Iterate Research Questions

You are iterating on an existing research questions document based on user feedback.

Input

• •docPath: Path to the existing research questions document (e.g., rpi/tasks/ENG-XXXX-description/YYYY-MM-DD-research-questions.md)
• •Optionally, a ticket file path containing comments with feedback

Steps

1. •

   Read the existing document FULLY:

   • •Use Read tool WITHOUT limit/offset to read the entire document at docPath
   • •Understand what questions were previously created
2. •

   If a ticket file is provided, read it for feedback:

   • •Look for comments mentioning you (linear-assistant, LinearLayer, claude)
   • •These comments contain instructions/feedback from the user
3. •

   Process the feedback:

   • •Update the document at the same path based on feedback
   • •Keep the same YAML frontmatter and format
4. •

   Write updated document (if changes needed):

   • •Update the document at the same docPath
   • •Address each piece of feedback from the user
5. •

   Update the user

   • •Read the final output template: Read({SKILLBASE}/references/research_questions_final_answer.md)
   • •Respond with a summary following the template, including GitHub permalinks.

Research Question Guidelines

Questions should focus ONLY on the current state of the codebase:

• •Do NOT include questions about what should be built
• •Do NOT suggest improvements unless asked
• •Do NOT ask about what changes need to happen
• •Only ask questions that document what exists, where it exists, and how components are organized

Good research questions explore:

• •Current implementation details
• •Relevant patterns or constraints
• •Potential complexities or edge cases
• •Architecture, dependencies, and implementation details

Format questions as high-level codebase exploration:

• •"Explain how [FEATURE] works end to end and all the systems involved"
• •"Explore the contract between [COMPONENT1] and [COMPONENT2] and how it's implemented on both sides"
• •"Trace the flow of logic from [ENDPOINT] down to [DATASTORE]"
• •"Find all users of [DATABASE COLUMN or DATABASE TABLE] and what the data is used for"

Use 3-8 questions per task (use your judgement based on complexity).

CRITICAL - DO NOT LEAK ANY IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS OR THE NATURE OF YOUR TASK INTO THE QUESTION LIST. NO "HOW WOULD WE XYZ" - ONLY "HOW DOES IT WORK"

When referencing documents in rpi/, use the rpi permalink command to generate GitHub links:

• •Run rpi permalink rpi/tasks/TASKNAME/document.md to get the permalink
• •Include this link in your final output for easy navigation