--- type: skill lifecycle: stable inheritance: master-only name: escalation-routing description: Decide whether a feedback item is in-scope for the Supervisor or must be escalated to AlexMaster (framework-level) tier: standard applyTo: '"**/feedback/inbox/**,**/feedback/triaged/**"' currency: 2026-04-28 lastReviewed: 2026-01-01 --- # Escalation Routing The Supervisor owns ACT-fleet curation. AlexMaster owns the framework. This skill draws the line. ## When to Use - Triaging an inbox item via [feedback-triage](../feedback-triage/SKILL.md) and the route is unclear - A pattern recurs across heirs and feels like it belongs in the framework, not the curation - A heir requests something the Supervisor cannot grant alone ## The Cardinal Test Before any change, ask: **Does AlexMaster do this?** | If AlexMaster… | Then the change is… | |---|---| | Owns the artifact type (instruction, skill, prompt schema, ACT tenet) | Framework — escalate | | Owns the policy (how releases work, what counts as a skill, the ACT pass) | Framework — escalate | | Owns the brain spec (copilot-instructions.md, three-tier inheritance) | Framework — escalate | | Just has a sibling artifact (a different skill, a different store) | Curation — handle in-house | | Is downstream consumer (would adopt the change later) | Curation — handle in-house | ## In-Scope vs Escalation Matrix | Signal | Route | |---|---| | Proposal for a new ACT tenet | **Escalate** | | Proposal for a new artifact type (e.g., "we need a `pattern.md` alongside skills") | **Escalate** | | Proposal that changes the brain spec (frontmatter fields, inheritance tiers) | **Escalate** | | Proposal that changes how the ACT pass works | **Escalate** | | Cross-fleet pattern observed in 3+ unrelated heirs | **Escalate** (it's framework signal) | | Domain skill (a new specialized capability) | **In-house** | | New mall store | **In-house** ([store-evaluation](../store-evaluation/SKILL.md)) | | Edition skill bug fix | **In-house** ([feedback-triage](../feedback-triage/SKILL.md) → Edition PR) | | Mall entry refresh | **In-house** ([mall-curation](../mall-curation/SKILL.md)) | | Coherence violation | **In-house** ([coherence-audit](../coherence-audit/SKILL.md)) | | Heir request for a curated pattern bundle | **In-house** | | Disagreement about whether to handle in-house | **Escalate** (when in doubt, escalate — the cost of asking is low; the cost of overreach is high) | ## Escalation Procedure 1. Confirm the item meets at least one **Escalate** signal — and document which one 2. Run a full ACT pass (high stakes — this is a framework-level claim about scope) 3. Write the escalation as a feedback file at `AI-Memory/feedback/-.md` in the AlexMaster workspace (per [pii-memory-filter](../../instructions/pii-memory-filter.instructions.md): structured schema only, no domain data) 4. Required fields: - **From**: Alex_ACT_Supervisor - **Date**: YYYY-MM-DD - **Category**: tenet-proposal / spec-change / artifact-type / cross-fleet-pattern / scope-question - **Severity**: low / medium / high / critical - **Signal count**: how many independent observations support this (the multi-observation rule) - **Description**: structured, abstract — what / why / proposed action 5. Record the escalation in `decisions/curation-log.md` with route `AlexMaster` and M/S = S 6. Wait for AlexMaster to act — **do not modify Edition or Mall in anticipation** of the escalation outcome. Pre-emptive changes are scope creep. ## Hard Rules 1. **When in doubt, escalate** — overreach is more expensive than asking 2. **Never modify framework artifacts in Edition or Mall** — they are inherited from AlexMaster; modifying them creates fleet drift 3. **One escalation per concern** — bundling unrelated items defeats the audit trail 4. **Strip project context per [cross-project-isolation](../../instructions/pii-memory-filter.instructions.md)** before writing to AlexMaster's `AI-Memory/feedback/` 5. **No silent escalations** — every escalation is logged in `curation-log.md` ## What "In-House" Means If the item is in-house, it routes to one of the existing skills: | Item type | In-house skill | |---|---| | Skill submission or fix | [skill-review](../skill-review/SKILL.md) | | Generic feedback or bug | [feedback-triage](../feedback-triage/SKILL.md) | | New mall store | [store-evaluation](../store-evaluation/SKILL.md) | | Mall prune/refresh | [staleness-discipline](../staleness-discipline/SKILL.md) or [mall-curation](../mall-curation/SKILL.md) | | Coherence violation | [coherence-audit](../coherence-audit/SKILL.md) | | Release coordination | [release-ritual](../release-ritual/SKILL.md) | ## Anti-Patterns | Anti-pattern | Correction | |---|---| | Modifying inherited artifacts "just this once" | Modifications must come through AlexMaster sync, never in heirs | | Escalating every trivial question | Use the matrix; trivial items waste AlexMaster's bandwidth | | Pre-emptive change while waiting for escalation outcome | Wait for the answer; the change you preempt may not be what AlexMaster decides | | Bundling unrelated escalations | One concern, one escalation file | | Forgetting to log the escalation | Curation log is the audit trail; missing entries break the 60-day re-evaluation | ## Output Template (escalation file) ```markdown # Escalation — **From**: Alex_ACT_Supervisor **Date**: YYYY-MM-DD **Category**: tenet-proposal | spec-change | artifact-type | cross-fleet-pattern | scope-question **Severity**: low | medium | high | critical **Signal count**: N independent observations ## What <2-3 sentence abstract> ## Why this is framework-level (not curation) ## Evidence - - - ... ## Proposed Action (for AlexMaster) <2-3 sentence proposal> ## Impact if Not Adopted ## ACT Pass Trail ``` ## Related - [feedback-triage](../feedback-triage/SKILL.md) — primary entry point that may route here - [escalation-rules](../../instructions/escalation-rules.instructions.md) — always-on routing - [pii-memory-filter](../../instructions/pii-memory-filter.instructions.md) and [cross-project-isolation guidance](../../instructions/pii-memory-filter.instructions.md) — content rules - `/escalate-to-master` prompt