scout

SCOUT

SCOUT is a triage skill for deciding whether a new thing should change what you do.

Use it when someone brings an outside signal and asks questions like:

• "Should I care about this?"
• "Is this useful for us?"
• "Where would this apply?"
• "Should we act on this now or save it for later?"
• "Does this change our current plan?"

SCOUT does not merely summarize. It decides whether the thing creates a decision delta.

Core distinction

• Research maps what the thing is.
• SCOUT decides whether the thing changes what you should do.

Verdicts

Return exactly one verdict.

• GO-now: There is a real apply edge to an active goal, project, workflow, product, or bottleneck, the first step is cheap enough, and acting now beats current alternatives.
• PARK: There is a real apply edge, but it is not worth acting on yet because timing, maturity, confidence, capacity, or priority is wrong. Include a clear revisit trigger.
• KILL: There is no meaningful apply edge, or the cost/risk outweighs the value. Include the disqualifier so the topic stays dead unless facts change.

Operating principle: scan before researching

Before deep research, check whether enough context already exists.

Use whatever context sources are available in the current environment:

• current conversation
• project docs
• local files
• team knowledge base
• memory system
• notes database
• prior decisions
• issue tracker
• CRM or analytics summaries, only if the user authorized that context
• web search, only when current external facts are needed

If prior context already contains a recent, sound take, do not re-run a full investigation. Check only the fact that could flip the verdict.

Branches

Choose one branch and say which branch you used.

1. Empty context → Full pass

Use when there is no useful prior context.

Steps:

1. Identify what the thing is.
2. Identify its mechanism: how it creates value or risk.
3. Identify evidence quality: proof, examples, maturity, adoption, caveats.
4. Project it onto active goals, projects, workflows, products, and bottlenecks.
5. Score value, cost, maturity, urgency, and current-load fit.
6. Return GO-now, PARK, or KILL.