version: "1.0.0" name: modeler-decision-logger description: Faithfully append a human modeler's choice and rationale to one canonical per-subquestion JSONL decision ledger. Use after a choice card is answered or when migrating legacy decision artifacts; never originate or improve the decision.

Purpose

Make human judgment traceable without multiplying decision files.

Canonical Output

methods/Qx/qx_decisions.jsonl

One JSON object per line. Records are append-only.

Use planning/framing_decisions.jsonl for global/pre-Qx framing decisions.

Required Fields

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "decision_id": "q1_method_choice",
  "decision_type": "method_choice",
  "status": "DECIDED",
  "decided_by": "human",
  "captured_in_mode": "learning",
  "choice": "M2",
  "rationale": "Human-authored reason tied to evidence.",
  "evidence_refs": ["methods/Q1/probes/risk_probe_summary.json"],
  "decided_at": "ISO-8601",
  "supersedes": null
}

Optional structured fields may include confidence, rejected alternatives, round action, claim scope, assumption labels, or fallback activation.

Workflow

1. Receive the human's answer, the choice-card ID, and evidence paths.
2. Preserve the user's meaning and wording. Normalize only structure, identifiers, and whitespace.
3. Verify:

• the choice is one of the presented options or explicitly records a user-supplied alternative;
• evidence paths exist;
• rationale is non-empty and contains no placeholder;
• the record does not falsely label AI-authored prose as human-authored.

1. Append one JSON line.
2. If revising a decision, append a new record with supersedes; never overwrite history.
3. Update the compact history in qx_method_card.md only when the decision changes method state.
4. Update the manifest gate/status fields when present.

Decision Types

Typical values:

• framing
• method_choice
• fallback_activation
• result_verdict
• stability_verdict
• assumption_necessity
• claim_scope
• package_signoff
• submission_authorization

Staleness

Mark a decision stale only when its cited evidence materially changed:

• append a decision_stale record naming the old decision and changed evidence;
• ask the human to reconfirm through one choice card;
• do not mark decisions stale because unrelated files or formatting changed.

Legacy Migration

Read legacy:

• methods/Qx/qx_decision_log.md
• methods/Qx/decisions/*_modeler_decision.md

Migrate only completed human decisions. Preserve original timestamps and source paths when available. Do not convert PENDING placeholders into decisions.

Rules

• Never choose, rationalize, strengthen, or complete the user's decision.
• Never create a separate pending decision artifact.
• Never copy ai_suggestion into the human rationale.
• One evidence-linked sentence is enough; do not impose arbitrary prose length.
• Preserve an honest AI-use provenance distinction.

Verification

• JSONL is valid one-object-per-line.
• Record is append-only and uniquely identified.
• Human ownership and evidence are accurate.
• Supersession and staleness preserve history.