Research Indexes¶

Purpose¶

This page is the curated entrypoint into Ledger's pre-canon research surfaces.

It exists to answer one narrow question: if canon does not yet hold the answer, which research surface should you read next?

It does not treat research/ as implementation truth.

Research Surface Map¶

flowchart TD
    A["Research"] --> B["Root research"]
    A --> C["Strategy"]
    A --> D["Product"]
    A --> E["Operating-system"]
    A --> F["Company"]

    C --> C1["Company architecture"]
    C --> C2["Positioning and concept"]
    C --> C3["AI-assisted research control"]
    D --> D1["Phase 1 draft bundle"]
    D --> D2["Workflow and engine drafts"]
    E --> E1["Historical residue"]
    E --> E2["Future-improvement planning"]
    F --> F1["Organization and sharing research"]

Root Research Surface¶

Start here	Why it matters	High-signal documents
research/README.md	root rule for what research is and is not	`RESEARCH_BACKLOG.md`, `OPEN_QUESTIONS.md`, `LEDGER_STRUCTURE_AND_MIGRATION_PLAN.md`

Use this when:

you need the repo-level rule for pre-canon work
you are deciding whether something belongs in research at all
you need to orient before choosing a narrower research surface

Strategy Research¶

Start here	Why it matters	High-signal documents
research/strategy/README.md	long-term strategy and company architecture reference	ORBITRA_COMPANY_OPERATING_ARCHITECTURE_MACRO_LAYER_MODEL.md, ORBITRA_FOUNDATION_PLATFORM_ARCHITECTURE_MAP.md, ORBITRA_AGENT_RUNTIME_AND_CONTROL_PLANE_ARCHITECTURE_MAP.md, ORBITRA_PHASE_PRIORITY_ARCHITECTURE_MAP.md

Use this when:

you need long-term company architecture reference
you need the macro-layer, value-stream, or overlay framing
you need the bridge between current shell truth and longer-term architecture thinking

Do not use this as direct permission to change the active Phase 1 shell.

AI-Assisted Research Control¶

Start here	Why it matters	High-signal documents
AI Deep-Research Control Map	bounded atlas bridge for the curated Smart Ledger AI-research control cluster	LEDGER_AI_DEEP_RESEARCH_CONTROL_PACKAGE.md, LEDGER_AI_DEEP_RESEARCH_MKDOCS_PROJECTION_MODEL.md, LEDGER_AI_DEEP_RESEARCH_PLACEMENT_AND_FAMILY_MODEL.md, LEDGER_AI_DEEP_RESEARCH_CURATION_AND_MATURITY_MODEL.md

Use this when:

you need the governed model for handling ChatGPT or other external AI research in Ledger
you need the curated strategy notes that explain intake, curation, placement, and projection boundaries
you need the stronger-source research notes behind any later AI-research atlas surfaces

This atlas entry is navigation only. Raw intake under research/intake/external-ai/ is not published here by default, and the source of truth remains the repo-backed curated research notes.

Product Research¶

Start here	Why it matters	High-signal documents
research/product/README.md	Phase 1 planning residue and product drafts	PHASE_1_DRAFT_BUNDLE_MAP.md, PHASE_1_IMPLEMENTATION_SCOPE_DRAFT.md, PHASE_1_GOVERNED_TASK_SET_DRAFT.md, COMMON_SYSTEM_ENGINES_DRAFT.md

Use this when:

you need the historical or planning context behind the active Phase 1 model
you need product or engine drafts that are not yet canon
you need to compare present canon to older planning assumptions

Read docs/product/PHASE_1_WORKING_MODEL.md first when implementation truth matters.

Operating-System Research¶

Start here	Why it matters	High-signal documents
research/operating-system/README.md	residual operating-system research after canon promotion	current value is mostly the README and future-improvement planning pointers

Use this when:

you need to confirm whether an operating-system idea is still research residue
you are looking for historical pathing behind the promoted DOM canon
you are evaluating future improvement planning rather than current execution doctrine

The active DOM backbone has already been promoted into docs/operating-system/.

Company Research¶

Start here	Why it matters	High-signal documents
Company Research Map	curated atlas entrypoint into the completed company pack and its research-system notes	research/company/README.md, SOFTWARE_AGENCY_ORG_CHART_AND_REPORTING_MODEL.md, AI_AGENT_RESPONSIBILITY_AND_APPROVAL_MODEL.md, COMPANY_ARCHITECTURE_AND_COMPANY_RESEARCH_RUBRIC.md, COMPANY_RESEARCH_ARTIFACT_TAXONOMY.md

Use this when:

you need the completed company operating-model pack
you need the rubric and taxonomy notes that frame that pack
you need company-side research without mistaking it for canon

The company research atlas page is navigation only. The source of truth remains the repo files it links to.

Research Reading Rule¶

Use research deliberately:

start from the matching canon surface first
drop into research only when canon does not yet answer the question
treat research as reference truth, not current implementation truth

If you need durable policy, execution routing, or closure obligations, return to docs/, governance/, meta/, or records/.