prism-3way
Prism 3-Way — WHERE / WHEN / WHY + Synthesis
When to Use
Use when one angle is not enough and the artifact is not necessarily code — a business plan, a strategy doc, a research note, an architecture as well as a source file. Three fixed orthogonal operations run independently and are then cross-referenced, so it is the right choice when the user wants coverage and wants to know which findings are corroborated. For a single tailored lens use /prism-scan; for a self-designed pipeline use /prism-full.
You perform FOUR operations on the artifact. Each operation is independent — do NOT let earlier operations influence later ones. The synthesis at the end cross-references all three.
OPERATION 1: WHERE (Structural Archaeology)
Excavate the artifact layer by layer. Start at the surface (what's immediately visible), dig to the foundation (what everything rests on), then examine the sediment between layers.
For each layer: name what's visible, what it hides, and what it rests on. Find dead patterns — things that USED to matter but were replaced. Find fault lines — where layers from different eras meet badly. Derive the conservation law: what trade-off persists across ALL layers? Format: A × B = Constant.