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RLCR stagnation pattern: rescue rounds, telemetry mismatch, and escalating review complexity #156

@mockiemochi

Description

@mockiemochi

Summary

After analyzing a completed RLCR session (5 rounds, circuit breaker triggered at round 4), several recurring methodological inefficiencies were identified that could affect other sessions. The session successfully produced a valid gating decision, but consumed disproportionate effort due to predictable patterns.

Observed Patterns

1. Telemetry-Platform Mismatch

Every round discovered a new platform limitation (export tier restrictions, per-invocation series limits, global series limits, cross-run non-determinism) only after significant work was invested. The root cause was never resolved — only worked around with escalating complexity.

2. Rescue Round Cycles

Three consecutive rounds claimed completion with a verdict, only to be rejected by review for missing evidence or methodology drift. Each "rescue round" fixed real problems but also introduced new ones, consuming capacity without advancing to new tasks.

3. Escalating Review Complexity

Reviewer directives demanded increasingly complex fixes (multi-page telemetry with checksums) rather than simpler alternatives. The process approached perfect auditability asymptotically but never reached it.

4. Methodology Drift Without Versioning

The gating criteria evolved significantly across rounds (4 major revisions), but changes were not explicitly versioned. The final gate was not comparable to the original.

Suggested Improvements

  1. Pre-round telemetry feasibility check — Validate data exfiltration paths with a minimal probe before committing to full analysis design.
  2. BLOCKING vs. REFINEMENT distinction — Tag review findings so only blocking issues trigger rescue rounds; refinement issues are logged but non-blocking.
  3. Rescue round limit (max 2 consecutive) — Auto-escalate or simplify after two consecutive rescue rounds on the same task.
  4. Methodology version log — Explicitly version and document methodology changes mid-loop.
  5. Diminishing returns checkpoint — After round 2 on any single task, assess whether the next round changes the decision or merely refines confidence.
  6. Validated validation checkboxes — Require verification method and observed result, not just binary pass/fail.
  7. Simplification-first directive — Review directives must include a simpler fallback when complexity increases by more than 2x.

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