The Flywheel

The WoodPile improves through a repeating cycle rather than a sequence of disconnected fixes.

The Cycle

1. Observe — notice a problem, result, inconsistency, cost, or opportunity.
2. Separate fact from interpretation — record what actually happened before deciding what it means.
3. Test — design the smallest useful comparison that can produce evidence.
4. Decide — choose the standard that best serves the project's real priorities.
5. Build — embody the decision in the appropriate tool.
6. Use — run the tool on real work at meaningful scale.
7. Document — preserve the evidence, reasoning, decision, and remaining uncertainty.
8. Observe again — let real use reveal the next useful question.

Each turn should leave the project easier to understand and more dependable than before.

Why Documentation Is Part of the Mechanism

Without documentation, the wheel slips. Later sessions repeat tests, reopen settled questions, or invent explanations for decisions whose reasoning has been lost.

The Codex preserves durable knowledge. The Duty Log preserves the unfinished edge. Tool manuals preserve current implementation.

Documentation is therefore not an after-action report. It is one of the working parts of the flywheel.

Limits

The flywheel does not mean perpetual redesign.

A settled decision remains settled until new evidence or a changed requirement justifies reopening it. Familiarity, novelty, or industry fashion alone are not sufficient reasons.

Return to About the WoodPile or the Codex.