Four questions that surface the structural reality of a recurring failure — so you can see where diagnosis should begin.
The scan is not the diagnosis. It is the orientation layer — a quick way to make the system, its rules, and the repeated failure more legible before deeper analysis begins. The scan tests whether the problem appears to sit beyond ordinary execution correction and warrants a structural read.
Answer all four honestly and you will see whether the pattern warrants structural diagnosis, and where the uncertainty is concentrated. Struggle to answer them — and that itself is a useful signal. Run the scan. Then send the brief.
This is the entry point into the diagnostic method. Difficulty answering any of the four questions is itself a diagnostic signal — it means something in the system's purpose or structure is not yet legible.
Not what it claims. What it actually exists to do.
The primitive — the smallest unit of real work. Every system repeats something. Point at it.
As they exist in practice, not in policy documents.
What breaks first, who notices, and who absorbs the cost. Failure is clarifying — watch for the workarounds.
Once you answer the four questions, the scan will surface where structural uncertainty is concentrated and what deserves closer examination before changing anything.
Scan → identify confusion → send brief → fit assessment
The scan is a self-screen, not the diagnosis itself. Once you have your answers, the path is simple.