Developer and ArchitectureHow-to

Backlog disposal

Retire an idea with a paper trail instead of a silent delete.

On this page
  1. Why a disposition record
  2. The two surfaces
  3. The disposition format
  4. What a disposition is not
  5. Failure modes
  6. Next

Why a disposition record

Deleting a backlog item silently loses the "did we already evaluate this?" signal. Six months later the same idea returns and the same investigation repeats. A disposition removes the item from the active backlog while leaving why it was shelved, and when to look again, on disk.

The two surfaces

SurfaceRole
docs/progress.mdThe progress board: Backlog, In Progress, In Review, Done, updated from main only. Items map 1:1 to an issue or task ID
geode-eval-artifacts:sil/audit-reports/YYYY-MM-DD-backlog-dispositions.mdThe disposition audit: one dated file bundling the evidence for items concluded as shelved. Example: sil/audit-reports/2026-05-18-backlog-dispositions.md

The disposition format

Each item fills four sections. The last one is the point: a disposition is a conditional shelf with a written re-review condition.

## #<id> — <item title>

### Finding              measured evidence (grep output, code paths, numbers)
### Analysis             why not now
### Disposition          one-line conclusion (No action / Defer / ...)
### Re-review trigger    what change puts it back on the board

## Summary               item | disposition | trigger count table

The Finding section carries the weight. It holds grep output and code paths, not guesses, so a later reader can re-verify the judgment as it stood.

What a disposition is not

  • If another PR solved the same problem, the item goes to Done on the board. Resolution is not disposal.
  • If the item is decided for implementation, it goes to In Progress. Disposal is only for "not now".
  • A disposition without a re-review trigger equals a silent delete. If no trigger can be written, it is a rejection, and rejections also get their evidence written down.

Failure modes

SymptomCauseFix
The same idea keeps coming backThe item was erased from the board with no audit fileWrite the disposition file and link it from the board entry.
Dispositions never get re-readThe re-review trigger is vagueWrite triggers as observable events: "when the user decides X", "when Y starts being imported".
Board edited from a feature branchTracking documents are main-onlyUpdate the board from main only; single source of truth.

Next

Moved from the GEODE repository’s documentation site. Source commit de077a4 · View the source on GitHub