experiment: validate cold-start project recovery

2026-08-06 16:11:37 +01:00
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@@ -2199,3 +2199,68 @@ None in this experiment. The correction to Routing Test B (naming `ui-mock-refer
 The context-pack system handled a genuine engine/UI cross-boundary task by combining two packs deliberately with full documentation of each loaded document and its purpose. Context remained small (390 lines). All knowledge-management criteria are met.

 ---
+
+# Experiment 38 — Cold-Start Project Recovery Validation
+
+**Branch:** `feature/user-workspace-ux-v0.7`
+**Type:** Knowledge-management / handoff validation (final KM experiment)
+**Objective:** Test whether a genuinely cold session can recover the project accurately from the reduced context system alone without reading the full history or any earlier experiment reports.
+
+## Setup
+
+Cold-start configuration: no prior conversation context, no past experiment reports loaded, repository documentation carries all context. Session was freshly created to simulate a real return-to-work scenario. Only `docs/current-handoff.md` was read first (per handoff §6 step 1), then the two documents specified by its resume instructions (§6 steps 2–3): `docs/current-project-state.md` and `docs/task-context-packs.md`.
+
+## Documents Loaded
+
+| Document | Reason |
+|---|---|
+| `docs/current-handoff.md` | Primary entry point (handoff §6 step 1) |
+| `docs/current-project-state.md` | Resume instruction (§6 step 2) and routing table (§6 step 7) |
+| `docs/task-context-packs.md` | Pack selection (§6 step 3) and pack contents for verification |
+
+No additional documents were loaded. No blind expansion occurred. The full design-evolution log, archived documents, UI mock reference, source code, and tests were all excluded by design.
+
+## Project-State Recovery Result
+
+The cold session correctly recovered:
+- What the Confidence Engine does (facilitated investigation with structured reasoning graph).
+- Active capabilities: deterministic reasoning pipeline, unknown selection via atomicity/answerability, question formulation, scenario API, turn cycle orchestration.
+- Passive capabilities: seven diagnostic layers from Experiments 18–25B, all isolated, none control user-facing investigation.
+- Paused work: engine experiments (after Exp 25B), UI experiments.
+- Why KM phase was undertaken (documentation bloat blocking session recovery).
+
+Recovery score: complete from three documents alone. No source code inspection required.
+
+## Context-Pack Selection Result
+
+Pack 1 — Engine Experiment Work selected correctly by the cold session. The three initial documents contained sufficient information to identify the pack, its default documents, and what to exclude without reading any additional material.
+
+## Handoff Defects Found
+
+None found in `docs/current-handoff.md`. The handoff accurately describes the stopping point, identifies all seven KM criteria as met, provides correct resume instructions, and includes accurate capability boundaries. One structural update was made: the open item "whether the handoff stays accurate after further advances" was resolved as no longer applicable (the cold-start test confirmed it is accurate).
+
+## Completion-Criteria Result
+
+All seven knowledge-management completion criteria are confirmed met by this cold-start validation:
+1. Fresh session can resume from handoff + one pack — met (Exp 38 demonstrates this)
+2. Current state verified against implementation — met (Exp 28+)
+3. Historical material outside default loading — met
+4. Current principles separated from aspirational architecture — met
+5. Task-specific routing works for engine and UI tasks — met (Exp 37)
+6. Cross-boundary task tested — met (Exp 37)
+7. Maintaining handoff does not require reading full history — met
+
+> The knowledge-management phase is complete enough for Rob to choose when engine experiments resume.
+
+## Documents Updated
+
+- `docs/cold-start-validation.md` — created (this experiment's deliverable)
+- `docs/current-handoff.md` — Exp 38 commit placeholder, structural open-item resolution, return-to-work note replacement
+- `docs/current-project-state.md` — KM status update ("active" → "complete"), latest known commit correction
+- `docs/design-evolution-log.md` — this entry
+
+## Overall Assessment: Ready
+
+The cold-start validation passed. A genuinely fresh session understood the project state, chose the correct context pack, verified the resume boundary, produced a valid engine-work resume brief, and found no handoff defects — all from three documents alone. No source code was read or changed. The reduced context system works for sessions that did not help create the documents.
+
+Engine and UI experiments remain paused pending Rob's review.