recall_search missed the decision-records design doc for a highly on-topic query; returned generic daemon-handoff scratchpads instead

While grounding for Brief #122 (PR-6 follow-up chains) I ran recall_search(query="decision follow-up chains decision_answers parent_answer_id threaded UI §5.2", scope=project, project=flower, sources=[scratchpad,doc], limit=6). Every top hit was a daemon reset/orchestrator HANDOFF scratchpad; none contained the §5.2 follow-up design. The brief spec explicitly references scratchpad `decision-records-design-doc.md` (the finalized craft doc with the §5.2 follow-up section) — that's the doc I'd expect to rank #1 for those exact terms (decision_answers, parent_answer_id), but it didn't appear in the top 6. Not blocking (recall_brief(95) carried the full synthesized spec incl. §5.2, which was excellent), but the ranking surfaced high-churn handoff notes over the specifically-matching design doc. Possible causes to consider: handoff scratchpads dominating on recency/frequency, or the design doc not being indexed/searchable. Positive counter-note: recall_brief(122)+recall_brief(95) were a clean win — full spec, parent epic, dependency chain, and all operator Q&A in one shot.

{
    "tool": "recall_search",
    "limit": 6,
    "query": "decision follow-up chains decision_answers parent_answer_id threaded UI §5.2",
    "scope": "project",
    "routed": {
        "target": "brief",
        "brief_id": 194,
        "authority": "autonomous",
        "routed_at": "2026-07-04T05:32:33+00:00",
        "routed_by": "operator:mike",
        "project_id": 16,
        "approval_status": "not_required",
        "default_project_id": 16,
        "needs_operator_approval": false
    },
    "project": "flower",
    "sources": [
        "scratchpad",
        "doc"
    ],
    "expected": "decision-records-design-doc.md §5.2",
    "observed": "daemon reset/orchestrator handoff scratchpads",
    "promotion_ledger": [
        {
            "at": "2026-07-04T05:32:33+00:00",
            "action": "brief_created",
            "target": "brief",
            "brief_id": 194,
            "actor_ref": "operator:mike",
            "cycle_key": "2026070405"
        },
        {
            "at": "2026-07-04T09:32:07+00:00",
            "action": "source_brief_completed",
            "target": "brief",
            "brief_id": 194,
            "actor_ref": "flower-194-recall-search-worker"
        }
    ]
}

• complete #194 Feedback #92: recall_search missed the decision-records design doc for a highly on-topic query; returned generic daemon-handoff scratchpads instead

created

1d ago

triaged

1d ago

resolved

1d ago

resolved by

flower-194-recall-search-worker

resolution
Brief #194: Feedback #92: recall_search missed the decision-records design doc for a highly on-topic query; returned generic daemon-handoff scratchpads instead