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inclusion: always
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# Discovery-Artifacts Steering

This is an always-on convention that primes every spec workflow with the Discovery
Artifacts and enforces that each requirement is traceable to concrete discovery
material. It applies on every spec workflow interaction (Req 7.3).

## Discovery Artifacts

The four Discovery Artifacts, produced by the Discovery Powers and stored in version
control, are:

- `problem-statement.md` — the root-cause problem definition, facts, open questions, and assumptions.
- `personas.md` — the proto-personas and their jobs-to-be-done.
- `prior-art.md` — the survey of existing solutions and the build/do-not-build recommendation.
- `user-journeys.md` — the mapped journeys and their annotated stages.

## When a spec workflow begins

1. **Prime with every Discovery Artifact (Req 7.1).** At the start of a spec workflow,
   load and prime the workflow with each of the four Discovery Artifacts —
   `problem-statement.md`, `personas.md`, `prior-art.md`, and `user-journeys.md`.
   Treat them as the authoritative source of the problem space, the users, the
   competitive landscape, and the journeys that requirements must serve.

2. **Check for missing artifacts (Req 7.4).** If any Discovery Artifact is absent when
   the spec workflow begins, report by name exactly which artifact(s) are missing and
   **pause requirement authoring** until the missing artifact(s) are supplied. Do not
   proceed to author requirements against an incomplete discovery set. Point the user to
   the Discovery Power that produces the missing artifact:
   - `problem-statement.md` → Problem_Interrogator
   - `personas.md` → Product_Owner
   - `prior-art.md` → Prior_Art_Researcher
   - `user-journeys.md` → User_Journey_Mapper

## Requirement traceability

3. **Trace every requirement (Req 7.2).** Trace each requirement to **exactly one**
   specific journey stage (in `user-journeys.md`) or **one** stated problem (in
   `problem-statement.md`). Record the trace explicitly alongside the requirement so a
   reviewer can follow it back to its discovery source. A single, specific trace target
   is required — not a vague or multi-target reference.

4. **Withhold untraceable requirements (Req 7.5).** If a requirement cannot be traced to
   a journey stage or a stated problem, flag it as **untraceable** and **withhold it from
   the approved requirement set** until a trace is established. An untraceable requirement
   must not be treated as approved. Resolve it by one of:
   - establishing a valid trace to an existing journey stage or stated problem,
   - returning to the relevant Discovery Power to produce the missing discovery material
     that would justify the requirement, or
   - dropping the requirement.

## Summary

- Prime spec workflows with all four Discovery Artifacts. (7.1)
- Trace each requirement to exactly one journey stage or one stated problem. (7.2)
- This convention is always-on across every spec workflow interaction. (7.3)
- Report missing artifacts and pause requirement authoring until supplied. (7.4)
- Flag untraceable requirements and withhold them from the approved set until traced. (7.5)
