# Candidate Concepts

**Locks confirmed 2026-05-23:** Lock1=(b) canonicity · Lock2=(c) hybrid · Lock3=(b) filter · Lock4=Mac Mini + Tailscale Funnel + Browserbase · +5th constraint=data plumbing visible.

Three candidates below explore different design vocabularies inside that locked space. Each is a complete, self-contained HTML — open in a browser to compare.

## Candidates

| File | Name | Vocabulary | What it's testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| `A_folded_lanes.html` | Folded Lanes | Closest to v0.2 — 4 lanes always visible, sub-zones collapsed, edges only on entity-click | Does fixing v0.2's structural issues (overlaps, eager edges, dead panel) inside its own paradigm read clearly? |
| `B_workspace_browser.html` | Workspace Browser | IDE explorer — collapsible tree on left, focus card centre, plumbing right. No SVG arrows. | Does removing the canvas-with-arrows metaphor entirely fix the readability problem? |
| `C_tier_drill.html` | Tier Drill | Stair-step — Tier 1 (4 super-folders) → click → Tier 2 (sub-folders) → click → Tier 3 (entities). Breadcrumb. | Does maximum progressive disclosure (3 clicks to deepest entity) buy enough cognitive bandwidth to evaluate logic? |

All three share:
- Same ~35 entities (full v0.2 set — no entities removed)
- Same edge graph (forward / back / skill)
- Same phase filter behaviour (click phase → highlight active, dim others)
- Data plumbing visible (each entity carries `reads_from` / `writes_to` derived from edges, surfaced in detail view)
- HIL gates use stroke-width + accent colour, not just an icon (audit issue INT3)

## Naming convention

```
{LETTER}_{short_slug}.html      e.g. A_folded_lanes.html
                                     B_workspace_browser.html
                                     C_tier_drill.html
```

Letter is stable across iterations; suffix evolves. Iteration tracked inside each HTML's `<title>` banner stack.

## Per-candidate doc

Each HTML embeds at the top:
- `<!-- BRIEF: which locks this candidate satisfies -->`
- `<!-- HYPOTHESIS: one sentence on what we're testing -->`
- `<!-- ITERATION HISTORY: append each iteration's notes -->`

## Test protocol

See `../04_test_harness.md` for the full setup (staging dir, server, Funnel, Browserbase commands).

Short version per iteration:
1. Edit HTML in this folder
2. `rsync` to Mac Mini staging dir (or run local server from this folder if just visual-checking)
3. Reload browser
4. Run interaction script (open, click facts_index, click 40_SERVED/01_Pleadings, click each phase, toggle controls)
5. Save state-screenshots to `_screenshots/{letter}/{state}.png`
6. Optionally ship screenshots to `/megacouncil` for 11-vendor UX critique

## Archive policy

Losing candidates move to `_archive/` not deleted — useful for "we already tried that" lookup.