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nw-density-resolution-contract

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Shared density-resolution contract for wave skills. Canonical detail on the D12 cascade, density resolver call, ad-hoc override workflow, and DocumentationDensityEvent telemetry emission. Referenced from nw-discover / nw-discuss / nw-design / nw-devops / nw-distill / nw-deliver.

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Density Resolution Contract (shared across wave skills)

This skill is the canonical source for the density-aware behaviour every wave skill must implement. Wave skills inherit it by reference and keep a brief inline summary so phrase-grep contract tests stay green; full detail lives here so the same boilerplate is not duplicated six times.

Provenance: feature lean-wave-documentation — D2 (schema-typed sections), D4 (telemetry instrumented day-one), D6 (first-install pedagogical prompt), D10 (one-line expansion descriptions), D12 (rigor cascade), DDD-5 (density resolver shared utility), DDD-6 (telemetry event lives in DES domain).

Output Tiers (per D2 + D10)

Each wave emits a single feature-delta.md whose headings are typed [REF] (always emitted) or [WHY]/[HOW] (lazy expansions). Tier-1 is the always-on baseline; Tier-2 is the lazily-rendered expansion catalog. The .feature file (DISTILL) and other machine artifacts remain the SSOT for executable content; the wave-delta sections are pointers + structured summaries.

  • Tier-1 [REF] — emitted under ## Wave: <NAME> / [REF] <Section> headings on every run. Wave-specific list of [REF] sections lives in each wave skill.
  • Tier-2 EXPANSION CATALOG — NOT emitted by default. Rendered only when explicitly requested via --expand <id> (DDD-2) or via the wave-end interactive prompt when expansion_prompt = "ask". Each item has a one-line description (per D10) so the menu fits in a single render. Each emitted Tier-2 section is headed ## Wave: <NAME> / [WHY] <Section> or ## Wave: <NAME> / [HOW] <Section>. The catalog itself is wave-specific.

Density resolution (per D12)

Before emitting any Tier-1 section, resolve the active documentation density:

  1. Read ~/.nwave/global-config.json. Treat missing/malformed config as empty dict (fall back to defaults).
  2. Call resolve_density(global_config) from scripts/shared/density_config.py. The function returns a Density value object with fields mode ("lean" | "full"), expansion_prompt ("ask" | "always-skip" | "always-expand" | "smart"), and provenance (the cascade branch that produced this result).
  3. Branch on density.mode:
    • lean → emit ONLY Tier-1 [REF] sections. Do NOT auto-render Tier-2 items.
    • full → emit Tier-1 [REF] sections PLUS all Tier-2 expansion items rendered under their [WHY] / [HOW] headings. This is auto-expansion (no menu).
  4. At wave end, branch on density.expansion_prompt:
    • "ask" → present the expansion menu (Tier-2 catalog with one-line descriptions per D10) and append user-selected items as ## Wave: <NAME> / [WHY|HOW] <Section> headings.
    • "always-skip" → no menu, no extra sections (idempotent re-runs, CI mode).
    • "always-expand" → equivalent to mode = "full" for this run; auto-render every Tier-2 item.
    • "smart" → out of scope for v1 (per OQ-3); treat as "ask" until heuristic is empirically tuned.

The resolver itself encodes the D12 cascade: explicit documentation.density override > rigor.profile mapping (lean→lean, standard→lean+ask, thorough→full, exhaustive→full+all-expansions, custom→lean+ask) > hard default lean+ask. Wave skills MUST NOT replicate the cascade locally — call resolve_density(global_config) and trust its output.

Section heading prefix convention (per D2): every emitted section starts with ## Wave: <NAME> / [REF] <Section> for Tier-1; ## Wave: <NAME> / [WHY] <Section> or ## Wave: <NAME> / [HOW] <Section> for Tier-2. Validator scripts/validation/validate_feature_delta.py enforces the regex ^## Wave: \w+ / \[(REF|WHY|HOW)\] .+$ on every wave heading.

Ad-hoc override — user request mid-session

Even when density.mode = "lean" and density.expansion_prompt = "always-skip", the user may ask DURING the wave session for specific expansions:

  • "expand jtbd" / "expand jtbd-narrative" / "more on jtbd"
  • "add alternatives considered"
  • "show migration playbook"
  • "tell me why" (interpretive — append the WHY rationale section relevant to the most recent decision)
  • "more on " (where <X> is one of the expansion catalog items for this wave)

When the user makes such a request:

  1. Append the corresponding [WHY] or [HOW] section to feature-delta.md under the current wave's heading.
  2. Emit a DocumentationDensityEvent with choice="expand" and expansion_id=<the requested item> to JsonlAuditLogWriter.
  3. Do NOT modify ~/.nwave/global-config.json. The override is ONE-SHOT for this wave only.

If the user's request matches NO item in the wave's Expansion Catalog, respond with the catalog list (one-line description per item per D10) and ask for clarification — do NOT improvise an expansion outside the catalog.

Telemetry (per D4 + DDD-6)

Every expansion choice — whether the user expanded an item or skipped the menu — emits a structured event to the existing JsonlAuditLogWriter driven adapter.

Event type: DocumentationDensityEvent (dataclass at src/des/domain/telemetry/documentation_density_event.py).

Schema fields (per D4) — substitute the active wave name in the wave field:

{
  "feature_id": "<feature-id>",
  "wave": "<WAVE-NAME>",
  "expansion_id": "<id-from-catalog-or-'*'-for-skip-all>",
  "choice": "skip" | "expand",
  "timestamp": "<ISO-8601 datetime>"
}

Emission pattern:

  1. Construct a DocumentationDensityEvent(feature_id=..., wave="<WAVE>", expansion_id=..., choice=..., timestamp=...).
  2. Call event.to_audit_event() to convert to the open AuditEvent shape (event_type="DOCUMENTATION_DENSITY" and the schema fields nested under data).
  3. Dispatch via JsonlAuditLogWriter().log_event(audit_event).

The wave-skill harness invokes the helper scripts/shared/telemetry.py:write_density_event(...) which performs all three steps. Wave skills MUST NOT bypass the helper or write JSONL directly — every density telemetry event flows through the shared helper to keep the audit-log schema consistent.

When to emit:

  • One event per user choice in the expansion menu when expansion_prompt = "ask" (choice = "expand" for selected items, choice = "skip" with expansion_id = "*" if the user skips the entire menu).
  • One synthetic choice = "skip" event with expansion_id = "*" when expansion_prompt = "always-skip" (records the skipped menu opportunity).
  • One choice = "expand" event per Tier-2 item rendered when mode = "full" or expansion_prompt = "always-expand".

This telemetry feeds the propagation success metric: when downstream waves consume a lean upstream feature-delta and produce no --expand, the [REF] baseline plus machine artifacts is sufficient.

How wave skills reference this contract

Each wave skill keeps a short inline summary that:

  1. Names the wave (e.g. ## Wave: DISTILL / [REF] <Section>) and lists its own Tier-1 sections + Tier-2 expansion catalog (wave-specific content).
  2. Re-states the ## Density resolution heading + the resolver call + the lean/full mode branches + expansion_prompt key + the path ~/.nwave/global-config.json + the resolver path scripts/shared/density_config.py (phrase-grep contract).
  3. Re-states the ## Telemetry heading + DocumentationDensityEvent + JsonlAuditLogWriter + to_audit_event + the schema fields (feature_id, expansion_id, choice, timestamp) + the wave-specific "wave": "<WAVE>" literal (phrase-grep contract).
  4. Cites provenance decisions: D2, D4, D10, D12, DDD-5, DDD-6.
  5. References this shared skill for the full how-to instead of duplicating the explanation.

The contract phrases are pinned by tests/des/unit/skills/test_wave_skills_density_aware.py; any wave skill missing a phrase fails that test. The shared skill is the source of truth for the BEHAVIOUR; the wave skills are the source of truth for the WAVE-SPECIFIC content (Tier-1 list, Tier-2 catalog, wave heading prefix).

on every wave heading.\n\n### Ad-hoc override — user request mid-session\n\nEven when `density.mode = \"lean\"` and `density.expansion_prompt = \"always-skip\"`, the user may ask DURING the wave session for specific expansions:\n\n- \"expand jtbd\" / \"expand jtbd-narrative\" / \"more on jtbd\"\n- \"add alternatives considered\"\n- \"show migration playbook\"\n- \"tell me why\" (interpretive — append the WHY rationale section relevant to the most recent decision)\n- \"more on \u003cX>\" (where `\u003cX>` is one of the expansion catalog items for this wave)\n\nWhen the user makes such a request:\n\n1. Append the corresponding `[WHY]` or `[HOW]` section to `feature-delta.md` under the current wave's heading.\n2. Emit a `DocumentationDensityEvent` with `choice=\"expand\"` and `expansion_id=\u003cthe requested item>` to `JsonlAuditLogWriter`.\n3. Do NOT modify `~/.nwave/global-config.json`. The override is ONE-SHOT for this wave only.\n\nIf the user's request matches NO item in the wave's Expansion Catalog, respond with the catalog list (one-line description per item per D10) and ask for clarification — do NOT improvise an expansion outside the catalog.\n\n## Telemetry (per D4 + DDD-6)\n\nEvery expansion choice — whether the user expanded an item or skipped the menu — emits a structured event to the existing `JsonlAuditLogWriter` driven adapter.\n\n**Event type**: `DocumentationDensityEvent` (dataclass at `src/des/domain/telemetry/documentation_density_event.py`).\n\n**Schema fields** (per D4) — substitute the active wave name in the `wave` field:\n\n```\n{\n \"feature_id\": \"\u003cfeature-id>\",\n \"wave\": \"\u003cWAVE-NAME>\",\n \"expansion_id\": \"\u003cid-from-catalog-or-'*'-for-skip-all>\",\n \"choice\": \"skip\" | \"expand\",\n \"timestamp\": \"\u003cISO-8601 datetime>\"\n}\n```\n\n**Emission pattern**:\n\n1. Construct a `DocumentationDensityEvent(feature_id=..., wave=\"\u003cWAVE>\", expansion_id=..., choice=..., timestamp=...)`.\n2. Call `event.to_audit_event()` to convert to the open `AuditEvent` shape (`event_type=\"DOCUMENTATION_DENSITY\"` and the schema fields nested under `data`).\n3. Dispatch via `JsonlAuditLogWriter().log_event(audit_event)`.\n\nThe wave-skill harness invokes the helper `scripts/shared/telemetry.py:write_density_event(...)` which performs all three steps. Wave skills MUST NOT bypass the helper or write JSONL directly — every density telemetry event flows through the shared helper to keep the audit-log schema consistent.\n\n**When to emit**:\n\n- One event per user choice in the expansion menu when `expansion_prompt = \"ask\"` (`choice = \"expand\"` for selected items, `choice = \"skip\"` with `expansion_id = \"*\"` if the user skips the entire menu).\n- One synthetic `choice = \"skip\"` event with `expansion_id = \"*\"` when `expansion_prompt = \"always-skip\"` (records the skipped menu opportunity).\n- One `choice = \"expand\"` event per Tier-2 item rendered when `mode = \"full\"` or `expansion_prompt = \"always-expand\"`.\n\nThis telemetry feeds the propagation success metric: when downstream waves consume a lean upstream feature-delta and produce no `--expand`, the `[REF]` baseline plus machine artifacts is sufficient.\n\n## How wave skills reference this contract\n\nEach wave skill keeps a short inline summary that:\n\n1. Names the wave (e.g. `## Wave: DISTILL / [REF] \u003cSection>`) and lists its own Tier-1 sections + Tier-2 expansion catalog (wave-specific content).\n2. Re-states the `## Density resolution` heading + the resolver call + the `lean`/`full` mode branches + `expansion_prompt` key + the path `~/.nwave/global-config.json` + the resolver path `scripts/shared/density_config.py` (phrase-grep contract).\n3. Re-states the `## Telemetry` heading + `DocumentationDensityEvent` + `JsonlAuditLogWriter` + `to_audit_event` + the schema fields (`feature_id`, `expansion_id`, `choice`, `timestamp`) + the wave-specific `\"wave\": \"\u003cWAVE>\"` literal (phrase-grep contract).\n4. Cites provenance decisions: `D2`, `D4`, `D10`, `D12`, `DDD-5`, `DDD-6`.\n5. References this shared skill for the full how-to instead of duplicating the explanation.\n\nThe contract phrases are pinned by `tests/des/unit/skills/test_wave_skills_density_aware.py`; any wave skill missing a phrase fails that test. The shared skill is the source of truth for the BEHAVIOUR; the wave skills are the source of truth for the WAVE-SPECIFIC content (Tier-1 list, Tier-2 catalog, wave heading prefix).\n"}],"versionEndpoint":"/skill/api/version"}