---
id: "framework-structured-elicitation-workflow"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["00:34:16", "00:34:53"]
tags: ["workflow", "interviewing", "knowledge-extraction"]
related: ["concept-expertise-elicitation"]
sources: ["s08-real-problem-agents"]
sourceVaultSlug: "s08-real-problem-agents"
originDay: 8
---
# Structured Elicitation Workflow

## Summary

A five-layer interview framework used by an 'Interviewer Agent' (see [[claim-first-agent-should-be-interviewer]]) to extract tacit knowledge from a human expert and convert it into structured agent configuration files.

## The five layers

### Layer 1: Operating Rhythms
Determine what the user's days, weeks, and months actually look like in detail. *When do you start work? What recurring meetings own your week? What monthly cycles drive your role?*

### Layer 2: Recurring Decisions
Identify the specific judgment calls the user makes repeatedly:
- Easy calls (95% certain)
- Hard calls (the ambiguous middle)
- Required inputs for each

### Layer 3: Dependencies
Map out *who* the user needs information from, and *when*, to make those decisions. (This is where org-chart context lives.)

### Layer 4: Friction
Identify recurring annoyances and bottlenecks that consume the user's time. (These are the highest-leverage automation targets.)

### Layer 5: Compilation
The agent automatically generates `soul.md`, `heartbeat.md`, and `user.md` files based on the extracted answers. See [[framework-markdown-agent-os-architecture]] for the output schema.

## Time investment

Expect **~45 minutes** of focused interview time. See [[action-run-interviewer-agent]].

## Why this beats self-documentation

It overcomes the [[concept-expertise-paradox]] by structurally forcing the expert to articulate things they would never write down voluntarily. The questions are designed to surface [[concept-tacit-knowledge-barrier|tacit barriers]].

## Related
- [[concept-the-benefits-cascade]]
- [[prereq-tacit-knowledge-extraction]]
- [[question-self-awareness-barrier]]