● 1.0 · METHODOLOGY · v.2026.05

How we read the footnotes.

The most expensive thing in research is a confident answer that turns out to be a footnote misread. Our method is built around catching the moment where the source diverges from the citation, not the moment the model finishes its sentence.

Every brief moves through three stations. Sources, verification, synthesis. Each station is staffed by a different analyst. Nobody verifies their own gather, and nobody synthesizes their own verification. The handoff is the audit.

1.1 Sources

We start with a question, not a query. The lead analyst writes a one-page intake that names the decision the brief will support. From that intake we build a source map of primary documents, secondary commentary, adjacent regulatory filings, and the three or four practitioners worth a phone call.

"The model is the last tool we reach for, not the first. By the time it sees the source set, the set has already been read."

1.2 Verification

A second analyst takes the gather and tries to break it. They re-read every cited paragraph in its original context. They re-derive every number from its primary source. They flag the gap between what a source actually says and what the brief is about to claim it says.

FIG 1.2 · Methodology drift, Q1–Q4 2025. The Q3 spike correlates with the regulatory change in section 4(b). See Appendix A for source breakdown.

1.3 Synthesis

Only after both passes does a third analyst write the brief. Synthesis is where the work earns its honorific: a careful argument with a recommendation, not a montage of bullet points. Confidence levels are stated explicitly. Where we are guessing, we say so.

{theme !== undefined && }

BRIEF BUILDER

Open a brief.

Three fields. Then we call you.

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0{i+1} ·

{nm}

))}

{step===1 && ( <>

● FIELD 01 · THE QUESTION set('q', e.target.value)} placeholder="What's eating into our gross margin?" />

One question. Sharper is faster. We will rewrite it with you on the call.

● FIELD 02 · CONTEXT (OPTIONAL)

set('context', e.target.value)} placeholder="The decision this brief will support, and by when." />
            </div>
          </>
        )}

{step===2 && (
          <div className="brief-field">
            <label>● FIELD 03 · DEPTH</label>
            <div className="opts">
              {[
                {k:'brief', nm:'The Brief', meta:'8-page PDF · 5–10 sources · 48h'},
                {k:'engine', nm:'The Engine', meta:'Dashboard + memo · 30+ sources · monthly'},
                {k:'foundry', nm:'The Foundry', meta:'Custom · unrestricted · dedicated team'},
              ].map(o => (
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                </div>
              ))}
            </div>
          </div>
        )}

{step===3 && (
          <>
            <div className="brief-field">
              <label>● FIELD 04 · DEADLINE</label>
              <input value={data.deadline} onChange={e => set('deadline', e.target.value)} placeholder="By Thursday, 14 May, board pack" />
              <div className="hint">Real deadlines only. We price against turnaround.</div>
            </div>
            <div className="brief-field">
              <label>● FIELD 05 · WHO TO CALL</label>
              <input placeholder="name @ company . com" />
            </div>
          </>
        )}

<div className="brief-nav">
          <BtnSecondary onClick={() => step>1 ? setStep(step-1) : go('home')}>{step>1?'Back':'Cancel'}</BtnSecondary>
          {step<3 ? (
            <BtnPrimary onClick={() => setStep(step+1)}>Continue</BtnPrimary>
          ) : (
            <BtnPrimary onClick={() => alert('Brief sent — an analyst will call within the hour.')}>Send the brief</BtnPrimary>
          )}
        </div>
      </div>
    </section>
  );
};

// ===== FIELD NOTES =====
const FieldNotes = () => (
  <section className="fn" data-screen-label="05 Field notes">
    <div className="inner">
      <Eyebrow num="5.0">FIELD NOTES</Eyebrow>
      <h1>A changelog of the workshop.</h1>
      <p className="lead">Short writes from the analysts. What we learned this week, what we threw out, what we are watching.</p>

{[
        {date:'2026.05.04', h:'A method we abandoned, after 11 briefs.', body:<>We had been using a confidence-weighted source ranking inside the verification station. <em>It didn't survive contact with regulatory text.</em> Replacing it with an analyst-tagged provenance log this week.</>},
        {date:'2026.04.27', h:'On the cost of a confident sentence.', body:<>The most expensive line in any brief is the one with no hedge and no source. We re-read every Q1 brief and counted them. <em>Median per brief: two.</em> Not zero. We have work to do.</>},
        {date:'2026.04.20', h:'Why we are not adding a chat interface.', body:<>Briefs are not conversations. The product is the cover page, the recommendation, and the appendix. <em>A chatbot is a way to lose the cover page.</em></>},
        {date:'2026.04.13', h:'Three procurement reports we will not publish.', body:<>The clients agreed to anonymize. We agreed they had to read like an argument, not a list. <em>Two of the three didn't have an argument.</em> The third was excellent and is in the library.</>},
      ].map((e,i) => (
        <div key={i} className="fn-entry">
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          <div>
            <h3>{e.h}</h3>
            <div className="body">{e.body}</div>
          </div>
        </div>
      ))}
    </div>
  </section>
);

Object.assign(window, { Home, Methodology, Library, Brief, FieldNotes });

Research that closes the questions that matter.

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How we read the footnotes.

1.1 Sources

1.2 Verification

1.3 Synthesis

Read what we ship.

Open a brief.