POV-Expansion: Cross-Domain Perspective Generation

Generate systematic cross-domain perspectives through boundary spanning research frameworks. Uses structure-mapping theory, convergence tracking, and transfer evaluation to identify analogous problems and transferable solutions.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Stuck on a problem - Need fresh perspectives from outside your domain

• Evaluating analogies - Want to assess if approach from field X applies to field Y

• Seeking breakthrough insights - Ready for 2-3 hour deep exploration

• Have structured problem - Can articulate problem clearly enough for abstraction

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use when:

• Exploratory browsing - No specific problem statement (use /research-pipeline instead)

• Time-constrained - Need answer in <1 hour (this workflow takes 2-3 hours minimum)

• Well-understood problem - Already know the solution domain (direct research faster)

• Vague problem - Cannot articulate problem clearly (refine first)

Architecture

Three-tier architecture:

• Orchestrator: pov-expansion-pm (coordinates workflow, handles exceptions)

• Specialist Agents: 5 new agents for abstraction, perspective generation, synthesis, transfer evaluation

• Supporting Skills: Reuses requirements-analyst, fact-checker, devils-advocate, editor, strategist

Pre-flight Validation

Before invoking /pov-expansion , verify:

• Problem statement is specific (not "improve product" but "reduce onboarding time")

• Expected runtime: 2-3 hours (workflow cannot be rushed)

• Dependencies available: requirements-analyst, fact-checker, devils-advocate, editor, strategist skills exist

The 12-Stage Pipeline

Stage 0: Archival Guidelines Review

Owner: pov-expansion-pm (automatic) Duration: 2-5 min Checkpoint: Never (always runs automatically) Session Setup: Creates /tmp/pov-session-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}-{PID}/

Initialize workflow session and extract archival guidelines from project CLAUDE.md.

Process:

• Create session directory: /tmp/pov-session-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)-$$/

• Read project CLAUDE.md (if exists in working directory or parent)

• Extract archival guidelines:

• Repository organization (directory structure for cross-domain analyses)

• Naming conventions (analysis- prefix for POV expansion outputs)

• Git rules (commit after edits, no version-numbered files)

• Document structure requirements (Executive Summary, Key Parameters Table)

• Citation format (Nature-style inline)

• Write archival summary to session directory: archival-guidelines-summary.md

• Store session path in workflow state for downstream agents

Output:

session_setup: session_dir: "/tmp/pov-session-{timestamp}-{pid}/" archival_summary_path: "{session_dir}/archival-guidelines-summary.md" guidelines_found: boolean guidelines_source: string # Path to CLAUDE.md or "defaults"

Quality Gate: Session directory created, archival summary written.

Failure Handling:

• CLAUDE.md not found: Use sensible defaults, log warning

• Session directory creation fails: ABORT (cannot proceed without session isolation)

Stage 1: Problem Refinement

Owner: requirements-analyst (reused) Duration: 15-30 min Receives: Session directory path from Stage 0 Quality Gate: Specific problem statement with measurable criteria

Stage 2: Problem Abstraction

Owner: pov-abstractor-classifier Duration: 15-30 min Quality Gate: Rasmussen hierarchy populated (5/5 levels)

Stage 3: Domain Classification

Owner: pov-abstractor-classifier Duration: 20-45 min (includes user confirmation) Quality Gate: 4 domains proposed (1+ Near, 1+ Mid, 1+ Far), user confirmed

Stage 4: Parallel Perspective Generation

Owner: pov-perspective-analyst (x4 parallel) Duration: 30-60 min (parallel) Quality Gate: 3+ perspectives complete, each with structural analogies

Stage 5: Parallel Verification

Owner: fact-checker (x2 parallel, reused) Duration: 15-30 min (parallel) Quality Gate: No factual errors in central claims

Stage 6: Convergence Analysis

Owner: pov-synthesizer Duration: 20-40 min Quality Gate: Convergence floor met (1+ theme in 2+ reports)

Stage 7: Transfer Evaluation

Owner: pov-transfer-evaluator Duration: 20-40 min Quality Gate: Transfer feasibility scored, Far field warnings added

Stage 8: Master Synthesis

Owner: pov-synthesizer Duration: 45-90 min Quality Gate: All perspectives integrated, convergent insights highlighted

Stage 9: Strategic Assessment

Owner: strategist (reused skill) Duration: 20-40 min Quality Gate: 3+ actionable recommendations with implementation paths

Stage 10: Adversarial Review

Owner: devils-advocate (reused) Duration: 20-40 min Quality Gate: Critical issues identified, mitigations proposed

Stage 11: Editorial Polish

Owner: editor (reused) Duration: 15-30 min Quality Gate: Consistent voice, no substantive errors

Timeout Configuration

Stage Timeout Exceeded Action

0 (Archival) 5 min ABORT - cannot proceed without session

1 (Refinement) 30 min Escalate to user

2 (Abstraction) 30 min Escalate to user

3 (Classification) 45 min Proceed with HIGH confidence domains only

4 (Perspectives) 60 min total Proceed with available (minimum 2 required)

4 (per agent) 20 min Retry once, then skip

5 (Verification) 30 min Skip verification (flag risk)

6 (Convergence) 40 min Proceed with portfolio framing

7 (Transfer) 40 min Lower confidence, proceed

8 (Synthesis) 90 min Escalate to user

9 (Strategic) 40 min Skip (optional)

10 (Review) 40 min Deliver without review (flag risk)

11 (Editorial) 30 min Deliver as-is, cleanup session

Global Workflow Timeout: 8 hours On Global Timeout: Save state, escalate to user

Session Cleanup:

• On successful completion (Stage 11 complete): Delete session directory

• On failure/abort: Retain session directory for debugging (log path to user)

Quality Gate Specifications

Gate 0: Session Initialization (Stage 0)

Check Threshold Automated?

Session directory created exists and writable Yes

Archival summary written file exists Yes

Session path stored in workflow state path present Yes

Pass Threshold: 3/3 checks pass On Failure: ABORT - cannot proceed without session isolation

Gate 1: Problem Abstraction (Stage 2)

Check Threshold Automated?

Rasmussen levels populated 5/5 levels Yes

Structural elements identified

= 3 elements Yes

Constraints defined

= 1 constraint Yes

Success metrics measurable

= 1 metric Manual

Pass Threshold: 4/4 checks pass On Failure: Return to Stage 1 with feedback (max 2 iterations)

Gate 2: Domain Classification (Stage 3)

Check Threshold Automated?

Domains proposed 4 domains Yes

Near field present

= 1 Yes

Far field present

= 1 Yes

User confirmation Required No

Pass Threshold: All checks pass On Failure: Re-run with user guidance

Gate 3: Perspective Generation (Stage 4)

Check Threshold Automated?

Perspectives complete

= 3 of 4 Yes

Structural analogies per perspective

= 2 Yes

Domain-specific examples

= 2 per perspective Yes

No placeholder text 0 instances Yes

Pass Threshold: All checks pass Marginal Pass: 3/4 checks (flag in synthesis) On Failure: Retry failed perspective or proceed with reduced coverage

Gate 4: Transfer Feasibility (Stage 7)

Check Threshold Automated?

All perspectives evaluated 100% Yes

Structural similarity scored All have scores Yes

At least one high-transfer analogy

= 1 with score > 0.6 Yes

Far field warnings added All Far field have warnings Yes

Pass Threshold: 4/4 checks pass Marginal Pass: 3/4 (proceed with caution flag) On Failure: Return to Stage 3 with broadened domains

Gate 5: Synthesis Coherence (Stage 8)

Check Threshold Automated?

All perspectives referenced 100% Yes

Convergent insights highlighted

= 1 Yes

Contradictions resolved 0 unresolved Manual

Executive summary present Yes Yes

Pass Threshold: All checks pass On Failure: Return to synthesis with feedback

Gate 6: Strategic Actionability (Stage 9)

Check Threshold Automated?

Actionable recommendations

= 3 Yes

Implementation paths Each has path Yes

Timeline/effort estimates Present Yes

Pass Threshold: All checks pass On Failure: Add missing elements or skip stage

Session Directory Structure

Location: /tmp/pov-session-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}-{PID}/

/tmp/pov-session-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}-{PID}/ ├── archival-guidelines-summary.md # Stage 0 output ├── workflow-state.yaml # Workflow state for resume ├── progress.md # Progress tracking ├── stage-1-refinement.md # Stage 1 output ├── stage-2-abstraction.yaml # Stage 2 output (structured) ├── stage-3-domains.yaml # Stage 3 output (structured) ├── stage-4-perspectives/ # Parallel outputs │ ├── near-field-1.md │ ├── near-field-2.md │ ├── mid-field.md │ └── far-field.md ├── stage-5-verification/ # Parallel outputs │ ├── verification-1.md │ └── verification-2.md ├── stage-6-convergence.md ├── stage-7-transfer.md ├── stage-8-synthesis.md ├── stage-9-strategic.md ├── stage-10-review.md ├── stage-11-final.md # Final deliverable └── failure-log.md # Failure tracking

Workflow State Schema

workflow_state: workflow_id: string problem_statement: string started_at: ISO8601 current_stage: integer # 0-11 stages_completed: [integer]

session: # Added for session management session_dir: string # /tmp/pov-session-{...}/ archival_guidelines_path: string # Path to archival-guidelines-summary.md guidelines_found: boolean # Whether CLAUDE.md was found guidelines_source: string # Path to CLAUDE.md or "defaults" cleanup_on_complete: boolean # Default true

artifacts: stage_0: path | null # archival-guidelines-summary.md stage_1: path | null stage_2: path | null # ... etc stage_11: path | null

status: enum[in_progress, paused, completed, failed] last_checkpoint: ISO8601 error_log: [string]

Session Handling on Resume:

• If session directory exists: Reuse existing session

• If session directory missing: Re-run Stage 0 to recreate (non-destructive)

Error Handling Protocols

Catastrophic Failure Protocol (Stage 4)

When ALL perspective agents fail:

• Detection: 0 valid outputs from 4 parallel agents

• Check for partial outputs: Any content > 500 chars is "partial"

• Present user options:

PERSPECTIVE GENERATION FAILED: All 4 agents failed

Failures:

• Near Field 1: [status]
• Near Field 2: [status]
• Mid Field: [status]
• Far Field: [status]

Options: (A) Retry SEQUENTIALLY (slower but more stable) (B) Retry with 2 agents only (Near + Mid fields) (C) Review partial outputs if available (D) Abort workflow, preserve problem abstraction

Convergence Floor Protocol

Minimum Convergence Threshold:

• 1+ themes appearing in 2+ reports, OR

• 2+ strategies appearing in 2+ reports, OR

• 1+ structural analogies across 2+ domains

On Zero Convergence:

• Re-analyze with relaxed matching (related concepts, not exact)

• Look for "anti-convergence" (all agree something doesn't work)

• If still zero: Offer portfolio framing (present as independent options, not validated patterns)

User Response Timeout Protocol

Gate Timeout Default Action

Domain Classification 10 min Proceed with HIGH confidence domains only

Transfer Feasibility 5 min Proceed with portfolio view

Strategic Priority 5 min Present all options without prioritization

Parallel Execution

Stage 4: Perspective Generation (Fork-Join)

parallel_execution: stage: 4 pattern: fork_join max_agents: 4

agent_assignment: agent_1: "Near Field 1" agent_2: "Near Field 2" agent_3: "Mid Field" agent_4: "Far Field"

output_paths: agent_1: "/tmp/pov-session-{id}/stage-4-perspectives/near-field-1.md" agent_2: "/tmp/pov-session-{id}/stage-4-perspectives/near-field-2.md" agent_3: "/tmp/pov-session-{id}/stage-4-perspectives/mid-field.md" agent_4: "/tmp/pov-session-{id}/stage-4-perspectives/far-field.md"

completion: minimum_required: 2 proceed_on_timeout: true log_missing: true

Stage 5: Verification (Parallel)

parallel_execution: stage: 5 pattern: parallel max_agents: 2

assignment: agent_1: "Near + Mid perspectives" agent_2: "Far perspective + cross-check"

Success Criteria

• Diversity: Perspectives span Near, Mid, and Far fields (4 domains minimum)

• Depth: Structural analogies via structure-mapping principles (>=2 per perspective)

• Convergence: Cross-perspective insights tracked with measurable algorithm

• Transferability: Rigorous transfer evaluation with Far field warnings

• Actionability: Strategic assessment with >=3 recommendations and implementation paths