Rule: When surfacing 2+ decisions for Rich at the same time, default to β reply-template format:
- Numbered list of decisions in dependency order (highest-knock-on first per global CLAUDE.md §7 Decision Sequencing)
- Each entry — short topic + concrete labelled options (A/B/C/D) + brief recommendation marker (★) + 1-line rationale per option
- Observations (no response needed) folded into a preceding paragraph or labelled “for awareness” — NEVER mixed into the decision list
- Footer — copy-pasteable reply shape like
1=A; 2=B; 3=C; 4=D=<name>
Why: Rich confirmed 2026-05-18 after I surfaced 7 mixed items (4 decisions + 3 observations) in an unlabelled table. The table format lacked per-item response affordances, making it hard to respond. Three formats offered — α sequenced one-per-turn via AskUserQuestion / β reply-template / γ all-visible-with-markers. Rich chose β as best general default. β minimises turn count (1 vs N), keeps dependency-order visible, and gives Rich an unambiguous reply shape — better than batched tables or unstructured prose.
How to apply: Use β whenever surfacing 2+ decisions at the same time. Separate observations from decisions explicitly. Order decisions by knock-on per CLAUDE.md §7. Reserve α (sequenced one-per-turn via AskUserQuestion) only for cases where Q1’s answer materially changes Q2’s framing such that batched presentation would actively mislead. Don’t offer format-selection chitchat each time — just use β as default.
Common β anti-patterns to avoid:
- Listing observations alongside decisions without a separator — Rich can’t tell what needs a response
- Recommending without a marker — no ★ means Rich has to re-derive the priority ranking
- Skipping the copy-paste reply shape footer — adds friction to the response
- Reordering by importance (alphabetical / size / convenience) instead of dependency — violates CLAUDE.md §7
Related: feedback-scorecards-one-at-a-time-optimal-sequence — covers the dependency-order discipline that β preserves while reducing turn-count from N to 1.