Goal progress

GoalHorizonMovementBlocked?Ready?Key results
004 Finish methodologynearadvancing (0017 lifecycle done, PM spec written)waiting: goals need emsenn reviewyes (multiple proposed)4/6 met
002 Planning inframidadvancing (board, WIP, appetites working)noyes (8 proposed plans)2/6 met
003 Progressive automationmidstalled (MCP server exists but key plans draft)soft: 0015, 0016 still draftlow1/5 met
005 Semantic pipelinemidstalled (infrastructure exists, nothing connected)soft: 0018, 0021 depend on draft 0015low0/5 met
001 Operational autonomyfarminimaldepends on 003, 005low0/5 met

Method-practice gaps

Method without practice

  • Retrospectives (semiotic-PM §3.7): specified as categorical review, never conducted
  • Satisfaction deficit (semiotic-PM §1.2): specified as monotone-decreasing progress metric, not measured or reported
  • Circuit breaker (semiotic-PM §3.6): appetite field exists but no check fires when appetite exhausted
  • Cool-down periods (semiotic-PM §3.6): specified, never practiced
  • Definition of Done (semiotic-PM §6): specified, no shared standard exists
  • Backlog as semantic gap (semiotic-PM §3.4): specified as derived from predicate graph, but actually a manually curated list
  • Goal acceptance (plans/index.md lifecycle): specified as emsenn gate, all 5 goals still draft — no strategic direction formally accepted
  • Normative scope declarations (semiotic-endeavor-specification §1.1): required of aspect specs, absent from most
  • Shared carrier declarations (semiotic-endeavor-specification §1.3): required, none declared

Practice without method

  • “Think through” plans: used in practice (plan 0040), not documented as a plan type
  • Session start procedure: practiced (CLAUDE.md), not specified as a formal method component
  • Work routing decisions: practiced ad hoc, no documented decision protocols (what plan 0039 addresses)
  • Triage mining focus selection: practiced, but decision of what to mine for is ad hoc each time
  • Three-level pattern application: practiced, documented in plan 0033 but not formalized as a procedure

Leverage ranking

CandidateServes goalUnblocksCloses gapImproves decisionsReadyScore
0038 Situational assessment004 (near)all future choicesyes (no assessment exists)yes (IS the tool)yes4
0039 Work procedure002 (mid)all future routingyes (routing is ad hoc)yes (documents protocols)yes4
0040 Think through spec-as-measurement002 (mid)partiallyyes (reorders priorities)yes3
0023 Cycle workflow002 (mid)0035 (retros)yes (circuit breaker, cool-down)partiallyyes3
0022 Definition of Done002 (mid)yes (no shared DoD)noyes3
0036 Roadmap/milestones002 (mid)partiallypartiallyyes2
0024 Unplanned intake002 (mid)partiallypartiallyyes2
0018 Satisfaction deficit005 (mid)yesyesno (needs 0015)2
0035 Retrospectives002 (mid)yesyesno (needs 0023)2

Non-obvious finding

All 5 goals are status: draft. Goal 004’s key result #3 is “Goal candidates reviewed by emsenn” and #4 is “emsenn accepts at least 2 goals.” The entire planning system is operating without formally accepted strategic direction. Plans serve draft goals. This is the largest method-practice gap.

Recommendation

Do: Complete plan 0038 (this assessment), then present goal review to emsenn.

Why: The goal acceptance gap is the highest-leverage method-practice gap — it affects all 37 plans, not just one. Completing 0038 gives us the assessment tool; reviewing goals gives us accepted direction.

Over: 0039 (work procedure) scores equally on leverage but goals-first is prerequisite. 0023 (cycles) and 0022 (DoD) are plan-level improvements that don’t address the strategic gap.

Then: With accepted goals and this assessment tool, the next assessment will produce a clear recommendation because it can compare candidates against committed direction rather than draft assumptions.

Post-assessment update

emsenn provided strategic direction: the #1 goal is “specify the emsemioverse endeavor.” Everything else feeds into that or is made possible by it. This reorients the entire goal structure — the existing 5 goals become sub-goals or enabling conditions of this primary objective.