Decision guide · method 0.2
Six endings. Only one adds a URL.
The page inventory—not the number of fan-out branches—decides whether publication work belongs on an existing page, in a merge, in an evidence asset or on one new URL.
D-01
Extend the existing page
- Trigger
- One page owns the job, but its promise needs material expansion.
- Action
- Expand its architecture, questions and supporting proof on the canonical URL.
- Guardrail
- Do not split the expansion into sibling URLs by default.
D-02
Add one section
- Trigger
- One page owns the job and only one bounded information gap remains.
- Action
- Add a focused section with the evidence needed to support it.
- Guardrail
- A missing subsection is not a missing page.
D-03
Merge overlapping content
- Trigger
- Several pages compete for the same primary job.
- Action
- Select the strongest canonical owner, merge unique value and redirect only true intent equivalents.
- Guardrail
- Do not redirect distinct jobs merely because their keywords look similar.
D-04
Build an evidence asset first
- Trigger
- Evidence is weak, secondary-only, or the page inventory is unknown.
- Action
- Create a test, dataset, interview, worksheet, inventory or source register.
- Guardrail
- A plausible draft is not original evidence.
D-05
Create one new URL
- Trigger
- No page owns a distinct job and primary or observed evidence is ready.
- Action
- Publish one bounded canonical page whose promise contains the related branches.
- Guardrail
- Fan-out branches are not automatic URLs.
D-06
Take no content action
- Trigger
- The current page substantially covers the job with decision-ready evidence.
- Action
- Record the review and revisit only when the job, evidence or inventory changes.
- Guardrail
- More output is not automatically more useful.
Before deciding
Declare page coverage and evidence. Do not let a keyword list choose the URL.