Find Unknowns

Close the gap between what the user asked for and what reality will demand by making unknowns explicit before the expensive work starts. One pass is one technique plus one launch brief. The pass ends at the brief; executing the plan needs separate authorization.

Quick Start

1. Establish the starting point. Inspect whatever is inspectable — files, repository, prior artifacts — before asking anything. If the user's familiarity with the domain is unclear, make the brief self-contained and state that assumption. Ask only when familiarity changes a material decision or the useful discovery technique.

2. Classify the dominant unknown and pick exactly one technique:

   Dominant unknown	Signal	Technique
   Unknown unknowns	New domain; doesn't know what to ask or what "good" looks like	Blindspot brief
   Unsettled scope or direction	"Something in this area"; competing ways to attack	Option map
   Unknown knowns (taste)	"I'll know it when I see it"	Throwaway variants
   Known unknowns	Nameable open questions	Mini-interview
   Inexpressible want	Can't describe it, but an example exists somewhere	Reference request