Research Specification Workflow

Questions to Ask

Research: "[description]"

1. What are you trying to discover?
2. What decisions need to be made based on findings?
3. Any constraints or areas to focus on?
4. What's the desired output format?

Requirements Format

## 1. Requirements ✓

### Requirement 1: Investigate [Topic]

**User Story:** As a [role], I want to understand [topic], so that [decision can be made].

#### Acceptance Criteria
1. WHEN investigation complete THE FINDINGS SHALL [answer key questions]
2. WHEN options identified THE ANALYSIS SHALL [include trade-offs]
3. WHEN recommendation made THE REASONING SHALL [be documented]

Analysis Section

## 2. Research Scope ✓

**Questions to Answer**:
1. [Key question 1]
2. [Key question 2]
3. [Key question 3]

**Areas to Investigate**:
- [Area 1]
- [Area 2]

**Decision Context**: 
[What decision this research informs]

**Constraints**:
[Time, resources, technology limits]

Scope Section

## 3. Scope ✓

**In Scope**:
- [Specific topics to research]
- [Sources to consult]

**Out of Scope**:
- [Related but separate topics]
- [Implementation details]

**Complexity**: [simple/moderate/complex]

Success Criteria

## 4. Success Criteria ✓

- [ ] All key questions answered
- [ ] Trade-offs documented
- [ ] Recommendation provided (if applicable)
- [ ] Findings actionable for next steps

Output Format

Research specs may output findings document instead of implementation-ready spec:

## Findings

### [Question 1]
[Answer with supporting evidence]

### [Question 2]
[Answer with supporting evidence]

## Options Analysis

| Option | Pros | Cons |
|--------|------|------|
| A | ... | ... |
| B | ... | ... |

## Recommendation
[Recommended approach with reasoning]

## Next Steps
[What to do with these findings]