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Thresholds & Decision Logic

The complete threshold matrix, two-gate verification, boundary cases, and custom audience overrides — with full pseudocode

On this page

01Complete Threshold Table 02Two-Gate Threshold Check 03Boundary Cases 04Custom Audience Thresholds

01

Complete Threshold Table

Every combination of audience and level has an exact threshold. If a topic's Helpfulness Score (HS) falls below this value, the topic does not get its own page at that level — instead it is rendered as an expanded paragraph or collapsible on the parent page.

Complete Threshold Matrix

Audience	max_level	L1 (own module)	L2 (own page)	L3 (deep-dive)
🔧 Developers	L3	HS ≥ 6	HS ≥ 8	HS ≥ 8
👤 Users	L2	HS ≥ 7	HS ≥ 9	— (no L3)
📊 Executives	L1	HS ≥ 8	— (no L2)	— (no L3)

📄

Expanded Paragraph

Topic is shown as a detailed paragraph on the parent page. No own link, no own URL. Content is there but not navigable as its own page.

HS below threshold

▶️

Collapsible

Alternatively: topic is shown as a collapsible section on the parent page. Saves space while still providing access for those interested.

Optional

02

Two-Gate Threshold Check

The threshold check happens in two gates. Both must pass before a page is planned — and additionally, the next level must be within the audience's maximum depth.

// ============================================
// TWO-GATE THRESHOLD CHECK
// ============================================

const THRESHOLDS = {
    "developers": { L1: 6, L2: 8, L3: 8 },
    "users":      { L1: 7, L2: 9 },
    "executives": { L1: 8 }
}

function plan_depth(topic, audience):
    hs = topic.helpfulness_score[audience]
    max_lvl = MAX_LEVEL[audience]
    planned = []

    if hs >= 1: planned.push("L0_mention")

    for level in [1, 2, 3]:
        if level > max_lvl: break

        threshold_own = THRESHOLDS[audience]["L" + level]

        // GATE 1: Does this topic get its own page?
        if hs < threshold_own:
            topic.fallback[level] = "paragraph_on_parent"
            break

        planned.push("L" + level)

        // GATE 2: Should we plan even deeper?
        next_level = level + 1
        if next_level > max_lvl: break
        threshold_deeper = THRESHOLDS[audience]["L" + next_level]
        if !threshold_deeper or hs < threshold_deeper: break

    return { planned_levels: planned,
             stop_reason: determine_stop(hs, max_lvl, planned) }
            

Gate 1 — "Own page?": For each level, check if the HS meets the threshold for an own page. If not, the topic is shown as a paragraph on the parent page instead. All deeper levels are skipped.

Gate 2 — "Go deeper?": If Gate 1 passes, check if the HS also meets the next level's threshold AND if the next level is within the audience's maximum depth. Both conditions must be met.

Stop reason: Documents why no deeper planning occurred. Three reasons: audience maximum reached, score below next threshold, or topic complexity exhausted.

Example: Topic "API Design", HS=8

Audience	Gate 1 (L1)	Gate 2 (L2)	Gate 2 (L3)	Result
🔧 Developers	8 ≥ 6 ✓	8 ≥ 8 ✓	8 ≥ 8 ✓	L0, L1, L2, L3
👤 Users	8 ≥ 7 ✓	8 < 9 ✗	—	L0, L1 (Stop: HS below L2)
📊 Executives	8 ≥ 8 ✓	— (max L1)	—	L0, L1 (Stop: audience max)

03

Boundary Cases

Boundary Case	Rule	Example
HS exactly at threshold	Included (≥, not >)	HS=8, threshold=8 → own page
HS = 10 (maximum)	Always own page + deeper content (within audience max)	HS=10 for Executives → L0 + L1 only (max=L1)
HS = 1–2	Brief mention only. Below every L1 threshold.	HS=2 for Developers → L0 mention only
HS = 0	Not mentioned. Topic completely skipped.	HS=0 → invisible for this audience
Multiple topics same HS	Sort: 1. Relevance sub-score (desc), 2. Alphabetically	Topic A (HS=8, Rel=0.9) before Topic B (HS=8, Rel=0.7)
More than 10 topics per level	Top 10 by HS. Remainder as paragraphs on parent.	15 topics with HS ≥ 6 on L1 → top 10 as modules
Tie at 10th position	Include all with same HS. May yield 11–12 topics.	Topics 9, 10, 11 all HS=7 → all three included

04

Custom Audience Thresholds

For 🏷️ custom audiences, User profile defaults apply. The user can override these with explicit syntax.

Property	Default	Source
max_level	2	User profile
L1 threshold	7	User profile
L2 threshold	9	User profile

// Override syntax examples:
// "Custom audience 'DevOps Team', max L2, threshold 7"
// "QA Engineers (max_level=3, l1=6, l2=8, l3=9)"

function parse_custom_audience(input):
    result = {
        name: extract_name(input),
        max_level: 2,  // default from User profile
        thresholds: { L1: 7, L2: 9 },
        suffix: slugify(extract_name(input))
    }

    // Override max_level
    if matches(input, /max\s*L?(\d)/i):
        result.max_level = parse_int(match[1])
        if result.max_level >= 3:
            result.thresholds.L3 = result.thresholds.L2

    // Override single threshold (applies to all levels)
    if matches(input, /threshold\s*(\d+)/i):
        t = parse_int(match[1])
        for level in range(1, result.max_level + 1):
            result.thresholds["L" + level] = t

    // Override level-specific thresholds
    for match in match_all(input, /l(\d)\s*=\s*(\d+)/ig):
        result.thresholds["L" + match[1]] = parse_int(match[2])

    return result
            

Override mechanism: Every custom audience starts with User defaults (max_level=2, L1=7, L2=9). Users can override max_level, set a blanket threshold for all levels, or provide level-specific values. Without any overrides, the custom audience behaves exactly like the standard User audience.

✏️ Knowledge Check

A topic has HS=8 for 👤 Users. It is on L1. Should the skill plan an L2 page?

Yes — HS=8 is high enough since the threshold is 8

No — Users need HS ≥ 9 for L2, and 8 < 9

Depends — if the topic is complex enough, an exception is made

🔧 Developer — All L3 Pages

01 Routing Logic 02 Thresholds 03 Pipeline Agent Prompts