Playbook 08: needing a decision keeps a fix small; a feature is several modules with research or a design before it (the operator, 2026-10-16)

00-META/process/08-small-fixes.md

@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 
 **Trigger.** One issue in one repository, small enough to build in about an hour: a bug with a known cause,
 a missing check, a wording, a playbook or design edit. Anything larger, or anything that needs a change in a
-second repository first, is a feature and follows [playbook 07](07-feature-branches.md).
+second repository first, is a feature and follows [playbook 07](07-feature-branches.md). A feature is the
+larger kind: it touches several modules and has a research effort or a design before it. **Needing a decision
+does not make a fix a feature**: the decision is settled first (step 1) and the fix stays small (the operator,
+2026-10-16).
 
 **Related issues in one fix.** A small fix may cover two or three related issues when they are in the same
 repository, mostly in the same module, and together still fit in about an hour: they touch the same files, or
@@ -23,7 +26,8 @@ one delivery**. Everything before the push is local and fast.
 1. **Read the issue and the code it names** (the session's own model, or one read-only agent on the smaller
    model answering exact questions with file:line). If a design question is open, it is settled before any
    code is written: on the issue, through the knowledge base, or by the operator. A fix that turns out to
-   need a decision or a second repository stops here and becomes a feature.
+   need a second repository, or more than about an hour, stops here and becomes a feature; one that needs a
+   decision stays a small fix.
 2. **Move the issue to `fixing`** with `by` as who@node.
 3. **Build on a local branch** `fix/<issue>-<slug>`, in a worktree of its own branched from `main`. Write the
    test that fails today first; make the change; keep `gofmt`, `go vet` and the unit tests of what changed green