---
name: Investigation ordering — docs first, then sessions, then code
description: For pattern-finding investigations across a project, work outward: docs → user sessions → git/code, not the reverse
type: feedback
originSessionId: 0b3de324-21d6-4fc6-bf5f-c9792d6f4e99
---
For meta-investigations (e.g. "find recurring failure patterns"), the user wants this ordering:

1. **GSD docs first** — surface area of known repeating bugs (REVIEW.md, VERIFICATION.md, debug docs, code_tips, STATE.md)
2. **Past sessions next (`/trace`)** — how the user actually encounters and reports the bugs
3. **Git history last** — patterns in the code-writing process (fix-of-fix, regressions, churn)

**Why:** Docs give a curated list of what was already noticed. Sessions reveal user-side reporting shape — wording, severity, triggers. Git history is noisiest, so it's most useful when you already know what to look for; running it first wastes context on patterns the docs already named.

**How to apply:** When asked to find patterns of agent failure, bug recurrence, workflow breakage, or any retrospective across the project, sequence the investigation in that order. Each phase narrows the search space for the next. Do not start by grep-ing git logs.