---
name: document-triage
description: Scope a document research task, prioritize sources, and define an evidence-driven reading plan
license: MIT
compatibility: opencode
metadata:
  audience: analysts
  workflow: research
  stage: triage
---

## What I do

- Define the research objective in precise terms
- Break the task into answerable sub-questions
- Identify which documents are likely primary, secondary, or low-value
- Propose a reading order based on expected relevance
- Highlight likely evidence types such as requirements, decisions, risks, assumptions, and timelines
- Create a focused plan before deep reading begins

## When to use me

Use this skill at the start of a document-based research task.

Examples:
- You have a folder of policies, specs, meeting notes, or reports and need a systematic approach
- You need to answer a question using internal documentation
- You need to map a large corpus before extracting evidence
- You want to avoid reading everything in full

## Inputs I expect

Provide as many of these as available:

- Research goal or question
- List of documents, filenames, or brief descriptions
- Any constraints such as deadline, topic boundaries, time period, or required output
- Any known "must-cover" documents
- Preferred output format if already defined

## Workflow

1. Restate the research objective in one sentence
2. Convert the objective into focused sub-questions
3. Classify available documents by likely value:
   - Primary source
   - Supporting source
   - Background source
   - Likely irrelevant
4. Identify expected signal in each source:
   - Requirements
   - Decisions
   - Responsibilities
   - Risks
   - Dates or milestones
   - Definitions
   - Exceptions
5. Recommend an efficient reading order
6. Define extraction criteria for the next stage
7. Flag ambiguities, missing sources, and review risks

## Output format

Produce these sections:

### Research Objective
A single concise statement of the exact question to answer.

### Sub-questions
A numbered list of focused questions the research should resolve.

### Source Triage
For each document:
- Document name
- Classification
- Why it matters
- What to look for

### Reading Plan
A prioritized reading sequence with rationale.

### Extraction Criteria
A checklist of evidence worth capturing in the next phase.

### Risks and Gaps
Explicitly list missing documents, unclear scope, and likely blind spots.

## Quality bar

- Be specific, not generic
- Prefer primary documents over commentary
- Do not assume a document is authoritative unless the user says so
- Separate fact-finding from interpretation
- Explicitly note what cannot be determined yet

## Do not

- Do not summarize the documents in depth at this stage
- Do not invent document contents
- Do not claim conclusions before evidence extraction
- Do not merge assumptions with facts

## Hand-off to companion skills

After this skill, use:
- `evidence-extraction` to pull structured findings
- `research-synthesis` to produce a final answer, brief, matrix, or report