# Escalation Patterns

Guidelines for when to escalate between clarification modes.

## Quick-Clarify to Full Clarify

Escalate when quick-clarify reveals unexpected complexity:

```
"This is more involved than it first appeared - there are
several decisions to make. Want me to switch to a more
thorough clarification process? (Just say 'yes' or 'clarify')"
```

### Triggers for Escalation

- Multiple ambiguities discovered during quick pass
- User's answer reveals hidden dependencies
- Scope expands beyond original understanding
- Technical constraints emerge that need discussion
- Conflicting requirements surface

## Full Clarify to Incremental

When user is overwhelmed by full 4-D process:

```
"This touches a lot of areas. Rather than tackle everything at once,
let's start with [most critical piece]. Once that's clear, we can
add the other parts. Sound good?"
```

### Signs of Overwhelm

- Long pauses or hesitation
- "I don't know" responses
- Requesting breaks
- Contradicting earlier answers
- Expressing frustration

## Choosing Initial Mode

### Use /quick-clarify When

- Request is fairly clear, just one or two ambiguities
- User is in a hurry
- Follow-up to an already-clarified request
- Simple feature additions or bug fixes
- Confidence is high (>90%)

### Use /clarify When

- Complex multi-step requests
- Requirements with multiple possible interpretations
- Tasks requiring significant context gathering
- User seems uncertain about what they want
- First time working on this feature/area