Clarify template selection before loading full contracts

skills/visualize/reference/create.md

@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ Before composing, confirm:
    - `deck` — slide or presentation sequence where each screen is consumed separately.
 
    Mode describes consumption, not aesthetic register. A `document` can still use product-native, application-like, spatial, editorial, or technical-drawing grammar when that grammar expresses the source and brand. Do not let the conservative mode default choose the artifact's look for you.
-5. **Template picked.** Start candidate selection from the name, description, Use when, and Do not use when sections of `templates/*/template.md`. Read further candidate sections only when needed to resolve uncertainty about structural fit. Templates are starting points, not fixed artifact shells: customize the chosen template to fit the reader job and source, then fall back to pattern recipes for recurring structures the template does not cover. Template names are weak evidence; required structure and reader job are strong evidence. Pick the most specific template only when its required structure fits the source without inventing missing fields. If a named template would force a time axis, live-status semantics, escalation path, operational checks, slide sequence, scoring model, or other content the source does not provide, choose the broader document template and borrow only bounded primitives. Bounded primitives are small structures inside the chosen mode — e.g. labeled time-window rows, status marks, compact scenario tables, one contained topology figure — not the named template's full chrome or layout system. State the choice with one-line rationale.
+5. **Template picked.** Select using only the name, description, Use when, and Do not use when sections of `templates/*/template.md`. If those leave a specific structural-fit question unresolved, inspect only the relevant candidate section to answer it. Choose the template before loading its full contract in Build step 1; full candidate templates are not the selection shortlist.
+
+   Templates are starting points, not fixed artifact shells: customize the chosen template to fit the reader job and source, then fall back to pattern recipes for recurring structures the template does not cover. Template names are weak evidence; required structure and reader job are strong evidence. Pick the most specific template only when its required structure fits the source without inventing missing fields. If a named template would force a time axis, live-status semantics, escalation path, operational checks, slide sequence, scoring model, or other content the source does not provide, choose Report (`templates/report/template.md`) as the general prose-led fallback and borrow only bounded primitives. `document` is an artifact mode, not a template filename. Bounded primitives are small structures inside the chosen mode — e.g. labeled time-window rows, status marks, compact scenario tables, one contained topology figure — not the named template's full chrome or layout system. State the choice with one-line rationale.
 6. **Composition reflex check.** Before sketching shape, name up to three artifact-class defaults you must NOT assume — at least one when an obvious reflex exists for the class. The defaults are moves that appear across every AI-generated version of this artifact class regardless of source or brand — the median answer to the class's prompt.
 
    The reflex defaults for any artifact class tend to cluster around the dominant masthead pattern, the default section rhythm, the default verdict/answer placement, and the default secondary-navigation device (TOC, sidebar, sticky chrome). Identify the ones that apply to the class at hand (up to three).

skills/visualize/templates/project-recap/template.md

@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@
 ---
 name: Project recap
-description: A retrospective summary of shipped work, outcomes, lessons, and next steps.
+description: A retrospective organized into Shipped, Skipped, Shifted, and Learned sections.
 ---
 
 # Project recap
 
 ## Use when
 
-Use this template when the reader needs retrospective summary of shipped work, outcomes, lessons, and next steps. Pick it when the artifact has enough substance to benefit from the named structure, not just because the topic contains similar words.
+Use when the reader needs a retrospective organized as Shipped / Skipped / Shifted / Learned. Shipped + Skipped + Shifted are required (Learned recommended); empty Skipped or Shifted sections render with an explicit "no items this period" note rather than omitting the section header, because the absence itself is informative. These are the exact section names; do not rename them or add a "Wins" category.
 
 ## Do not use when
 
-Do not use this when a simpler memo, plain prose answer, or a more specific template would make the reader faster. Do not force the template when the ask lacks the evidence or structure it requires.
+Do not use when the reader needs only a prose-led summary of results and next actions rather than this retrospective structure; use Report. Do not force the named structure just because the request says "recap".
 
 ## Structure
 
@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@ The first two phone screens must deliver title, thesis, and essential context wi
 
 ## Failure modes
 
-**Restricted four-section vocabulary.** The recap sections are exactly Shipped / Skipped / Shifted / Learned — inventing a "Wins" section or renaming "Skipped" to "Deprioritised" is a content-shape violation. Shipped + Skipped + Shifted are required (Learned recommended); empty Skipped or Shifted sections render with an explicit "no items this period" note rather than omitting the section header, because the absence itself is informative.
-
 **Reason-disclosure on every Skipped + Shifted item.** Each entry carries a stated `reason` inline. Items without reasons trip the detector — the recap's trustworthiness depends on the reasons being part of the record. "We cut it" is not a reason; the reason should declare the actual decision-time logic, not a retrofit.
 
 **Tally-vs-item-count consistency.** The tally strip's Shipped / Skipped / Shifted counts must equal the rendered item counts in each section. The detector reads both sides and asserts equality; drift trips. Same shape as Plan review's internal-consistency reconcile.