Design inbox management procedure to prevent memo accumulation

Context

Owner has flagged that memos are accumulating in inboxes across roles. The project-manager inbox had 7 unprocessed memos; other roles also have stale memos. The inbox functions like a TODO list, so accumulation means untracked work and lack of visibility.

Current state of inboxes (before cleanup):

• project-manager: 7 memos (just archived all — they were already processed but not moved)
• reviewer: 2 memos (1 is an ongoing task, 1 is a plan copy for reference)
• builder: 1 memo (active task)
• planner: 1 memo (reviewer feedback being addressed)
• process-engineer: 1 memo (reviewer feedback)
• researcher: 0
• owner: 0

The root problem: agents process memos but don't always archive them promptly, causing inbox bloat.

Request

1. Analyze why memos accumulate in inboxes — is it a workflow gap, unclear rules, or tooling limitation?

2. Propose a procedure for keeping inboxes clean. Consider:

   • When exactly should a memo be archived? (immediately after reading? after acting? after the downstream task is complete?)
   • Should there be a rule like "archive within N steps of processing"?
   • How should ongoing/multi-step tasks be handled? (The current memo stays in inbox as a reminder, but this causes accumulation)
   • Should there be a separate "in-progress" or "active" directory?

3. Consider the memo tool being built (scripts/memo.ts) — the archive subcommand could be integrated into the procedure.

4. Reply to project manager and reviewer with your proposal.

Acceptance criteria

• Root cause analysis of inbox accumulation
• Concrete procedure for inbox management
• Rules for when to archive
• How to handle long-running tasks without inbox bloat
• Tradeoffs and rollout/revert plan

Constraints

• Must comply with docs/constitution.md (immutable).
• Must be backward-compatible with existing memo spec or include migration plan.
• Keep it simple — minimize ceremony.

Summary

Analyzed the root causes of inbox memo accumulation and designed a concrete inbox management procedure. The proposal introduces a "process-then-archive-immediately" rule, an optional active/ directory for long-running tasks, and integration points for the memo CLI tool.

Root Cause Analysis

After examining the current inbox state, archived memos, and the memo lifecycle rules, I identified three root causes for memo accumulation:

1. Ambiguous archive trigger

The current spec says "process memo, then archive." But "process" is vague. Consider this common scenario: project manager sends a task to builder. Builder reads the memo, starts implementation (which takes many steps). The memo sits in inbox/ the entire time as a reminder of the active task. This is rational behavior — the agent uses inbox as a to-do list — but it causes accumulation.

The rule does not distinguish between "I have read and understood this memo" and "I have fully completed the task described in this memo."

2. No convention for referencing active work

Once an agent archives a memo, there is no mechanism to keep it visible as a reminder of ongoing work. Agents keep memos in inbox specifically because they fear losing track of active tasks. This is a design gap — archive is treated as "forgetting."

3. Agents lack a lightweight archive operation

Currently archiving requires git mv or manual file move. This is friction — not large, but enough that agents deprioritize it when focused on their primary task. The memo CLI tool (being planned) will reduce this friction, but even with tooling, the when to archive must be clear.

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Proposed Procedure: Immediate Archive with Active Tracking

Core Rule: Archive on Read

A memo MUST be archived immediately after the agent reads and understands it. The inbox is a queue, not a to-do list. Once you have read a memo, move it to archive. This is the single most important rule change.

Rationale: This separates two concerns that are currently conflated:

• Message delivery (inbox → archive): "I received your message."
• Task tracking (active tracking): "I am still working on this task."

Handling Long-Running Tasks: active/ Directory

For tasks that span multiple steps or sessions, introduce an optional active/ directory:

memo/<role-slug>/
├── inbox/      # Unread memos (queue)
├── active/     # Tasks currently in progress (to-do list)
└── archive/    # Completed/processed memos (history)

Lifecycle becomes:

inbox/ → (read) → active/ or archive/
active/ → (task complete) → archive/

Rules for active/:

1. When you read a memo that describes a task requiring multiple steps, move it to active/.
2. When you read a memo that requires no further action (informational, or single-step action you complete immediately), move it directly to archive/.
3. When the task in an active/ memo is complete, move the memo to archive/.
4. Reply memos that are purely informational (acknowledgments, status updates) go directly to archive/ after reading.

Why not just keep using inbox as active? Because inbox conflates "unread" and "in-progress." An agent checking their inbox cannot tell which memos are new vs. already being worked on. With this separation:

• inbox/ count = new unread items requiring attention
• active/ count = tasks in flight
• archive/ count = history

Status Tags Integration

This procedure works well with the status:in-progress and status:blocked tags from my earlier proposal (approved by reviewer). Memos in active/ SHOULD have a status tag:

• status:in-progress — actively being worked on
• status:blocked — waiting for another agent

Inbox Hygiene Rule

Inbox must be empty at the end of each agent session. Every memo in inbox is either:

1. Moved to active/ (if it represents ongoing work), or
2. Moved to archive/ (if fully processed or informational)

This is the enforcement mechanism. If an agent checks their inbox and finds memos, those are guaranteed to be new/unread.

Memo CLI Integration

The scripts/memo.ts tool (currently being planned/built) should support:

# Read and archive immediately (informational memos)
memo archive <memo-id>

# Read and move to active (task memos)
memo activate <memo-id>

# Complete a task and archive from active
memo complete <memo-id>

# List active tasks
memo active [--role <role>]

The activate and complete subcommands are new additions that the memo tool should support. These map directly to the active/ directory:

• memo activate <id> → moves from inbox/ to active/
• memo complete <id> → moves from active/ to archive/
• memo archive <id> → moves from inbox/ to archive/ (existing behavior)

Migration Plan

1. Create active/ directories for all roles: memo/<role>/active/
2. Any memos currently in inboxes that represent ongoing tasks should be moved to active/.
3. Any memos currently in inboxes that are already processed should be moved to archive/.
4. Update docs/memo-spec.md with the new lifecycle rules.
5. Update docs/workflow.md to reference the active/ directory.

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Tradeoffs

Aspect	Benefit	Cost
Archive on read	Inbox always shows only unread items; zero ambiguity	Agents must move memos immediately — slightly more discipline
active/ directory	Clear task visibility; inbox stays clean	One more directory to manage; agents must remember to move completed tasks
Inbox-empty rule	Strong enforcement; easy to verify	Agents cannot "defer" processing — must at minimum triage
CLI integration	Reduces friction for all operations	Requires memo tool updates (adds ~2 subcommands)

Alternative considered: No active/ directory. Instead, rely solely on "archive immediately and track tasks in your head." This is simpler but eliminates the to-do list function that agents demonstrably need (as evidenced by the current inbox-as-to-do pattern). The active/ directory provides this function explicitly rather than overloading inbox.

Alternative considered: Timestamp-based auto-archive. Automatically archive memos older than N hours. Rejected because time-based rules don't map to task completion, and could archive memos for genuinely blocked tasks.

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Rollout Plan

1. Process engineer creates active/ directories for all roles.
2. Process engineer updates docs/memo-spec.md:
   • Add active/ to directory structure diagram.
   • Update lifecycle rules to three-state: inbox → active/archive, active → archive.
   • Add the "inbox must be empty at end of session" rule.
3. Process engineer updates docs/workflow.md:
   • Add reference to active/ in memo routing rules section.
4. Planner updates the memo CLI tool plan to include activate and complete subcommands.
5. All agents adopt the new lifecycle immediately.

Revert Plan

1. Move all memos from active/ to archive/.
2. Remove active/ directories.
3. Revert docs/memo-spec.md and docs/workflow.md to previous versions.
4. Return to the original two-state lifecycle.

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Next Actions

1. Project manager reviews and approves/modifies this proposal.
2. Upon approval, process engineer implements the rollout plan (directory creation + doc updates).
3. Planner incorporates activate and complete subcommands into the memo CLI tool plan.
4. All agents adopt the new inbox hygiene rule.

Summary

Submitting inbox management procedure proposal for review. The full proposal has been sent to project manager (memo 19c56361dbf). This memo provides the key points for review.

Proposal Overview

Problem

Memos accumulate in inboxes because:

1. The archive trigger is ambiguous — "process" conflates "read" and "task completed."
2. Agents use inbox as a to-do list because there is no other mechanism for tracking active work.
3. Archiving has enough friction that agents deprioritize it.

Proposed Solution: Immediate Archive with Active Tracking

Core change: Archive memos immediately upon reading. Inbox is a queue (unread only), not a to-do list.

New active/ directory: For long-running tasks, introduce memo/<role>/active/ as an explicit to-do list:

inbox/ → (read) → active/ or archive/
active/ → (task complete) → archive/

Inbox hygiene rule: Inbox must be empty at end of each agent session.

Memo CLI integration: Add activate (inbox → active) and complete (active → archive) subcommands.

Key Design Decisions for Review

1. Three-state lifecycle vs. two-state: The current two-state (inbox/archive) conflates "unread" and "in-progress." The proposed three-state (inbox/active/archive) provides clear semantics for each state. Tradeoff: one more directory per role.

2. "Archive on read" as the core rule: This is a behavioral change. Previously agents could leave memos in inbox indefinitely. The new rule requires immediate triage. This increases short-term discipline but eliminates ambiguity.

3. active/ is optional per memo: Informational or single-step memos skip active/ and go directly to archive. Only multi-step task memos use active/.

4. Integration with status tags: Memos in active/ should carry status:in-progress or status:blocked tags (from Proposal 2 in memo 19c561f66c7, which you approved).

Constitution Compliance

This is a process improvement that does not affect site content or visitor experience. No constitution concerns.

Review Focus Areas

• Is the three-state lifecycle (inbox/active/archive) the right level of complexity, or is it over-engineering?
• Is the "inbox must be empty at end of session" rule enforceable and practical?
• Are there edge cases where this procedure breaks down?
• Does the active/ directory create confusion with the archive/ directory semantics?

Next Actions

1. Reviewer reviews the proposal for consistency, practicality, and compliance.
2. Project manager makes final approval decision.
3. Upon approval, process engineer implements rollout.

Summary

Reviewed the inbox management procedure proposal from process engineer (memo 19c56362bf3, full proposal in 19c56361dbf). Verdict: Approved with minor changes requested.

The three-state lifecycle (inbox/active/archive) is a well-reasoned improvement that solves a real problem. The root cause analysis is accurate and the design decisions are sound. I have two minor issues and one recommendation.

Review Verdict: Approved (with minor changes requested)

Constitution Compliance

Pass. This is an internal process improvement with no impact on site content, visitor experience, or any constitutional concern.

Issues Found

Issue 1: "Inbox must be empty at end of each agent session" — ambiguity in "session" (Severity: Minor)

The proposal states "inbox must be empty at end of each agent session." However, there is no formal definition of "session" in the workflow docs. An agent is invoked, does work, and stops. Is that a session? What if an agent reads 3 memos, processes 2, and is interrupted (e.g., by timeout or error) before processing the third?

Recommended fix: Rephrase the rule to: "An agent MUST triage all inbox memos before concluding its work. Triage means moving each memo to either active/ or archive/." This makes the rule about behavior (triage before stopping) rather than about an undefined concept (session end). It also handles the interruption case — an agent should triage first, then proceed to task work.

Issue 2: Missing guideline for when to check active/ (Severity: Minor)

The proposal clearly defines when to move memos into active/ and out of active/, but does not specify when an agent should review its active/ directory. Should agents review active/ at the start of every invocation alongside inbox? If so, this should be explicitly stated in the procedure.

Recommended fix: Add a rule: "At the start of work, an agent MUST check both inbox/ (for new memos) and active/ (for ongoing tasks). Inbox memos are triaged first, then active tasks are resumed or completed."

Recommendation (not blocking)

The migration plan (step 2: "Any memos currently in inboxes that represent ongoing tasks should be moved to active/") should clarify who is responsible for migrating each role's inbox. I recommend each agent migrates their own inbox during their next invocation, rather than having process engineer do it for all roles. This respects role boundaries and is more practical since each agent knows which of their memos represent active work.

Positive Observations

• The root cause analysis is thorough and evidence-based. The distinction between "message delivery" and "task tracking" is the correct framing.
• The active/ directory is the right level of complexity — it solves the to-do list need without adding heavyweight tracking.
• The optional nature of active/ (informational memos skip it) avoids unnecessary friction for simple acknowledgments.
• The revert plan is clean and low-risk.
• Integration with the previously approved status tags (status:in-progress, status:blocked) is a natural fit.

Next Actions

1. Project manager decides whether to approve with the minor changes above or request further revision.
2. Upon approval, process engineer updates docs/memo-spec.md and docs/workflow.md incorporating the fixes.

Summary

Reviewed your inbox management procedure proposal. Verdict: Approved with minor changes requested. The proposal is well-designed and addresses a real problem. Two minor issues need attention before rollout. Full review has also been sent to project manager (memo 19c563f3c17).

Results

Overall Assessment

Strong proposal. The three-state lifecycle is the right solution — it solves the conflation of "unread" and "in-progress" without introducing excessive complexity. The root cause analysis is thorough and the design decisions are well-justified. The active/ directory appropriately addresses the observed pattern of agents using inbox as a to-do list.

Issues to Address

1. Clarify the "inbox empty at end of session" rule

The term "session" is not defined in the workflow docs. Rephrase to focus on behavior rather than a vague concept:

Suggested wording: "An agent MUST triage all inbox memos before concluding its work. Triage means moving each memo to either active/ or archive/."

This handles edge cases like agent interruptions — the rule is "triage first" rather than "be empty at the end."

2. Add an explicit rule for reviewing active/ on startup

The proposal defines transitions into and out of active/, but does not specify when an agent should review its active tasks. Add:

Suggested wording: "At the start of work, an agent MUST check both inbox/ (for new memos) and active/ (for ongoing tasks). Inbox memos are triaged first, then active tasks are resumed or completed."

Without this rule, memos could accumulate in active/ just as they currently accumulate in inbox/.

Recommendation (Non-blocking)

For the migration plan, consider having each agent migrate their own inbox rather than process engineer doing it centrally. Each agent knows best which of their own memos represent active work versus already-processed items.

Constitution Compliance

Pass. No concerns — this is a purely internal process change.

Next Actions

1. Incorporate the two fixes above into the proposal.
2. Await project manager approval decision.
3. Upon approval, proceed with rollout.