Answered by Falk Gottlob · Reviewed · 1 min read
Review each one once, then sort it. A rule gets written into the file the agent reads at start, with a name and a date, so the question never comes back. A parameter, a value that keeps changing, is kept as one current number with its history. A one-off is answered in the run and not written down. Jakob Nielsen's November 9, 2026 roundup reports Kevin Pu and co-authors' Sidecar, a read-only side chat that lists an agent's unrequested decisions during the run: with 16 participants, 6 caught an unwanted decision mid-run and time on other tabs fell from 35% to 13% of the wait, but median mental demand doubled from 2.5 to 5. On a task that repeats, paying that cost every run for the same card is the wrong trade. The two skill files that run my scheduled agents carry 30 lines stamped with my name and a date, and one budget in them has six dated lines in six weeks, which is how I learned it was a parameter and not a rule.
Answer it once and decide what kind of answer it was. A rule goes into the brief with a name and a date. A parameter becomes one number with a history. A one-off stays in the run.
The Sidecar study as Jakob Nielsen reports it, my 30 dated lines, the budget that changed six times, and the one-button change to the side lane are in Nielsen Says Review the Decisions You Never Made. The Card Is a Missing Line in the Brief..