"Policy and tactics are the life of the Party; leading comrades at all levels must give them full attention and must never on any account be negligent."
The power of methodology lies in combining in the correct order. The four below arepatterns, not an assembly line: unnecessary steps can be skipped, but the handoff artifact of each step must be written out, and the next step must reference it.
Selection
| Situation | Pattern |
|---|---|
| A brand-new project or domain, with a known goal but unknown path | 1 Launch |
| A known difficult problem, with unclear root cause or path | 2 Assault |
| An existing solution whose results are unsatisfactory | 3 Iteration |
| A stage milestone, requiring review and re-setting of direction | 4 Review |
| None of the above | Return to arming-thought routing table for individual invocation |
Pattern 1: New project launch
investigation-first → contradiction-analysis → spark-prairie-fire → protracted-strategy
| Step | Handoff artifact | Termination condition |
|---|---|---|
| Investigation | Investigation conclusions: current situation / constraints / unknowns / available foundation | Able to answer "what is the situation now" |
| Contradiction | Principal contradiction + the most worthwhile breakthrough entry point | There is one clear entry point |
| Spark | Base area + three-step roadmap | The route starts from current capabilities |
| Protracted | Current stage + transition conditions | There is a stage positioning |
Pattern 2: Complex problem assault
investigation-first → contradiction-analysis → concentrate-forces → practice-cognition(loop) → criticism-self-criticism
| Step | Handoff artifact | Termination condition |
|---|---|---|
| Investigation | Phenomena / conditions of occurrence / causes already ruled out / directions not yet examined | Able to describe the problem precisely, rather than "it seems to be X" |
| Contradiction | Principal contradiction + falsifiable hypothesis + verification method | There is a verifiable hypothesis |
| Concentration | 🎯 Main effort = verify that hypothesis; defer others | The hypothesis is confirmed or falsified |
| Practice | Judgment + what was learned this round; if falsified, return to contradiction | The problem is completely solved, and the cause and solution can be stated clearly |
| Criticism | Work review report | Report completed |
Pattern 3: Solution iteration and optimization
mass-line → contradiction-analysis → practice-cognition → criticism-self-criticism → mass-line(next round)
| Step | Handoff artifact | Termination condition |
|---|---|---|
| The masses | Feedback, disagreements, and common directions from ≥ 2 sources | At least two independent sources |
| Contradiction | Principal contradiction of this round + improvement hypothesis | The hypothesis is verifiable |
| Practice | Improvement results vs. metrics | Metrics stated before starting are met |
| Critique | Review report | Report completed |
Overall termination: feedback shows no new important issues, or the user confirms.
Mode 4: Phase retrospective
criticism-self-criticism → contradiction-analysis → protracted-strategy(or overall-planning）
| Step | Handoff | Termination condition |
|---|---|---|
| Critique | Review report: completion status / issues / root causes | Report completed |
| Contradiction | Main contradiction of the next phase | The main contradiction is unique |
| Persistent / coordinated | Positioning and core tasks of the new phase, or a rebalancing plan | There is a core task for the next phase |
Interruption handling
- Insufficient information → insert one
investigation-first - Hypothesis falsified → return to
contradiction-analysis - A more important contradiction emerges →
overall-planningAssess whether to adjust the entire mode - The loop exceeds the number of rounds declared before starting → stop and report the current status to the user