hypothesis-disciplinelisted

# Hypothesis Discipline ## Core Principle A hypothesis is not a guess — it is a **structured statement with clear validation criteria and a time budget**. Every hypothesis must answer: "How will we know if this is true or false?" ## Hypothesis Characteristics - Hypotheses exist at **every level** of the OST hierarchy (Outcome → Opportunity → Solution → Assumption) - Each hypothesis has a **target level** attribute indicating which OST level it addresses - Hypotheses follow an **ADR-style lifecycle** — a single file tracks the full journey from draft to conclusion - **Rejected and invalidated hypotheses are never deleted** — they are learning assets ## Hypothesis Lifecycle ``` draft → testing → validated → adopted → rejected (validated but not adopted) → invalidated (disproven by evidence) → inconclusive (evidence gathered but insufficient to confirm or deny) → timeout (deadline passed, decision needed: continue or stop) ``` ## Hypothesis File Schema The authoritative schema is defined in `references/hypothesis-template.md`. Key fields: - `id`: HYPO-NNN - `level`: outcome / opportunity / solution / assumption - `status`: draft / testing / validated / invalidated / inconclusive / adopted / rejected / timeout - `confidence`: per-risk scores (value, usability, feasibility, viability) on 0-10 scale - `time-budget` and `deadline`: validation time constraints ## Validation Criteria Requirements Every hy