Separate Committed Work From Optional Depth
The app must distinguish the action that constitutes today’s commitment from additional work the user may choose.
Capture
Without a clear distinction, optional work can become hidden obligation.
The app must distinguish the action that constitutes today’s commitment from additional work the user may choose.
Why
This decision matters because separate Committed Work From Optional Depth constrains the product toward continuity, evidence, and human judgment rather than broad AI helpfulness.
Why-Not
The rejected path would make separate Committed Work From Optional Depth too easy to treat as an implementation detail instead of a public boundary. The ADR preserves the tradeoff explicitly so later product work cannot silently widen authority.
Commit
Decision: The app must distinguish the action that constitutes today’s commitment from additional work the user may choose.
This protects users from the app’s tendency to keep expanding helpfulness.
Confidence: Medium-high for public architecture; implementation details remain private and subject to launch evidence.
Timestamp
2026-07-17