TOBD - To Be Determined (Operational)

Input: $ARGUMENTS

Core Principles

Resolution order matters. Resolving TBD-A might make TBD-B trivial or eliminate it entirely. Resolving in the wrong order wastes effort on decisions that would have been unnecessary.
Dependencies create a critical path. Some TBDs block everything downstream. Others are independent. The critical path determines the minimum time to clear all TBDs.
Parallel resolution is faster. Independent TBDs can be resolved simultaneously. Forcing them into a sequence when they don’t depend on each other wastes time.
Some TBDs resolve others. A design decision might eliminate three downstream parameter decisions. Identify these “resolution cascades” — they’re high-leverage.
Operational means assignable. Each resolution step should specify who does it, how, and by when. Abstract resolution plans don’t get executed.

Phase 1: TBD Inventory

If coming from /tbd, use its output. Otherwise, scan the input:

[O1] TBD_LIST:
  [O1a] TBD: [description] — TYPE: [type from /tbd] — BLOCKING: [what]
  [O1b] TBD: [description] — TYPE: [type] — BLOCKING: [what]
  ...
[O2] TBD_COUNT: [N items]

Phase 2: Dependency Analysis

For each pair of TBDs, check:

[O-N] DEPENDENCY: [TBD-X] depends on [TBD-Y] — REASON: [why Y must be resolved first]
[O-N] INDEPENDENT: [TBD-X] and [TBD-Z] — REASON: [no dependency, can parallel]
[O-N] CASCADE: Resolving [TBD-X] eliminates [TBD-Y, TBD-Z] — REASON: [why]

Dependency Types

Type	Meaning	Implication
Information dependency	Y’s answer provides information X needs	Resolve Y first
Design dependency	X’s options depend on Y’s decision	Resolve Y first
Resource dependency	Same person/resource needed for both	Sequence, don’t parallel
Cascade	Y’s resolution eliminates X	Resolve Y first (high leverage)
Independent	No connection between X and Y	Can resolve in parallel

Phase 3: Critical Path

[O-N] DEPENDENCY GRAPH:
  [TBD-Y] → [TBD-X] → [TBD-W]     (sequential chain)
  [TBD-Z] ∥ [TBD-V]                 (parallel, independent)
  [TBD-A] ⇒ eliminates [TBD-B, C]   (cascade)

[O-N] CRITICAL PATH: [the longest chain of dependent TBDs]
  Length: [N sequential resolutions]
  Estimated time: [time to resolve the chain]
  Bottleneck: [which TBD takes longest to resolve]

[O-N] PARALLEL TRACKS:
  Track 1: [TBD-Y] → [TBD-X] → [TBD-W]
  Track 2: [TBD-Z] ∥ [TBD-V]
  (tracks are independent and can run simultaneously)

Phase 4: Resolution Plan

Order TBDs for operational resolution:

[O-N] RESOLUTION SEQUENCE:

ROUND 1 (resolve first — high leverage):
  1. [TBD] — WHO: [owner] — HOW: [method] — BY: [deadline]
     WHY_FIRST: [cascade or critical path position]
     EXPECTED_OUTCOME: [what resolving this unlocks]
  2. [TBD] (parallel with #1) — WHO: [owner] — HOW: [method] — BY: [deadline]

ROUND 2 (resolve after Round 1 completes):
  3. [TBD] — WHO: [owner] — HOW: [method] — BY: [deadline]
     DEPENDS_ON: [which Round 1 TBD]
     IF_CASCADED: [note if Round 1 resolution might eliminate this]

ROUND 3 (resolve after Round 2):
  4. [TBD] — WHO: [owner] — HOW: [method] — BY: [deadline]
  ...

Resolution Methods

TBD Type	Typical Method
Decision	Meeting, decision framework, `/decide`
Information	Research, expert consultation, experiment
Design	Prototyping, design review, `/foht`
Resource	Budgeting, negotiation, allocation
Scope	Stakeholder discussion, prioritization

Phase 5: Output

OPERATIONAL TBD RESOLUTION
===========================

TBDs: [N total]
CRITICAL PATH: [N sequential steps, estimated time]
PARALLEL TRACKS: [N independent tracks]
CASCADE OPPORTUNITIES: [N high-leverage TBDs that eliminate others]

RESOLUTION PLAN:

ROUND 1 — [N TBDs, can parallel]:
  1. [TBD] — WHO: [owner] — HOW: [method] — BY: [deadline]
     UNLOCKS: [what becomes possible]
  2. [TBD] (∥ with #1) — WHO: [owner] — HOW: [method] — BY: [deadline]

ROUND 2 — [N TBDs, after Round 1]:
  3. [TBD] — DEPENDS_ON: [Round 1 item] — WHO: [owner] — BY: [deadline]

ROUND 3 — [N TBDs, after Round 2]:
  4. [TBD] — WHO: [owner] — BY: [deadline]

MIGHT_BE_ELIMINATED:
  [TBDs that cascade resolution might remove — check after each round]

READY FOR:
- Execute Round 1
- /decide [specific TBD] — for decision-type TBDs
- /foht [specific TBD] — for design-type TBDs
- /nsa [specific TBD] — for information-type TBDs with high uncertainty

Failure Modes

Failure	Signal	Fix
All sequential	No parallel tracks identified	Check each pair for independence — some are always parallel
No cascades found	Every TBD treated as independent	Ask: does resolving X change the options for Y? If yes, cascade
No owners	”Someone should decide”	Every resolution step needs a named owner
Wrong order	High-leverage cascade TBDs resolved last	Cascade TBDs should be in Round 1 (they eliminate others)
Ignored dependencies	TBDs sequenced by urgency, not dependency	A TBD might be urgent but unresolvable until its dependency is met
No deadlines	”Resolve soon”	Specific deadlines, even if approximate

Depth Scaling

Depth	Dependency Pairs Checked	Cascade Detection	Parallel Tracks	Resolution Detail
1x	Key pairs only	1	1	Owner + deadline
2x	All adjacent pairs	2	2	Owner + method + deadline
4x	All pairs	Full cascade analysis	All tracks	Full with contingencies
8x	All pairs + second-order	Full + cascade chains	All + optimization	Full + risk analysis

Default: 2x. These are floors.

Pre-Completion Checklist

All TBDs inventoried (from /tbd or fresh scan)
Dependencies between TBDs analyzed
Cascade opportunities identified (high-leverage TBDs)
Critical path identified with estimated time
Parallel tracks specified
Resolution rounds ordered by dependency (not urgency alone)
Each resolution step has owner, method, and deadline
Cascaded TBDs flagged as “might be eliminated”

Integration

Use after: /tbd (which identifies and classifies TBDs)
Routes to: /decide, /foht, /nsa for specific TBD resolution
Differs from /tbd: tbd identifies and classifies; tobd sequences for resolution
Differs from /de: de extracts dependencies between tasks; tobd extracts dependencies between decisions
Differs from /to: to sequences tasks; tobd sequences decisions

tobd - To Be Determined (Operational)

TOBD - To Be Determined (Operational)

Core Principles

Phase 1: TBD Inventory

Phase 2: Dependency Analysis

Dependency Types

Phase 3: Critical Path

Phase 4: Resolution Plan

Resolution Methods

Phase 5: Output

Failure Modes

Depth Scaling

Pre-Completion Checklist

Integration

`tobd - To Be Determined (Operational)`