GSD Decision Archaeology
Excavate GSD artifact timeline to reconstruct decision chains, requirement evolution, and phase rationale.
Sources (authority order)
- PROJECT.md Key Decisions
- STATE.md Session Continuity
- ROADMAP.md phase goals/criteria
- Phase CONTEXT.md / RESEARCH.md
- Plan SUMMARY.md outcomes
- Git commit messages
- Archived milestone docs
Trace Process
- Identify query type — decision rationale, requirement status, phase outcome, impact analysis
- Search sources — start with highest authority, cross-reference downward
- Build timeline — chronological events from artifacts
- Trace causality — link decisions to requirements to implementation
- Answer directly — cite specific sources and dates
Query Types
| Type | Primary Sources | |------|----------------| | Why decision X? | PROJECT.md Key Decisions, RESEARCH.md | | What happened to req Y? | REQUIREMENTS.md, STATE.md, milestones/ | | Phase N outcome? | ROADMAP.md, SUMMARY files, git commits | | What depends on X? | PLAN files, git history, code search | | What was tried/abandoned? | RESEARCH.md, STATE.md |
Limitations
Can only trace what GSD documented. Undocumented decisions, verbal discussions, and vague commit messages are untraceable.