Question
An open point that needs a person's answer, with the working assumption used until it is answered.
What it is
A question records something nobody has decided yet, who should answer it, and — importantly — what the team assumes in the meantime so work can continue.
Why it matters
Projects never wait for every answer. The danger is not open questions but hidden assumptions: someone guessed, built on the guess, and nobody knew it was a guess.
What goes wrong without it
- Guesses become facts because nobody wrote them down as guesses.
- The same question is asked in five chats and answered differently in each.
- Late answers break work that was built on a different assumption.
What it gives an AI agent
Agents fill gaps silently. Asking them to raise a question instead — and to state the assumption they will use — turns an invisible guess into something a person can confirm or correct in a minute.
Example: Clinic Booking
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| (nothing — someone assumed) | Can a parent move an appointment for their child? Working assumption: patients can only move their own appointments for now. |
How it relates to the rest
- An answer may become a new requirement or change one.
- Differs from a decision: a question is still open. See question vs assumption.
In Corpole
- Type Question (QST). Statuses: Open, Answered.
- Agents open questions with
ask_question; a person answers.