From 2c7c0d59ea34f40950dbebf61e1f7164f5f2ae9a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Magnus Hedemark Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2026 18:20:20 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] docs(research-methodology): add interruption and timeout recovery guidance Document that a delegated research worker timeout is an interruption, not a result: recover partial artifacts, resume from the last durable checkpoint, and judge completion by evidence completeness rather than elapsed time. Co-authored-by: factory-droid[bot] <138933558+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com> --- research-methodology/SKILL.md | 15 +++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+) diff --git a/research-methodology/SKILL.md b/research-methodology/SKILL.md index 95c0d26..151af9f 100644 --- a/research-methodology/SKILL.md +++ b/research-methodology/SKILL.md @@ -39,6 +39,21 @@ Before reporting, make the preservation decision explicit: The right artifact shape depends on the environment. Do not assume a particular database, note-taking application, or orchestration system. The invariant is durable, navigable, evidence-linked research that a later user or agent can discover and build on. +## Interruption and Timeout Recovery + +A research worker timeout is an interruption, not a research result. Never close the investigation, summarize it as complete, or infer that no useful work exists because a delegated worker exceeded its execution cap. Long research jobs commonly encounter slow extraction, rate limits, or one unresponsive source after producing valuable partial work. + +When a worker times out: + +1. Read the complete delegation transcript and inspect the workspace or scratch directory before deciding what was lost. +2. Recover and verify every partial artifact, source log, and extracted claim already written. +3. Resume from the last durable checkpoint rather than restarting broad discovery. +4. Narrow or replace the slow operation, especially large PDF extraction or repeated rate-limited search, and write each subsequent stage incrementally. +5. If the worker cannot be resumed safely, continue the missing research directly or split it into smaller bounded tasks. A timeout changes the execution path, not the acceptance criteria. +6. Do not report completion until the research question is covered, retained sources and claims are represented in the durable evidence artifacts, and unresolved gaps are explicit. + +The acceptance gate is evidence completeness and artifact verification, not elapsed time, worker status, or the existence of a plausible partial summary. + ## Reference Files ### Tracks