REVIEW — TFW-32 / Phase C: Multi-Iteration Research Formalization

Date: 2026-04-10 Author: AI (Reviewer) Verdict: ✅ APPROVE RF: RF Phase C TS: TS Phase C

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1. Review Checklist

#	Check	Status	Notes
1	DoD met? (all TS acceptance criteria)	✅	All 12 criteria verified — see §1.1 below
2	Code quality (conventions, naming, type hints)	✅	Markdown and YAML only. Naming follows §4 conventions. YAML indentation consistent with existing config
3	Test coverage (tests written and passing)	✅/N/A	No executable code. Build gate (echo) passes. Manual verification in RF §3
4	Philosophy aligned (matches HL design philosophy)	✅	Trace preservation (researchN/ accumulate), structural enforcement (min_iterations gate), coordinator control (iterations.yaml). All match D4, D14, D18, D19
5	Tech debt (shortcuts documented?)	✅	No shortcuts taken. 3 observations properly documented in RF §5
6	Security (no secrets exposed, guards in place)	N/A	Documentation-only changes
7	Breaking changes (backward compat, migrations)	✅	All changes additive. No iterations.yaml → single-iteration flow (Step 0 falls back). Existing tasks unaffected
8	Style & standards (code style, conventions)	✅	Follows existing workflow formatting: ## for steps, ### for sub-steps, > for callouts, tables for structured data. Glossary entries follow established pattern (term → description → cross-reference)
9	Observations collected (executor reported findings)	✅	3 observations in RF §5, 1 fact candidate in RF §6

1.1 Detailed DoD Verification

#	Criterion	Status	Verified at
1	tfw.research.min_iterations: 2 in PROJECT_CONFIG.yaml	✅	PROJECT_CONFIG.yaml L48. Correct placement, comment matches TS
2	conventions.md §4 "Multi-iteration research" with researchN/ table, trace rule, iterations.yaml YAML block	✅	conventions.md L125-158. Complete: naming table (4 rows), trace rule, YAML format with all fields
3	research/base.md Step 0 detects iterations	✅	base.md L12-25. Checks iterations.yaml, counts folders, reads predecessor RES
4	research/base.md Step 3 creates researchN/ + iter2+ briefing	✅	base.md L39-49. Two cases (iter 1 vs N>1), three briefing requirements for iter2+
5	research/base.md Step 6 per-iteration RES naming + Iteration Status	✅	base.md L83-93. Naming rules, mandatory block reference, STOP message with
6	research/base.md Limits table has min_iterations row	✅	base.md L127. Default 2, Type Hard, config key min_iterations
7	plan.md Step 6 has 3 sub-steps	✅	plan.md L65-103. 6a (L67-75), 6b (L77-85), 6c (L87-103)
8	plan.md Step 6c gate logic	✅	plan.md L94-101. < min → MUST launch. ≥ min → coordinator decides with 3 options
9	plan.md Step 6c: HL update after each iteration	✅	plan.md L89-92 (per iteration) + L103 (after all complete)
10	RES template Iteration Status block before Conclusion	✅	RES.md L84-107. All required fields: iteration N/M, hypotheses, gaps, superseded, Open Threads table, Recommendation. Conclusion at L109
11	glossary.md has 3 terms with cross-refs	✅	glossary.md L112-119. "Iteration (Research)" → conventions §4. "iterations.yaml" → conventions §4. "min_iterations" → plan.md Step 6c
12	STOP message says "iteration {N} complete"	✅	base.md L93

2. Verdict

✅ APPROVE

All 12 acceptance criteria pass. Implementation is clean, backwards compatible, and follows the research decisions (D4, D14, D18, D19) precisely. The plan.md Step 6 expansion from 11 lines to 39 lines is well-structured with clear sub-step flow (6a → 6b → 6c loop). The RES template Iteration Status block matches the organic pattern that emerged in TFW-32 research iterations 3-4.

Key quality signals: - Trace preservation enforced: "Research folders accumulate — never delete or overwrite" rule in conventions.md - Gate is structural, not advisory: plan.md 6c uses "MUST" for < min_iterations — not "should" or "consider" - Backwards compatible: all changes additive, no iterations.yaml → existing behavior preserved - Cross-references complete: glossary entries link to conventions and plan.md, conventions links to plan.md

3. Tech Debt Collected

#	Source	Severity	File	Description	Action
1	RF obs #1	Low	.tfw/workflows/research/base.md L53	Step 4 Briefing Protocol still references research/briefing.md path. In multi-iteration context (iter 2+), briefing is written to researchN/briefing.md. Step 3 handles creation correctly, but Step 4 wording is iteration-unaware. Functional (template copying works), but could confuse a new researcher agent	→ backlog
2	RF obs #2	Low	.tfw/workflows/plan.md	plan.md grew to 140 lines (+30%). Still within workflow word limit (~1200 words) but approaching threshold. Monitor growth in future phases	→ monitor

RF observation #3 (iterations.yaml not in §4 naming table) is NOT tech debt — consistent with current pattern (PROJECT_CONFIG.yaml also not in naming table). Control files ≠ artifacts.

4. Traces Updated

• [x] README Task Board — will update after user confirms
• [x] HL status — Phase C complete, master HL unaffected
• [ ] tfw-docs: N/A (methodology documentation, not project architecture)
• [ ] tfw-knowledge: Applied — facts from TFW-32 research to consolidate in batch

5. Fact Candidates

#	Category	Candidate	Source	Confidence
1	process	The Iteration Status + Open Threads pattern emerged organically in TFW-32 RES iterations 3-4 before being formalized. Organic emergence → formalization is a reliable pattern for discovering workflow improvements: if agents invent it independently, it should be codified	RF Phase C, HL Phase C §2.3	★★★
2	convention	TFW now has two types of "passes" in research: Pass (OODA loops within one iteration, controlled by loops_per_stage/max_passes) and Iteration (full research rounds, controlled by min_iterations). These are orthogonal: Pass = depth within one investigation, Iteration = breadth across investigations. Both have config keys in PROJECT_CONFIG.yaml	This review, glossary verification	★★☆

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REVIEW — TFW-32 / Phase C: Multi-Iteration Research Formalization | 2026-04-10