quality over quantity - 8-10 well-crafted queries better than 20 generic ones
• Strategic intelligence - focus on actionable insights and implications
• Document uncertainty - mark areas requiring further research