Aglet

Triage a stale work item status against evidence

A stale status may reflect completed work, a hidden blocker, an abandoned item, or a workflow that never records the transition. Triage should check the underlying outcome and preserve uncertainty instead of changing a label merely because time passed. The status should describe the work’s current condition, not only the last person who touched it.

Establish what is happening

  1. Identify the status promise

    State what the current status implies about owner, work state, evidence, and expected next step. Compare that promise with the latest durable activity, linked changes, decisions, and dependency records. Compare the status promise with the latest durable evidence before changing the label.

  2. Check the current reality

    Ask whether the work is progressing, waiting, complete, superseded, or unknown. Use recent evidence and owner context where available, and mark silence as a gap rather than proof of abandonment.

  3. Choose a truthful update

    Keep, advance, block, pause, close, or reopen the item with a reason and next action. Set a review point if evidence remains incomplete, and preserve the previous status for an auditable history.

What to carry forward

The output is a current-state triage record that explains the status change or why it remains provisional. Stop when the next action and evidence boundary are clear; do not infer completion or abandonment from an old timestamp alone.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

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