Constraint Elicitation

---
name: constraint-elicitation
description: Structured questioning SOP to identify practical constraints that shape the research spec. Used during spec generation.
execution: sequential
used-by: writing-specs
---

# Constraint Elicitation

Ask the user 2-3 questions about practical constraints.

## Questions (select 2-3 most relevant)

1. **Time Budget**
   - "Roughly how many sessions do you want to spend on this research?"
   - Options: (A) Quick — 3-4 sessions (B) Standard — 5-7 sessions (C) Deep — 8-10 sessions (D) No limit, go as deep as needed

2. **Existing Knowledge**
   - "Do you already have papers, notes, or prior research on this topic?"
   - Options: (A) Starting from scratch (B) I have some papers/notes I can share (C) I have significant prior work — skip basics

3. **Tool Preferences**
   - "Any preferences for research tools?"
   - Options: (A) Use everything available (B) Prioritize academic papers (Semantic Scholar) (C) Prioritize web sources (D) I'll provide specific sources

4. **Hard Constraints**
   - "Any hard constraints I should know about?"
   - Open-ended — deadlines, specific exclusions, required methodologies

## Rules

- Ask ONE question at a time
- Skip questions whose answers are obvious from context
- Time budget directly affects spec granularity (fewer sessions = fewer strategies per stage)