research-document
Software Engineering Research Portfolio Queue
Portfolio Objective
Reduce the uncertainties that most affect whether the first bounded pilot can produce valid, safe, decision-relevant evidence at acceptable operating cost. This is a generated-by-review navigation view; mission and research records are the durable nodes.
Prioritization Method
Rank considers decision consequence, uncertainty, dependency leverage, falsifiability, feasibility, and risk. Rank is provisional and must be revisited after every completed item. A blocked high-value item does not displace useful unblocked work.
Active and Backlog Graph
| Rank | Node | Maturity | Parents | Dependencies | Enables | Confidence | Largest uncertainty | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MS-PREREG-2026-6B9F | Deep Investigation | HY-HANDOFF-2026-6B31 | preflight, ethics, accessibility, statistics, independent review | EX-HANDOFF-2026-0D7A | Medium design | sample size and external gates | active; external-dependency |
| 2 | EX-HANDOFF-2026-6E42 | Validation | measurement, safeguards, baseline | independent reviewers, accessibility participants, ethics determination | confirmatory experiment | Low | rubric reliability and protocol feasibility | proposed; external-dependency |
| 3 | MS-REVIEW-2026-7A31 | Validation | four review REPs and three decisions | independent reviewer | acceptance or revision | Low | independent survivability | external-dependency |
| 4 | EX-AICODING-2026-2D77 | Scoping | HY-AICODING-2026-7C2D | partner, privacy-reviewed telemetry, preregistration | AI-use policy | Medium theory | current causal moderators | blocked |
| 5 | MS-ROSATTRIB-2026-31D9 | Idea | ROS pilot | first handoff milestone | ROS adoption decision | Low | credible project counterfactual | proposed; dependency-blocked |
| 6 | MS-TERMS-2026-0F4D | Idea | DF-BOUNDARY-2026-3F72 | none | label disposition | Very Low | any positive label value | proposed; low expected value |
Completed Nodes Still Awaiting Review
| Node | Maturity | Finding | Review debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS-SAFEGUARDS-2026-89D1 | Synthesis | minimal-data sandboxed study is feasible in design | ethics, data steward, and participatory accessibility gates |
| MS-BASELINE-2026-E5A7 | Synthesis | conventional note is artifact control; ROS needs separate study | comparator plausibility and decision review |
| RP-MEASURES-2026-71B4 | Synthesis | safe continuation plus separate harm/cost gates | rubric reliability and independent review |
| RP-AICODING-2026-B7E2 | Synthesis | AI effects are conditional | independent source/disposition review |
| RP-HANDOFF-2026-A8E1 | Synthesis | handoff evaluator is best provisional slice | validate outcome model and baseline |
| RP-BOUNDARY-2026-5A7C | Synthesis | distinct discipline unsupported | independent boundary review |
| DF-HANDOFF-2026-5C9B | Synthesis | select reversible handoff pilot | remains review |
| DF-BASELINE-2026-48C0 | Synthesis | select competent conventional-note control | remains review |
| DF-BOUNDARY-2026-3F72 | Synthesis | reject distinct discipline | remains review |
Knowledge Relationships
RP-HANDOFF / HY-HANDOFF
-> MS-MEASURES (complete) ───┐
-> MS-SAFEGUARDS (complete) ─┼-> EX-PREFLIGHT
-> MS-BASELINE (complete) ───┘ -> MS-PREREG -> EX-HANDOFF
|
first handoff milestone ---------------------------------┴-> MS-ROSATTRIB
RP-AICODING / HY-AICODING
-> partner + safeguards + preregistration -> EX-AICODING
RP-BOUNDARY / DF-BOUNDARY
-> MS-TERMS (low priority)
-> comparative profile test embedded in EX-HANDOFF
Monitoring and Review Triggers
- Re-rank after every mission completion or material contradictory evidence.
- Review AI-coding evidence when tool generation changes materially or by 2026-10-30, whichever comes first.
- Review handoff/profile conclusions after the first pilot evidence.
- Move any item backward if construct validity, safety, or replication weakens.
- Never advance an item to Engineering Ready while its governing Decision Record remains in review.
Portfolio Review — 2026-07-30
- Priority change: Outcome validity was resolved enough to stop blocking design. Safeguards and baseline are now complete in synthesis.
- Invalidation: The earlier queue ordering was invalidated; it placed baseline and safeguards ahead of the measurement dependency and treated reconstruction time as if already usable.
- Merge/archive decision: No duplicate or obsolete mission was found. Historical completed work remains visible because it carries review debt.
- Repository decision: No new repository is justified. All active questions concern this pilot and share its evidence graph.
- Highest-value opportunity: Determine whether the study can collect enough evidence while minimizing source exposure, behavioral surveillance, accessibility exclusion, and participant risk.
Portfolio Review — after safeguards and baseline
- Priority change: Preregistration is the highest-value active item, but its next steps require independent reviewers, accessibility participants, qualified ethics determination, data stewardship, and statistical review.
- Invalidated assumptions: An identical time cap is not accessibility neutral; de-identification alone is not a privacy boundary; a no-documentation control is not credible; a handoff artifact experiment cannot validate ROS.
- Queue split: Whole-ROS attribution moved to MS-ROSATTRIB-2026-31D9. Rubric/protocol feasibility moved to EX-HANDOFF-2026-6E42 so it cannot be confused with confirmatory efficacy.
- Feasibility challenge: A simple scenario needs about 388 recipients per arm for a 50% versus 60% success contrast at 80% power and two-sided 5% alpha. The bounded pilot is therefore preflight research unless a justified larger effect, stronger design, or adequate sample is established.
- Archive/merge decision: No record should be archived. The original flat queue is superseded as a navigation model but preserved as a compact view.
- Highest-value next action: Obtain the external roles and approvals needed for EX-HANDOFF-2026-6E42; otherwise independent review has higher expected value than low-priority terminology work.