ADR 0006: Skeptic mindset on fix tasks
- Sections
- 4
- Format
- Markdown
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- 44 / 156
Status
Superseded by 0036 — the Skeptic is recast as a heuristic profile applied on the fix/review passes, not a persona that owns a task type (§27). The original decision text below is kept as history (Nygard, §30.1: an accepted ADR is never edited in place; only this status line is added).
Context
Fixes fail when engineers accept the first plausible narrative (git blame, last commit, obvious typo). Bugs often require adversarial narrowing: prove/disprove hypotheses, widen repro, falsify correlates.
Decision
Primary lead persona for fix tasks is The Skeptic. The persona's hostility toward convenient explanations aligns with disciplined root-fix + regression proofs.
Separate Bug Hunter remains for writing defect reports (bug-report-writing); Skeptic-fix executes the remedy pass.
Consequences
- Positive: fewer masking patches; proofs match failure mode severity.
- Negative: sceptical narration can alarm stakeholders — prose should cite facts (
file:line, commands), not melodrama.
Starter kit: Set up a workspace