068 Extract E5529869

# Reflection

Extract transferable insight from experience.

## When to Use

- Meaningful experience completed
- Learning should persist beyond this moment
- Pattern might apply elsewhere
- Beliefs need updating
- Team/system should benefit from insight

## Mental Model

**Mine the experience for reusable gold.**

Experience → Analysis → Insight → Artifact → Dissemination

## Reflection Triggers

| Trigger | Timing | Depth |
|---------|--------|-------|
| Project completion | End of project | Deep |
| Sprint/iteration end | Every 1-2 weeks | Medium |
| Incident resolution | After incident | Focused |
| Goal missed | After miss | Targeted |
| Success achieved | After win | Extractive |
| Quarterly review | Every quarter | Comprehensive |

## Process

### 1. Capture the Experience

Document what happened before memory fades.

**Capture:**
- What happened? (Objective description)
- Context (timeframe, participants, stakes, constraints)
- Outcome (expected vs actual, assessment)

### 2. Analyze What Worked and Didn't

Examine the experience for patterns.

**What worked:**
- What went well?
- What evidence shows it worked?
- Why did it work?

**What didn't work:**
- What went poorly?
- What evidence shows it failed?
- Why did it fail?

**Surprises:**
- What was unexpected?
- What explains the surprise?
- What's the implication?

### 3. Extract Insights

Distill transferable learnings.

**For each insight:**
- Statement: What did we learn?
- Evidence: What supports this?
- Confidence: How sure are we? (0-1)
- Conditions: When does this apply?
- Transfer: Where else could this apply?

### 4. Update Beliefs

Explicitly revise beliefs based on evidence.

**For each belief update:**
- Previous belief: What we thought before
- Updated belief: What we think now
- Evidence: What caused the update

### 5. Create Artifacts

Make insights persistent and usable.

**Artifact types:**
- **Heuristics:** Rules of thumb for quick decisions
- **Playbooks:** Step-by-step guides for known situations
- **Checklists:** Items to verify before proceeding
- **Warnings:** Things to watch out for
- **Mental models:** Frameworks for understanding

### 6. Plan Dissemination

Ensure insights reach those who need them.

**Questions:**
- Who needs to know this?
- What format works for them?
- Where should this live permanently?
- How will we share it?

## Output Format

```markdown
## Reflection: [Experience Name]

**Experience:**
- What happened: [Objective description]
- Context: [Timeframe, participants, stakes]
- Outcome: Expected [X], Actual [Y], Assessment [Z]

### Analysis

**What worked:**
- [Item]: [Evidence] — Why: [Explanation]

**What didn't work:**
- [Item]: [Evidence] — Why: [Explanation]

**Surprises:**
- [Surprise]: [Explanation] — Implication: [What it means]

### Insights

**Insight 1:** [Statement]
- Evidence: [Supporting evidence]
- Confidence: [X%]
- Applies when: [Conditions]
- Transferable to: [Other contexts]

**Insight 2:** [Statement]
- Evidence: [Supporting evidence]
- Confidence: [X%]
- Applies when: [Conditions]
- Transferable to: [Other contexts]

### Belief Updates

**[Belief topic]:**
- Previous: [Old belief]
- Updated: [New belief]
- Evidence: [What changed our mind]

### Artifacts Created

**[Artifact type]: [Name]**
- Content: [Summary or link]
- Applies when: [Conditions]

### Dissemination

**Share with:**
- [Audience]: [Format], [When]

**Add to:**
- [Location]: [Content]
```

## Artifact Types

### Heuristics
Rules of thumb for quick decisions.

**Format:** "When [condition], usually [action/outcome]"

**Example:** "When launching new category to technical audience, community > paid ads"

**Use:** Quick decision-making

**Risk:** May not apply in edge cases

### Playbooks
Step-by-step guides for known situations.

**Format:** "In situation X, do steps A, B, C"

**Example:** "Community-first launch: 1) Seed Discord, 2) Create launch thread, 3) Enable referrals..."

**Use:** Repeatable execution

**Risk:** May become stale

### Checklists
Items to verify before proceeding.

**Format:** "Before X, verify: □ Y □ Z"

**Example:** "Launch checklist: □ Community seeded □ Support ready □ Monitoring on"

**Use:** Error prevention

**Risk:** Can become rote

### Warnings
Things to watch out for.

**Format:** "Watch out for X when Y"

**Example:** "Watch out for high CPC when bidding on new category keywords"

**Use:** Risk awareness

**Risk:** May create excess caution

### Mental Models
Frameworks for understanding.

**Format:** "Think about X as Y"

**Example:** "Category maturity determines channel mix"

**Use:** Sense-making

**Risk:** Oversimplification

## Reflection Cadences

| Cadence | Scope | Duration | Output |
|---------|-------|----------|--------|
| Weekly | Sprint work | 30 min | Quick insights |
| Sprint | Sprint outcomes | 1 hour | Action items |
| Project | Full project | 2-4 hours | Playbook updates |
| Quarterly | Quarter patterns | Half day | Strategic insights |
| Annual | Year learnings | Full day | Major belief updates |

## Anti-Patterns

| Avoid | Problem | Do Instead |
|-------|---------|------------|
| No reflection time | Insights lost | Schedule it |
| Blame-focused | Defensive, not learning | Focus on system |
| Insight hoarding | Knowledge doesn't spread | Plan dissemination |
| Over-generalization | Insight doesn't transfer | Specify conditions |
| No artifact | Insight forgotten | Create persistent output |
| Analysis paralysis | Never finish | Time-box reflection |
| Only reflect on failures | Miss positive learnings | Reflect on successes too |