Search and assess what you find
Knowledge is useful when its claim is tied to evidence and describes where it applies. Check the source, repository or Project scope, version, limitations and current validity before relying on it. A past failure pattern can guide investigation without proving the same defect exists now. A method that worked with another fixture or version may not establish the current result.
Decision records show who had authority to choose, what scope the choice covers and the evidence or rationale recorded at the time. A worker may record a recommendation or a newly discovered fact, but cannot create product policy or replace an authorized human decision. Contradictory claims remain distinguishable until the evidence or actual decision owner resolves their meaning.
Search results are limited to information the current reader and work scope may access. An empty or incomplete result does not prove that no relevant knowledge exists. Library visibility does not expand repository, Project or source permissions.
When reusing an entry, keep its exact revision with the work it informed. Changed source or contradictory evidence may make it stale for a new task without changing what earlier work relied on. Required accepted decisions and current task facts still apply; a library observation cannot replace the accepted issue inputs.
- In the repository Feed, open Knowledge & decisions.
- Enter terms in Search the library. Use Show to choose Knowledge, Decisions or both, then select Search.
- Open an item and inspect its scope, current revision, source references and limitations. Follow Replaced by or Derived from relationships where present.
- Expand Evidence and Recent revisions to see what supports the record and who changed it. Confirm that it still applies to the task's source and accepted requirements before reusing it.
Example: preserve a lesson and a decision
A worker investigating the catalog may establish this narrow lesson: “At the inspected revision, an empty filtered result does not mean that the catalog contains no records.” Its knowledge entry identifies the repository, source revision and check evidence that established the distinction. Another worker can use it to avoid misleading empty-state copy, while checking that the behavior still holds.
A different record captures the authorized choice: “Clear search removes the search text and preserves the other filters.” That decision identifies its actual owner, accepted scope, rationale and alternatives. A worker's preferred wording does not create this product decision.
The research example shows why an observed result must keep its tested revision, fixture and limits. The standalone tip uses the accepted behavior to guide its wording. Accepting that text does not give a writer authority to change the underlying decision; retain the decision reference so later revisions can check whether the same facts still apply.
Worker learning and recorded decisions appear with their attributable source and related Feed activity. Recording is separate from search indexing, so a new item may appear in search later than its confirmed save. Reuse its original reference instead of submitting the same lesson again.
If the product later changes Clear search to remove every filter, the authorized replacement decision supersedes the earlier one. The old record remains useful for understanding previous work; it cannot justify the new behavior. Library Admin maintains those relationships without supplying the decision authority.
Maintain the library
A scoped Library Admin can edit, remove, restore, consolidate, split, relate or supersede knowledge and decision items within its granted collection. Maintenance preserves provenance, applicability, visibility and prior revisions. A duplicate suggestion does not by itself justify merging claims; an apparent contradiction may reflect different versions or scopes.
Inspect a scoped Project knowledge item with its evidence references and attributed revision history.
Removing an item from ordinary discovery does not erase its historical references or revoke an operative decision. Restoring an item requires checking its current source, validity and replacements. Superseding a decision requires the actual authorized replacement; Library Admin preserves its history without changing what was decided.
Historical references do not bypass current source access. Revoked material must not remain available through a cached excerpt or consolidated summary. Wider publication requires separate authority.
If another person edits an item during maintenance, the stale change must be reassessed against the current revision. A saved operation can be confirmed from its receipt if the response is lost. Feed and search indexing may lag behind a confirmed change; that delay does not justify repeating the mutation. Research that produces prerequisite evidence belongs to Issue work and dependencies.