Authority Cascade

Solved problems stay solved.

The Principle

Precedence is fixed: Org > Client > Team > Role > Individual
Each layer sets defaults; any layer above overrides
Personal preference applies only where nothing above has spoken
The cascade resolves conflicts; it does not generate rules
A layer with no opinion delegates downward by default

Why

Settled questions stop being re-litigated
Onboarding becomes reading the cascade top-down, not archaeology
Conventions live at a layer, not in someone’s head, so staffing stays flexible
Agents load inherited rules instead of rediscovering context each session

The Layers

Organization: holds for every engagement (security baseline, review discipline)
Client: engagement requirements that override org defaults (stack, compliance, conventions)
Team: conventions within org and client constraints (branch strategy, cadence)
Role: expectations tied to a function (architect, engineer, reviewer)
Individual: everything left unspecified (editor, local tooling, workflow)

In Practice

Altitude test: an org rule must hold for every engagement, or it moves down
A team convention individuals routinely override gets deleted or promoted
Encode each layer in agent-loadable files (Skills & Prompts)
Rule changes follow Governance

Signal of Violation

Settled questions reopened: the same convention is argued again in each review or engagement
An org rule that fails the altitude test: client teams carry standing exceptions to it
Conventions held in one person’s head: agents rediscover them every session, and work stalls when that person rotates off
Written rule and daily practice disagree: the team convention says one thing, merged code does another

Open Questions

Where does each rule record its owning layer, in a form agents can load?
Who breaks the tie when a client requirement contradicts an org standard?

Proposal: Discussion #5