hillclimb

Hillclimb

Climb one metric scientifically: each round is a hypothesis, a measurement against a fixed baseline, and a decision — keep the win, revert the loss. One accepted commit per verified win; the log is the climb's memory.

When to use

• a measurable target will take multiple rounds ("cut cold-start to <2s", "get flaky suite under 1%")
• the user names a metric to improve, not a feature to build

When not to use

• a one-off fix with a known cause — debug or execute
• no measurable baseline exists yet — build the measurement first (that is round zero, not skippable)

The loop

1. Fix the baseline: the metric's definition, the exact command that measures it, and the current value — measured, not estimated (benchmark-checklist discipline). The baseline command never changes mid-climb; if it must, the climb restarts.
2. Log the target and the climb in .omc/state/decision-trail-{task-slug}.tsv via the show-me-your-work trail: one row per round.
3. One hypothesis per round: what you believe will move the metric and why. State it before touching code.
4. Implement on a branch, measure with the baseline command, and apply benchmark-checklist before believing any number.
5. Decide: a verified win is committed alone (one commit per win, so any regression bisects to a single round); a loss or wash is reverted and logged with what was learned. Neither counts as failure — both are data.
6. Repeat until the target is reached or the hypothesis space is exhausted — then report the plateau honestly instead of grinding.

Rules

• Never stack two hypotheses in one round; a stacked win cannot be attributed.
• Never move the baseline, relax the check, or cherry-pick the favorable run — a climb that cheats its measurement is worse than no climb.
• Every decision row names its measurement evidence; every claim is labeled measured, inferred, or guess (principles skill, Explain the number).
• The final reply reports: rounds run, wins kept, the measured delta from the original baseline, and what was tried and rejected.