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Behavior & Lifecycle⚓︎

This document defines how Topics and Decisions evolve. It ensures that every thought moves from a simple question to a valuable lesson in a predictable way.

The Decision Journey⚓︎

To turn a thought into wisdom, every Topic follows this natural flow:

  1. Frame — Define what you are thinking about.
  2. Explore — Add different choices and the reasons for or against them.
  3. Decide — Pick one choice and record what you expect to happen.
  4. Observe — Watch for real-world results (The Outcome).
  5. Review — Compare the reality to your original plan.
  6. Learn — Write down the lesson and close the Topic.

Re-opening

If circumstances change, an Archived Topic can be re-opened to start a new round of thinking.

Topic Status⚓︎

A Topic is always in one of these stages:

Status Meaning
Framing Defining the problem and context.
Exploring Adding options and weighing pros/cons.
Decided A choice has been made.
Observing Waiting to see the actual results.
Reviewing Reflecting on the result to find the lesson.
Archived Closed with a resolution or lesson.
Unresolved Closed because no decision was possible.

Lifecycle Diagrams⚓︎

Topic Lifecycle⚓︎

How a thought moves from a question to a permanent memory.

graph TD
    Start(( )) --> Framing["📁 Framing"]
    Framing --> Exploring["💡 Exploring"]

    Exploring --> Decided["🏁 Decided"]
    Decided --> Observing["📉 Observing"]
    Observing --> Reviewing["🧐 Reviewing"]
    Reviewing --> Archived["🎓 Archived"]

    %% Exit Paths
    Exploring -.-> Unresolved["🚫 Unresolved"]
    Decided -.-> Unresolved

    %% Re-open
    Archived -.-> Framing

    %% Styles
    linkStyle default stroke:#ccc,stroke-width:1px;
    style Start fill:#333
    style Archived fill:#d1c4e9,stroke:none
    style Unresolved fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:none,stroke-dasharray: 5 5

Choice Lifecycle⚓︎

How individual options evolve.

graph LR
    Proposed["📄 Proposed"] --> Accepted["✅ Selected"]
    Proposed --> Rejected["❌ Not Selected"]
    Proposed --> Deferred["⏳ Saved for Later"]

    Deferred --> Proposed

    %% Styles
    linkStyle default stroke:#ccc,stroke-width:1px;
    style Accepted fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:none
    style Rejected fill:#ffebee,stroke:none
    style Proposed fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:none

Core Actions⚓︎

1. Explore & Weigh⚓︎

During the Exploring stage, we add Choices (options) and Reasons (pros and cons).
* Rule: You must have at least one Choice before you can make a Decision.
* Rule: Once a Decision is made, Choices and Reasons become "Locked" (Immutable).

2. Commit (The Decision)⚓︎

Making a decision is the most important step.
* Action: Pick exactly one Choice.
* Confidence: Record how sure you feel (e.g., "70% sure this will work").
* Expectation: Describe what you think will happen in the next 3-6 months.

3. Reflect (Review & Lesson)⚓︎

Once the real-world Outcome is clear, the Topic moves to Reviewing.
* Review: "We expected X, but Y happened instead."
* Lesson: A short, portable tip for your future self.
* Example: "Always test the backup before deleting the original."

The Rules of the System⚓︎

To keep the memory trustworthy, DMS follows these "Invariants":

Non-negotiable Rules

  • History is never rewritten: You cannot change what you were thinking after the outcome is known.
  • No skipping steps: You cannot write a Lesson without first recording an Outcome and a Review.
  • One Pick: A Decision must refer to exactly one Choice.
  • Attributed: Every action is signed by the person who did it.

Guiding Principles⚓︎

  • Learning is additive: We don't delete old mistakes; we add new lessons on top of them.
  • Nothing is lost: Even "Unresolved" topics are saved so we know why we gave up.
  • Trust is transparency: You always know who decided what and why.

TODO⚓︎

  • Define "Auto-Archive" rules for topics that sit in "Observing" for too long.